Should assault weapons be banned? A 10-year ban was allowed to expire in 2004 President Obama wants Congress to pass a new one.

• Author: Carter, Jimmy
• Position: DEBATE

YES Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and I all supported a ban on semiautomatic assault weapons like AK-47s and Uzis, and such a ban was finally passed in 1994.

When the 10-year ban was set to expire, many police groups called on Congress and President George W. Bush to renew and strengthen it. But instead, it was allowed to expire in 2004.

I have used weapons since I was big enough to carry one, and I now own two handguns, four shotguns, and three rifles, two with scopes. I use them carefully, for hunting with my fatuity and friends. We cherish the right to own a gun.

But none of us wants to own an assault weapon because we have no desire to kill policemen or go to a school or workplace to see how many victims we can accumulate before we are finally shot or take our own rives. That's why the White House and Congress must not give up on trying to reinstate a ban on assault weapons.

An overwhelming majority of Americans, including me and my hunting companions, believe in the right to own weapons. But surveys show that most Americans also support modest restraints like background checks, mandatory registration, brief waiting periods before gun purchases--and banning assault weapons. In opposing such a ban, the National Rifle Association is defending criminals' access to assault weapons and use of ammunition that can penetrate protective clothing worn by police officers on duty.

In 2006, more than 30,000 people died from firearms--nearly 20 percent of art injury deaths. It is time to ban assault weapons, which are designed only to kill police officers and the people they defend.

--PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER (1977-81)

NO The reinstatement of a ban on so-called "assault" weapons runs counter to the Second Amendment, which protects the right to lawfully keep and bear arms.

The first question is whether the...