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It tells me people do not care about saving lives, just concerned about themselves not having any kind of gun they want. So selfish. Never think of anyone else.

Handguns are the most common weapon type used in mass shootings in the United States, with a total of 161 different handguns being used in 111 incidents between 1982 and April 2023. These figures are calculated from a total of 142 reported cases over this period, meaning handguns are involved in about 78 percent of mass shootings.

The involvement of semi-automatic rifles in mass shootings

Owing to their use in several high-profile mass shootings, there has been much public discussion over suitability or necessity of assault weapons for the purpose of self-defense. While any definition of assault weapon is contentious, semi-automatic rifles are generally the main focus of debates around this issue. Since 1985 there has been a known total 58 mass shootings involving rifles, mostly semi-automatics. This figure is underreported though, as it excludes the multiple semi-automatic (and fully automatic) rifles used in the 2017 Las Vegas Strip massacre – the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, killing 58 and wounding 546. In fact, semi-automatic rifles were featured in four of the five deadliest mass shootings, being used in the Orlando nightclub massacre, Sandy Hook Elementary massacre and Texas First Baptist Church massacre.

AR-15-style semiautomatic weapons are considered to be civilian versions of military weapons that gun control advocates say aren't very different. Its original military design dates back to the 1950s.

The AR-15, like its military version, is designed to kill people quickly and in large numbers. The National Rifle Association calls it "America's Rifle."

Critics say the weapon has no valid recreational use and civilians should not be allowed to own them.

In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed an assault weapons ban, which banned the AR-15 and other similar semiautomatic rifles. The ban made it illegal to manufacture the weapon while also setting a limit on high-capacity magazines. Though as The Washington Post noted, there were plenty of loopholes.

Mass shootings across the U.S. went down in the decade that followed, in comparison to the decade before (1984-94) and the one after (2004-14)

Once the assault weapons ban expired in 2004, gun manufacturers quickly began producing the guns and sales quickly rose.

The Republican Party were in the majority in the House and Senate in 2004. George Bush was president.