Posted on 01/02/2013 3:29:20 PM PST by neverdem
Politician after politician have joined the television talking heads in calling for a new “assault weapons ban” patterned after the ten-year Clinton ban that was allowed to lapse in 2004 after Justice Department and private studies concluded it had no impact whatsoever on murder and violent crime rates and had become a symbol of wrong-headed governmental attempts to restrict firearms ownership in this country.
California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein has called for reinstituting the old Clinton ban to outlaw the sale, transfer and possession of such guns in the future while grandfathering those already in the hands of private parties. Others, like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, have gone so far as to suggest “confiscation” or forced “buy back” programs “to get these weapons off the street.” In the last week dozens of commentators, reporters and politicians have said they support the 2nd Amendment, but would support an “assault weapons” ban because such weapons aren’t used for hunting and have no purpose other than to kill people.
While such suggestions reflect a simple minded and narrow understanding of why the founders included the Second Amendment in our Bill of Rights, they also suggest that those making them neither understand the nature of the firearms they would ban, their popularity or legitimate uses.
Those who would ban what they like to call assault weapons like to portray them as automatic weapons designed for use on the battlefield simply because they look cosmetically like their military counterparts. In fact, they are semi-automatic firearms that are designed and built not for the military, but for the civilian market and function differently than their military counterparts. Were our soldiers outfitted with ARs, they would be at the mercy of every army in the world.
The more than three million Americans who currently own AR-15s must wonder if any of these people know what they’re talking about. These guns are not cheap, but they have been the best-selling long arm in this country for some years. Those three million people didn’t buy have purchased them just to look at or because they are planning to use them to kill their fellow citizens.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation has surveyed the purchasers of AR-15s. The AR-15 is the most commonly used rifle for marksmanship training and competition. Nearly 90% of those who own an AR-15 use it for recreational target shooting; 51% of AR owners are members of shooting clubs and visit the range regularly. The typical AR owner is not a crazed teenage psychopath, but a 35+ year old, married and has some college education.
The popularity of the AR can be traced in part to the fact that it is a semi-automatic version of the rifle used by the men and women of the military. Nearly half of AR owners are veterans, law enforcement officers, or both. It is a configuration they are familiar with and enjoy shooting. My daughter, for example, served two tours in Iraq, one in Afghanistan, and only owns one gun — an AR.
AR 15s are good for hunting. Some buy an AR for home defense and about six percent of buyers are either collectors or varmint hunters. The standard AR is illegal in most states for deer and big game hunting because it is not considered powerful enough to reliably put down deer-sized or larger game, but is used for coyote, wolf and feral pig hunting in many states.
So the evidence tells us that although Sen. Feinstein and her friends may not know it, millions of Americans buy these guns because they like to shoot them and use them lawfully. The fact that a half dozen out of more than three million have been misused after illegally falling into the hands of crazed killers does not seem to be a reason to ban the popular gun according to most Americans asked in a recent USA Today poll.
These guns are not the weapon of choice for this nation’s criminals or killers. Indeed, the FBI found that in 2010, the last year for which data is available, more people were beaten to death than killed with all long guns including these so-called assault weapons.
It is true that the Supreme Court has left the door open for “reasonable” restrictions on firearms sales. There is good reason, for example, to keep guns out of the hands of felons, those who have been adjudicated as mentally incompetent, or unsupervised children. However there is no evidence whatever to suggest that a ban on the AR 15 or other semi-automatic firearms can be constitutionally justified just so politicians can say they have done something to satisfy the natural public desire act in the face of a tragedy like Newtown. A renewal of a juiced up version of the old Clinton “assault weapons” ban would no doubt make Sen. Feinstein and her friends feel good and deny millions of law abiding Americans the right to own and enjoy a gun protected by the Second Amendment,, but would do absolutely nothing to prevent future tragedies.
Blue whale -- LOLOL!
Well, that's the end of any laff deficit left over from crappy old 2012!
Thanx, guys!
