I wasn't planning on getting one, but most all my neighbors said they planned to arm themselves (just in case the Democrats win in November, then come to take our guns, rape our women, and eat our household pets), so I knew I had to do likewise.
I'll do a little target shooting tomorrow, when the squirrels come out to play. After all, the guy at the gun store said I should tell anyone who asks, that this is for sporting use only.
4 comments:
What next? Well, for starters, try to learn something about the issue. First item: the "ban" really wasn't on assault weapons. Assault weapons are selective fire weapons. The selections are for semi-auto fire (one pull of the trigger fires one round) and full-auto fire (keeps firing rounds as long as you hold the trigger back). None of the weapons banned by the now expired law were capable of full-auto fire. Not even with "simple" kits that could be ordered on the internet.
Secondly, the ban was on names and cosmetic features. For example, the ban contained a list of names of weapons. In some cases the same weapon could become legal by a simple change of name. Also, certain features were banned, such as folding stocks and bayonet mounts. When was the last time you can recall a cop being killed by a bayonet attached to a rifle? Or how many students have been killed with a bayonet attached to a rifle?
Thirdly, the ban really wan't on the sale of any of these items. It was a ban on the importation or manufacture of these items. But existing weapons and items (e.g. high capacity magazines) could still be sold and resold. So you could buy an AK-47 last week just as easily as you could buy one today.
Fourth, and perhaps the most stupid, is that the weapons that were supposedly banned were only cosmetically different from many weapons that remained legal (for new manufacture and import). Even ones that have "legitimate sporting uses". Of course, the 2nd ammendment says nothing about sport, but that's another topic. What I'm saying is that many popular hunting rifles use the same ammo as the banned weapons. Many popular hunting rifles are semi-auto, just like the banned weapons.
And lastly, the formerly banned weapons and features are not now, and never have been, associated in large numbers with police deaths, school shootings, or other crimes. In fact, most police are killed by their own guns! The rifle that was used in the DC area sniper shooting may have been derived from a military rifle (I've seen allusions that is was, but have not verified it), but it could just as easily been a regular hunting rifle -- even a bolt action one because they never fired more than one shot! And the freedom fighters in Iraq seem to have no trouble finding machine guns and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs). I don't see the removed restrictions are going to affect them.
So don't worry, GeneBob. The world is *not* suddenly a more dangerous place today than it was last week.
-- William "Billy Bob" Reeder
Here is what is now legal for the first time in 10 years:
The AK-47 and all models of Avtomat Kalashnikovs: assault rifles with range of 400+ yards.
AR-15: an assault rifle accurate up to 500 yards away. Police say the Washington-area snipers used a Bushmaster AR-15 in their killing spree. It is the civilian version of the M-16 rifle. The M-16 is the U-S rival to the Kalashnikov assault rifle.
AR-70 and SC-70; long rapid-fire assault rifles, firing up to 600 rounds or bullets per minute.
FN-FAL, FN-LAR and FNC: assault rifles used widely by militaries in mid-20th century.
Steyr AUG: assault rifle built as modern replacement of FN-FAL.
Street Sweeper and Striker 12: revolving cylinder semiautomatic shotguns.
SWD M-10, M-11, M-11-9 and M-12: assault pistols firing up to 1100 rounds per minute.
TEC-9, TEC-22 and TEC-DC9: assault pistols known for relative low price and large power.
Uzi and Galil: submachine guns that fire 600 or more bullets a minute, The Uzi is thought of as the most popular submachine gun in the world, in use by 90 or more military forces.
huh. I guess some people just don't have a sense of humor. I get the feeling that "BillyBob" is the sort of person who scoffs at magic shows ("I saw it up his sleeve!") and whispers loudly during movies things like "This is so implausible! Nothing like this could happen in real life."
Anyway, my point is: Kudos, I thought it was funny.
I do have a sense of humor, though is it perhaps a bit perverse. Neither do I scoff at magicians, even if I know how they do their tricks. I'm even willing to suspend plausibility for a good show. But Gene Bob was implying that the world was suddenly a more dangerous place because the Clinton "ban" had expired. I discussed the list Gene posted in private email, but the gist is that "ban" itself is a misleading term. None of the items in that list was actually banned in the sense that you were no longer allowed to possess them or transfer them to another person. All that was banned was new manufacture and importation.
Three other points are worth highlighting: first, that during the past 10 years there have been plenty of newly manufactured military looking weapons available for sale. To the untrained eye they look just like the semi-auto models that were banned. But close inspection would reveal that they were missing certain features. One of those features was a bayonet mount. Ooh! Spooky! BFD!
Second, high capacity magazines have been plentiful the past 10 years. They have an extremely long life and can be repaired. High capacity magazines were "banned", so the ones you could buy were used. But guess what? They fit in all the current new models of guns (of whatever line they were made for). Again, no real difference before, during, or after the ban.
And lastly, the machine guns listed have been tightly regulated since 1934. Owners are photographed, fingerprinted, checked out by the FBI and pay large license fees. The machine guns are all registered. Again, no real difference before, during, or after the ban.
All the handwaving and crying by Kerry and others about how the ban's expiration will make the world more dangerous is all BS.
-- William
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