President Joe Biden last week renewed calls for a gun ban. But proposals to ban modern sporting rifles, or what gun control advocates misleadingly call “assault weapons,” in the wake of recent tragedies by mentally disturbed people will do little to increase public safety. What they will do, however, is weaken the Second Amendment and distract from what should be the top priority of Republicans and Democrats in Congress: to provide law enforcement with the tools they need to protect our communities and intervene before lives are lost.

First, it’s important to understand the facts. MSRs are used in a very small number of violent crimes across the United States. A report from the FBI shows that in 2019, rifles of all types made up just 2.6% of homicides across America. By comparison, homicides committed with knives or “cutting instruments” were 10.6%, and “hands, fists, or feet” made up 4.3%. Every loss of life is a tragedy, but the fact is that you’re 4 times more likely to be beaten to death than killed by a criminal misusing an MSR. The vast majority of people use MSRs responsibly, yet Democrats continue to depict law-abiding citizens as criminals and press for a ban on this popular style of firearm.