How big a Gun does Anyone Need?

American Thinker ^ | January 17, 2013 | Gary Henderson

[neverdem]

The public discourse suddenly swirls angrily around this issue: How big a gun should people be allowed to own, with how many bullets? Despite all the furor, the question has a very simple answer. But it's the wrong question.

Even those who routinely carry a concealed weapon, and certainly many who don't, wrestle with the question, "How much firepower does anyone need?" Perhaps those who don't own weapons think the answer should be very close to zero. Those who know that many times each year violent attacks are stopped when someone simply shows a weapon understand that self-defense tools are legitimate and necessary, but still worry about where the line should be above that level.

Legislators are hurriedly drafting a variety of bills to answer the question, phrasing them in terms of how evil a weapon looks, whether it automatically chambers the next shell for you, and how many cartridges it can feed. For those more knowledgeable about guns, the real concern is with things far beyond the personal defense category: rocket-propelled grenades, for example, the sort of things jihadists bring to a party at the U.S. embassy.

Here are some simple, foundational ideas to help sort it out.

The first principle is that the federal government has no constitutional say whatsoever in the size or quantity of weapons maintained by the people -- because that very government is the most dangerous person in the room. The Second Amendment has one purpose: to ensure that "we the people" can withstand a tyrannical government, for perhaps the first time in history. The writings of James Madison (Federalist #46), among others, make that abundantly clear...

[saleman]

“How big a gun does anybody need?”

Many people, not just barking moonbats, don’t know anything about firearms, and don’t care to learn. That’s OK, that is their right, but if you are ignorant of the debate then you don’t have the right to just make up your own facts.

The debate of the minute is about “assault rifles (sic)” The assault rifle’s in question are 5.56mm/.223. This is pretty much the smallest center fire rifle
calibre, and hence, the smallest bullet commonly used. I said commonly. I realize .17 calibre is available. Now, bullet size is not 100% of the destructive power of a particular weapon but it along with velocity is.

Many people believe, and I have been personally told on this forum, that because our Military use this cartridge, that it has some mythical power to “blow people apart” and cause “tremendous destruction”. Actually, this weapon shoots a cartridge that is in probably the lower 10% of all centerfire rifle cartridges as far as “energy” which roughly translates into killing power.

You’ll hear all kind of things, like “cop killer” bullets. Bullets that “gasp” can defeat body armor. Hollow point bullets that are designed to “blow up” just for killing humans. All of these are misleading at best (10%), repeated out of ignorance (40%) and 50% out and out lies.

If the debate was “how big a gun do you need” then the AR-15 in 5.56 would be the absolute smallest you would need to consider.

[Nailbiter]

I will remember that- I do love making them scream!!