Want Less Gun Violence? It Starts With Banning Assault Weapons

After yet another mass shooting, this time in Minneapolis that left children among the dead, MSNBC host Katy Tur convened a panel to ask the blunt question: is there a real solution to America’s gun violence epidemic? Her guests included Mike Spies, senior staff writer at The Trace; former Rep. Mondaire Jones; and Marc Short, who served as chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence. Each offered different perspectives, but one theme kept coming back: an assault weapons ban could be the most effective step forward.

Americans Want Action, But Don’t Vote On It

Tur began by pointing out a painful contradiction. Most Americans do not own guns, and polls consistently show that a majority favor stricter gun laws. Yet when it comes time to vote, gun reform is rarely the issue that decides elections. Spies agreed, saying voters often prioritize other topics. “That’s what they vote on first,” he said. The result, he argued, is that even though the public supports change, lawmakers don’t feel enough pressure to act.

Mike Spies: Too Many Guns, Too Powerful

Spies delivered one of the sharpest assessments of the problem. He dismissed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, hailed by some as the biggest gun safety bill in decades, as little more than a “feel good bill.” It tinkered at the margins, he argued, while sidestepping the real issue. “The only thing that really works if you really wanted to bring down gun violence,” Spies said, “was to do what Australia did” after its 1996 massacre: ban and buy back large classes of firearms. Spies was blunt that this would not be politically popular in the United States, but he insisted it was the truth.

The Problem With Red Flag Laws

Tur asked about red flag laws, which allow courts to temporarily remove firearms from people deemed dangerous. Spies acknowledged they may help in some cases, but he said they shift responsibility to family members and friends who must police their loved ones. “That’s such an abdication of responsibility,” he said. The bigger problem, in his view, is simply that guns are “way too accessible” and “too powerful,” with semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity handguns fueling mass shootings.

Mondaire Jones: Assault Weapons Ban Works

Former Rep. Mondaire Jones joined Spies in making the case for stronger national laws. “An assault weapons ban would go a long way toward reducing the number of people who have died, or who will die, in this country,” he said. Jones also called for universal background checks, pointing to polling that shows support from nearly nine out of ten Americans. For him, the obstacle is not public opinion but Republican leadership in Congress, which he said is “kowtowing to the NRA” and blocking reforms that could save lives.

Marc Short: Protect Rights, Focus On Mental Health

Marc Short took a different stance. While he acknowledged Americans want to end gun violence, he stressed the difficulty of balancing that desire with Second Amendment rights. Short argued that lawmakers should focus on keeping guns out of the hands of people with mental illness or violent criminal records, not on restricting firearms for law-abiding citizens. He also pointed to strengthening school security as a practical step. “That’s the challenge,” Short said. “It’s not an easy solution.”

Clashing Over the Second Amendment

The panel sparred over whether an assault weapons ban is compatible with the Second Amendment. Jones and Spies said it clearly is, noting that machine guns and fully automatic weapons are already banned. If those restrictions are constitutional, they argued, then so is limiting access to AR-15–style rifles. Short pushed back, saying the Second Amendment is “pretty straightforward” in guaranteeing the right to keep and bear arms. For him, the danger is denying rights to citizens who may need firearms to defend themselves.

Tur Pushes the Question of Political Will

Katy Tur pressed her guests on why, if the solutions are clear, Congress hasn’t acted. Jones responded that Democrats tried when they held the White House and both chambers of Congress, but faced united Republican opposition and the filibuster in the Senate. Spies added that even Democrats have often been reluctant to prioritize gun control, fearing backlash in swing states. For him, the lack of courage is as much a barrier as the NRA.

Lessons From Other Nations

Spies returned to his comparison with Australia and Europe, where sweeping bans dramatically reduced gun deaths. He acknowledged that Americans often bristle at foreign comparisons, but insisted the evidence is undeniable. In his words, “whether or not you like it, the only thing that really works” is removing large numbers of guns from circulation. He even predicted backlash against his comments, saying critics would call him a communist or worse, but argued that the hostility only proved how resistant the gun lobby is to facts.

Jones: Children Are Paying the Price

Jones grew emotional when pointing out that thousands of children have been victims of gun violence since Columbine in 1999. “We don’t need to learn anything else,” he said. “We know that an assault weapons ban would go a long way toward reducing the number of victims.” He argued that opponents who deflect by pointing to urban crime are missing the point. Whether in schools, nightclubs, or city streets, the common denominator is easy access to deadly weapons.

Short: Don’t Forget Urban Crime

Short countered by emphasizing that most gun murders occur in inner cities, often with handguns rather than rifles. He asked how politicians could justify denying people in those communities their right to self-defense. Spies and Jones both said that was a deflection. The issue, they argued, is not which type of gun is used in which crime, but the overall number of firearms flooding communities.

The Clash Between Facts and Politics

What’s striking in this discussion is how everyone agrees on the goal – less gun violence – but can’t agree on how to get there. Spies and Jones pointed to bans and universal checks as the proven tools, while Short leaned on rights, mental health, and security. Yet the numbers do not lie: polls show Americans support stricter laws, and evidence from other countries shows bans reduce mass shootings. The real barrier is political will.

A Debate That Has Been Going On For Decades

Katy Tur closed the segment by noting that this debate has been repeating itself for decades, from Columbine to Sandy Hook to Parkland. Each tragedy sparks outrage, yet Congress remains paralyzed. Whether the answer is an assault weapons ban, universal checks, or better mental health systems, the fact remains that gun violence continues at levels unmatched in the developed world. Until lawmakers are willing to act on the evidence, America’s cycle of shootings will not end.