Judging gun laws while exempting the deadliest weapons is a token test.

Evidence

There are several notable problems with this line of reasoning. Semiautomatic, militarized rifles with large ammunition clips are the weapons of choice for quick massacres. Congress refused to renew the ban on these firearms and opposes any restrictions on the capacity of bullet magazines. To evaluate the effectiveness of gun regulations when the main tool of death is exempted is but a token gesture. It is a logical fallacy to argue from evidence that some individuals were undeterred by existing gun regulations that those regulations had no deterrent effect on others. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1296

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the futility-argument pattern in Bandura’s moral disengagement framework and to broader debates about evaluating policy effectiveness.