That's assuming political people didn't get in there and rewrite everything to attribute the shootings to the Bushmaster, the "evil black gun" ..... oh, and someone mentioned in here, another, related thread, that the weapon found in the trunk of the car was actually a shotgun. (Something like a Saiga maybe, that takes box magazines and has a family resemblance to an AK or a Dragunov.)
Go to the above link
$200+
My brother has an M1 that is fully auto but I don’t know how he got it that way. He said something about converting it but it’s been years since I saw it and shot it. I don’t know if he still has it or not but surely he didn’t get rid of it. I’ll have to ask. That thing was wicked!
Do people really think going off on a killing spree is new?
They might want to read IN THE MATTER OF A PRIVATE by Rudyard Kipling.
http://www.kipling.org.uk/rg_matterprivate1.htm
Then there is the short story AMOK by John Russell.
http://www.unz.org/Pub/RussellJohn-1920-00308
I guess you’ll be getting a visit from someone with a badge soon....
Maybe but I’m not talking to them if they show up or even worried. My brother owned it several years ago and I haven’t seen it in 20 years. If he does still have it he has it someplace it will never be found. TN isn’t very bad to hassle gun owners anyway and I’m sure it’s not registered. It’s not required here unless you buy from a dealer.
U can make an SKS go full auto and all I need is some super glue, but once you pull the trigger it won’t stop till the mag is empty. This happened to me once with a stuck free floating firing pin.
Yup. I have one. I taught my wife how to shoot it and she had never fired a weapon in her life until we got married. She was so proud of the target, it hangs in our garage on the wall. She has a carry permit and her own weapon that fits neatly in her purse. My wife will not be a victim. She is determined to protect herself at all costs. I have my trusty glock which I carry. If the government wants my AR15, I will sell it too them. For five million dollars.
Having been hit by one, I can testify that they indeed hurt. I have seen the ones that kill. The round works. Especially when it starts to tumble upon impact.
A buddy of mine used a Mini-14 for hunting black bear in Alaska, it can be done but then again you can kill an African lion with a .22 short if you are close enough and accurate enough.
On another topic I see a big world of issues coming up, the latest run on AR rifles by your average shooter, your casual shooter, your first time buyer and your average dumbass who is too lazy to clean what he fires.
The AR is NOT the best first time rifle, its NOT the nest for lazy or stupid people. Its the fault of the black rifle cult and gun buy hype that people flock and race to buy this platform.
There will be many casualties from those that fail to maintain their rifle, and I also see a lot of new owners immediately trying to out bling each other, like the movie Cars in the end you see Hummers with those cartoon wagon wheels too afraid to get dirty.
Professional scuba divers rarely use an expensive dive knife, because trying to retrieve one may cost them their life.
I expect that when the revolution occurs you will have a portion of AR owners that will be afraid to get their AR dirty and the morons that fail to clean it right and it fails to function.
I have two AR15’s, will I use them?
You betcha, I can get at least $2,000 each for them right now. I need more mags for my M1A.
Ah what the hell do you know?
I know a guy, who knows a guy, who's married to a lady, who knows a guy that sucked up 99 rounds of 5.56 and was still able to play three rounds of chess against an international Grand Master, then take third place on "Dancing with the Stars" before bleeding out....
Most ARs now have the HBAR 1-9 twist and most ammo is matched to that. Not trying to sound like a know it all but tumbling doesn’t happen much nowadays unless you want it to happen like using a specific load and bullet.
just an observation but two of the first gun grabbers DIFI and that %^&* from Colorado Diana Degette are women...
Is this all moot? Is an R majority congress going to vote for a gun ban?
Just curious: What was your rifle during most of your time in the service? What did you use in Basic Training?
“I don’t think any state allows a .223 for deer.”
Oh Please. Don’t give the anti’s any more ammunition. Many (me included) hunt with an AR in 5.56 (.223). If it’s good enough for a Taliban it’s good enough for the deer we have here in ‘Bama. Roll Tide!!!
The most dangerous weapon that a patriot owns is the multi-purpose organic computer located between his ears.
State to State your milage may vary.
http://www.nrahuntersrights.org/Article.aspx?id=6148
WAR EAGLE!
There is always a jack@$$ in every crowd. I think you qualify with that post.
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