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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsSocial IssuesStarted 7yrs agoActive 2yrs ago

Should the federal government institute a mandatory buyback of assault weapons?

A gun buyback program is one where the government purchases guns from private citizens. The goal of these programs is to reduce the number of guns owned by private citizens. In most gun buyback programs the police are the agents buying the guns. In 2019 Presidential candidates Joe Biden, Beto O’Rourke, Kamala Harris and Julian Castro each proposed a mandatory gun buyback program where the federal government would purchase AK-47’s and AR-15’s from private citizens. In the past U.S. gun buyback programs have been implemented by state and city governments.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 182k America voters.

40%
Yes
60%
No
30%
Yes
43%
No
7%
Yes, but start with a voluntary buyback and ban on purchasing assault weapons before enforcing a mandatory buyback
9%
No, increase mental health and background checks instead
3%
Yes, and we should also demilitarize local police departments
5%
No, this is a violation of the 2nd amendment
3%
No, it should be voluntary with strong financial incentives instead

Historical Support

Trend of support over time for each answer from 182k America voters.

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Historical Importance

Trend of how important this issue is for 182k America voters.

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from America voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @8M2QF3D from New Hampshire  answered…6yrs6Y

like to see you try fed boy

 @9MWHFY9 from Maryland  answered…2yrs2Y

Yes, but start with a voluntary buyback and ban on purchasing semi-automatic rifles with large magazines before enforcing a mandatory buyback

 @8GNZSYY from Texas  answered…6yrs6Y

Yes because it is not needed. There should be an option to use assault weapons “for fun” in gun ranges after a background check and mental health check

 @8VD7KQTfrom Vermont  answered…5yrs5Y

No, and there is no such thing as an "assault weapon"

 @94KMKB7 from California  answered…4yrs4Y

No, and abolish the police.

 @8M7HMYP from Nebraska  answered…6yrs6Y

A buyback would not be as effective as it was in other countries because of the large gun to person ratio here in the U.S.

 Deleted from  answered…2yrs2Y

No, America is too deep into gun rights for this to work effectively. Instead, we should stop making parts and ammunition for assault weapons. While black market parts and home-made ammo are still an issue, this may help.

 @8FP3LHC from Missouri  answered…6yrs6Y

No, but increase mental health and background checks, as well as provide strong financial incentives for those who choose to give their weapons voluntarily. Criminals who choose to give up unlawfully possessed weapons should be granted pardons for the simple illegal possession of the weapon, so long as they haven't committed any violent crimes using said weapon (to incentivize criminals giving up illegal weapons).Weapons training courses and licenses should be mandatory for anyone to own/possess a weapon in public spaces, just as a drivers test is required for any public driver, with harsh penalties provided to those possessing weapons in public without a license or some sort of certification. Anyone on private property, however, should have the legal right to possess and use a firearm at their own discretion without any requirements.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Biden to close ‘gun-show loophole’ and expand background checks for firearms

