The federal assault weapons ban (AWB) is expiring after midnight on September 13, and the average American will once again be able to purchase and/or use a range of guns that had been banned since September 1994. The AWB has been a cornerstone of the gun control movement for the last decade, with many claiming that the law has had a huge impact on reducing crime. Still others assert that the elimination of AWB will not represent any risk to Americans. These critics believe that "assault weapons" are a contrived category of guns that has been mischaracterized to scare people. How important was the federal assault weapons ban in actually reducing crime?  What is the evidence for it? Assuming that the coming year will definitely give us evidence to clearly see who is correct, what do the next twelve months hold for Americans?  Debating this issue are two individuals who have done extensive research on this question and who represent the two different sides of these questions:  James Kessler, research director for Americans for Gun Safety, and John R. Lott Jr., the author of More Guns, Less Crime.