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I started shooting when I was 7. My father was a Sherrif's Deputy for 27 years of my life. I did six years in the military. I have no criminal record.

But just because you think it is a good idea, I need to sit through a class written for dumbasses for TEN TO TWELVE HOURS and pay upwards of $150 for the class! Above and beyond that, I need to PROVE I'm not a criminal despite our "innocent until proven guilty" legal system.

All to exercise a Right the Founders considered so fundamental to freedom in this country they included protections for it in our Federal Constitution. If you have to ask permission, it isn't a Right.

Be a frightened little rabbit if you want, but never assume that the rest of us are as stupid and evil as you seem to think we are.

First of all you have taken what I said out of context and put your own spin on it. But the following statement of yours is ludicrous:

Above and beyond that, I need to PROVE I'm not a criminal despite our "innocent until proven guilty" legal system.

So you think that checks to see if a criminal is purchasing guns is wrong? Give this person a break! What about the criminal who hits the streets after having committed armed robbery -- guess according to you he should be allowed to go out the prison gate and go buy another gun. What world are you living in?

The need to renew the ban is clear. There is no need for military style, semiautomatic weapons that are designed to kill as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. Equally clear is the need to strengthen the ban. Almost immediately after the law's passage in 1994, the gun industry began evading it, manufacturing "sporterized" weapons just as deadly as their banned counterparts: UZIs, MAC-10s, AK-47s, AR-15s, and others. The Bushmaster assault rifle used in the Washington, DC-area sniper shootings is just one example of a "sporterized", post-ban assault rifle used to kill and maim.

A new analysis of FBI data has found that from 1998 through 2001, one in five law enforcement officers slain in the line of duty was killed with an assault weapon. At the same time, terrorist training manuals found in Afghanistan and available on web sites around the world urge terrorists to come to the United States, obtain assault weapons, and then learn how to use them against us.

Found the above on a website -- if true about the number of Law Enforcement slain with assault weapons, then I have even a bigger trouble with the gun industry and gun lobby. As a matter of fact, after your attack on me and your saying that criminal background checks at least for you should not be conducted, I am now on the side of the folks who only believe that rifles, shotguns, and handguns should be in the hands of citizens. Your defense of no criminal background checks sent a shiver up my spine as I have a close relative in law enforcement.

Looks like President Reagan and Bush 41 didn't think much of assault weapons being sold in this country either!

Q: What are the provisions of the ban?

A: On September 13, 1994, domestic gun manufacturers were required to stop production of semi-automatic assault weapons and ammunition clips holding more than 10 rounds except for military or police use. Imports of assault weapons not already banned by administrative action under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush were also halted. Assault weapons and ammunition clips holding more than 10 rounds produced prior to September 13, 1994, were "grandfathered" in under the law and can still be possessed and sold.

The bill bans, by name, the manufacture of 19 different weapons:

Norinco, Mitchell, and Poly Technologies Avtomat Kalashnikovs (all models);
Action Arms Israeli Military Industries UZI and Galil;
Beretta Ar70 (SC-70);
Colt AR-15;
Fabrique National FN/FAL, FN/LAR, and FNC;
SWD M-10; M-11; M-11/9, and M-12;
Steyr AUG;
INTRATEC TEC-9, TEC-DC9, AND TEC-22;
revolving cylinder shotguns such as (or similar to) the Street Sweeper and Striker 12.
The bill also bans "copies" or "duplicates" of any of those weapons. The failure to include a ban of these "copies" or "duplicates" would have opened the door for widespread evasion of the ban. Even so, some unscrupulous gun manufacturers have tried to evade the law by making minor changes to their assault weapons in order to skirt the restrictions.

The 1994 law also prohibits manufacturers from producing firearms with more than one of the following assault weapon features:

Rifles

Folding/telescoping stock
Protruding pistol grip
Bayonet mount
Threaded muzzle or flash suppressor
Grenade launcher
Pistols

Magazine outside grip
Threaded muzzle
Barrel shroud
Unloaded weight of 50 ounces or more
Semi-automatic version of a fully automatic weapon
Shotguns

Folding/telescoping stock
Protruding pistol grip
Detachable magazine capacity
Fixed magazine capacity greater than 5 rounds

Q: Does the law ban all semi-automatic guns? Does it affect hunting rifles and shotguns?

A: No. The definition of an assault weapon is tightly drawn. Only semi-automatic guns with multiple assault weapon features are banned (see below). Traditional guns designed for use in hunting and recreational activities are not affected. To alleviate concerns that hunting weapons somehow might be affected, the law provides specific protection to 670 types of hunting rifles and shotguns that are presently being manufactured. The list is not exhaustive and a gun does not have to be on the list to be protected. Again, the only weapons that are prohibited are those with multiple assault weapon features.