The Biden administration is moving to expand background checks for gun purchases, fulfilling a key demand of advocates following the deadly shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas.The final rule, expected to be submitted Thursday to the Federal Register by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, would eliminate a loophole that has allowed sales of guns without background checks of guns outside of brick-and-mortar stores.The rule was issued under a provision of the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. It requires that anyone who sells guns for profit to have a license and that buyers be subject to a background check, including at firearms shows and flea markets. The administration had been working on the rule since last spring. Once publicized, it will take effect in 30 days.The so-called gun show loophole has for years allowed unlicensed gun dealers to sell firearms without background checks at gun shows, on the internet and out of their homes. The new rule, the most sweeping expansion of firearms background checks in decades, will apply to more than 20,000 individuals engaged in unlicensed gun dealing and affect “tens and tens of thousands of gun sales” each year, an administration official told reporters during a call previewing the announcement.“This single gap in our federal background check system has caused unimaginable pain and suffering,” Vice President Kamala Harris said on the call.The vice president noted the 25th anniversary next week of the mass shooting at Columbine High School, which was carried out with weapons purchased through the gun-show loophole. She also pointed to the 2019 shooting in Midland and Odessa, Texas, where a man killed seven people and wounded dozens of others. A background check stopped the shooter from purchasing a gun at a sporting goods store in 2014, but he later purchased an AR-15 from an unlicensed seller he met online.“So many communities have been torn apart by acts of violence committed with weapons bought without background checks,” she continued. “So in the memory of all those we have lost today, as the head of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, I am proud to announce that all gun dealers now must conduct background checks no matter where or how they sell their merchandise.”An analysis published last week from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found sales by unlicensed dealers were the most frequently used gun trafficking channel. From 2017 to 2021, the ATF traced more than 68,000 of these illegally tracked firearms to unlicensed dealers.“Today’s Final Rule is about ensuring compliance with an important area of the existing law where we all know, the data show, and we can clearly see that a whole group of folks are openly flouting that law. That leads to not just unfair but, in this case, dangerous consequences,” said ATF director Steven Dettelbach.The move is already facing backlash from Republicans. Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), the lead Republicans on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, plan to introduce a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to “overturn this unconstitutional rule,” a Cornyn spokesperson told POLITICO. To invalidate a federal regulation, both Houses must pass the resolution, which would then be sent to a president for a signature or veto. It would take two thirds majority of both Houses of Congress to override the president’s veto.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Elizabeth Warren Walks Back Murder Comments

Congressional Democrats broadly denounced the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Friday morning, after Republicans started accusing Sen. Elizabeth Warren of excusing violence.“No one's condoning this,” said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.). “Violence never is the right answer for anything. And it was a horrible murder, a tragic loss for his family.” Warren this week condemned the shooting, but added that people “can be pushed only so far.”"We'll say it over and over," Warren said on MSNBC’S “The ReidOut.” " Violence is never the answer. This guy [Luigi Mangione] gets a trial who's allegedly killed the CEO of UnitedHealth, but you can only push people so far, and then they start to take matters into their own hands."In a statement to POLITICO, Warren said, “Violence is never the answer. Period. I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.” Top Republicans denounced Warren's comments and the walked-back rhetoric, with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) calling it “inappropriate and dangerous.”Some House Democrats asked about the incident on Thursday pivoted the conversation to discuss policy options on health care or gun safety.“I don't really know that this is really a space that Congress normally weighs in on,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). “But at the end of the day, I think it’s an opportunity, because now people are talking about health care and to talk about the fact that this industry has honestly not been as helpful as it could be.”“Violence is never the answer,” said Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.). “We know that there are people suffering, there’s great challenges in healthcare. There's great challenges, and people have, in fact, been wronged, but a process of governance is the way to address that, not violence.”And Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) who denounced the murder, said the killer should be prosecuted and that “I do know that allegedly a ghost gun was used, and we should also ban ghost guns. There's no reason for them beyond the streets.”

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Israeli Bombings Kill 2,300 In Lebanon in 3 weeks

Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.The Israeli military has ordered people living in more than a quarter of Lebanon to flee, according to a UN calculation, as its fight with the Iran-backed Shia militant group Hizbollah threatens to engulf the Mediterranean country.Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.More than 1mn people have fled their homes in Lebanon in under a month, according to its government, a dramatic forced movement of the population in a country of only about 5mn inhabitants with a land mass smaller than the US state of Connecticut. Israeli forces began a ground offensive in south Lebanon two weeks ago, in their fourth invasion of the country in under five decades. They had already destroyed large parts of the densely populated southern Beirut suburb where Hizbollah had its headquarters, and killed many top militant commanders in air strikes, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah.Rema Jamous Imseis, Middle East director of UNHCR, told journalists in Geneva that “over 25 per cent of [Lebanon is] under a direct Israeli military evacuation order”. “People are heeding these calls to evacuate and they’re fleeing with almost nothing,” she added, saying that 80 per cent of the shelters opened by the Lebanese government — mostly in schools — were now full.

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Based on 182k responses to this question.

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iSideWith. (2026). “Should the federal government institute a mandatory buyback of assault weapons?” — Public Opinion Poll Results. Retrieved June 22, 2026, from https://www.isidewith.com/poll/3890176785

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