The Second Amendment

[Alcon]

I hate to only respond to one part of this thread, but the sudden drop-off in mass-shootings in Australia is almost entirely a function of the Port Arthur shooting happening, no?  I know firearm homicides decreased, but overall homicides did not, and I believe most Western countries -- the U.S. included -- saw a decrease in firearm homicides over this period.  I'm just not sure I find that evidence particularly persuasive or well-controlled.

also, "semi-automatic assault rifle" doesn't really mean anything.  An "assault rifle" is a rifle with select fire capability, i.e., it can fire automatic OR semi-automatic.  Civilian ownership of true "assault rifles" is rare, as far as I know.  Most own semi-automatics, and saying "semi-automatic assault rifle" is mainly meaningless shorthand for "semi-automatic rifle that looks scary."

I'm not sure I can think of a single mass-shooting involving an automatic weapon, anyway.  Automatic weapons are heavily controlled and aren't even dramatically more dangerous in mass-shooting scenarios.