The American College of Physicians called for a ban on semiautomatic and automatic weapons in the wake of the deadly Las Vegas shooting that left dozens of people dead and more than 500 wounded.
Reports have claimed the lone shooter who fired on concert-goers from two 32nd-floor hotel windows was either using automatic weapons, which are mostly illegal and highly regulated in the United States, or semiautomatic weapons that might have been rigged to fire on full auto. There is also the possibility he could have been using various devices that simulate automatic fire.
American College of Physicians president Jack Ende said his organization has seen enough.
"Mass shootings, each seemingly worse than the one before, have become frequent and even common-place," Ende wrote in a statement. "Something needs to change. We must acknowledge that lack of a U.S. policy to address gun violence is the reason we have much higher rates of injuries and deaths from firearms violence than other countries.
"Specifically, we call for a ban on the sale and ownership of automatic and semiautomatic weapons. These are military-style 'assault' weapons that were designed to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible."
The National Firearms Act makes it illegal for U.S. citizens to own automatic weapons made after May 19, 1986.
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