REINSTATE THE ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN!

[better]

143. This is a very good argument for understanding

exactly what characteristics of a firearm render it capable of causing such mass casualties. The problem with the AWB, as written, is that it bans firearms on the basis of characteristics that don't have any such impact on lethality, instead of focusing on characteristics that do have such impact.

Hands down, the most effective way to reduce the amount of damage a weapon can do is to regulate its capacity. A bump stock or other modification that lets you fire 10 rounds a second is pretty useless if the weapon holds so little ammo that using one means reloading literally every second.

Long story short, the problem is not that people can own an AR-15.
It's that they can fire too many bullets before having to reload, and reloading is too quick.

Ban high capacity and/or detachable magazines, and you fix that problem across the board.