Waiting for the starting pistol

Atlanta Journal Constitution ^ | 09/12/04 | By RHONDA COOK

[spodefly]

Area gun stores resume selling assault rifles after federal ban ends at midnight

Norcross gun store owner Phil Thompson has orders lined up for high-powered assault weapons that once again can be sold legally after midnight.

Beginning Tuesday, Thompson's Gun Shop and hundreds of other weapons dealers across Georgia and the nation can begin delivering on orders for AK-47s, TEC-9s, Uzis and similar weapons banned from shelves for 10 years.

"Everybody is saying this is crazy," Thompson said of the ban's expiration. But he, like many others who opposed the ban, said the prohibition did more harm than good.

"We didn't get here by becoming unarmed and scared," he said. "If we hadn't had guns in 1776, we'd still be bowing to the queen."

[spodefly]

Typical hyperbole and hysteria from the "journalists" at the AJC

[T'wit]

Merely calling them "assault" rifles is propagandistic hyperbole.

Heck, I don't want one anyway. I'm going to hold out for a helicopter gunship.

[spodefly]

This was my favorite part:

Law enforcement officials are bracing for more crime connected to the controversial weapons. The guns can fire dozens of bullets in seconds using magazines that hold more than 100 rounds.

"Young people are being killed on our streets," Atlanta police Chief Richard Pennington said. "A lot are being killed by assault weapons. The ban limited their ability to get them. Once the flood gates open . ."

[hiredhand]

This is GOOD "meltdown material" for our leftists at the media.

Has anybody read any of the stats involving gang bangers in the larger cities? ...specifically with respect to gun fights?!

Please don't quote me on this because I'm certain to be off one way.... but as I remember a great number of rounds were spewed back and forth and their hit rate was about 2%, with many striking lower extremities.

The FUD campaign by the left just isn't working. People just aren't buying it. Post 9/11 is an "armed" world. There's just too many of us who know that "nobody looks after you, like you look after you". 9/11 made that painfully obvious.

[Kenton]

Heck, I don't want one anyway. I'm going to hold out for a helicopter gunship

Yeah, now I can mount one of these puppies on top of my evil SUV! ;)

[VoiceOfBruck]

Norcross gun store owner Phil Thompson has orders lined up for high-powered assault weapons that once again can be sold legally after midnight.

Beginning Tuesday, Thompson's Gun Shop and hundreds of other weapons dealers across Georgia and the nation can begin delivering on orders for AK-47s, TEC-9s, Uzis and similar weapons banned from shelves for 10 years.

What??? Am I missing something? What arms will we be able to buy tomorrow, that we can't buy today? I really have tried to get educated on the AWB, and AFAIK, it just governed certain "features" of rifles like magazine capacity, bayonet lugs, flash suppressors, etc., but are there actual rifles/sub-MGs that were banned and will now be available?

[upcountryhorseman]

This article is bravo sierra! there has been a law on the
books for years regarding machine guns. This law banned many semi-auto weapons.

[T'wit]

Ooh, I want one of those, especially to deal with pesky squirrels and other varmints.

[Kenton]

Yeah, fill all your extra deer tags in one day!

[Kenton]

What??? Am I missing something? What arms will we be able to buy tomorrow, that we can't buy today? I really have tried to get educated on the AWB, and AFAIK, it just governed certain "features" of rifles like magazine capacity, bayonet lugs, flash suppressors, etc., but are there actual rifles/sub-MGs that were banned and will now be available?

Don't get too excited, the differences are primarily cosmetic. Now you'll be able to buy an AR-15 with a bayonet lug or a telescoping stock. Not that big a deal to most people, but nice in principle...

[Chemist_Geek]

but are there actual rifles/sub-MGs that were banned and will now be available?

Yes, there was a list of firearms banned by name, as well as the Evil Features.

The same pre-1994 rules will apply to automatic firearms, though. The so-called "mainstream" media is playing right along with the gun-grabbers, trying to plant the seed in peoples' heads that full-up AK-47s and M-16s are now routine, uncontrolled. Nothing could be further from the truth.

[VoiceOfBruck]

Thanks. My main interest in the awb up to this point has been trying to figure out what's legal/illegal to do with my SKS.

[Kenton]

Your SKS is legal, and was legal under the ban. It wasn't included.

I have heard about some people with SKS's getting hassled because of the bayonets, but that's a moot point as of today.

[Teacher317]

Another FReeper noted on another AWB thread that only FIVE people have been convicted of violating this statute in TEN years. Not exactly worth all the fuss, is it Dems?

[Redbob]

Actually, that should be "Beginning Monday,..." since the Ban expired this morning at 1 minute after Midnight.

Those doubting me can check out the ATF website, "www.jackbootedthugs.gov"

(or ATF.gov LOL!)

[Chemist_Geek]

I haven't done anything to my SKS either. As Kenton points out, anything short of converting it to full-auto is now perfectly legal.

Since I didn't have a receipt or other paperwork, I didn't want to futz with it. 'Course, ever since I got my Garand, I haven't even taken the SKS out of the locker...