Renew ban on assault weapons

Denver Post ^ | 16 dec07

[rellimpank]

Matthew Murray has given us another reason to renew the ban on high-powered assault weapons.

Murray was the troubled young man who killed four people last Sunday and injured others at religious organizations in Arvada and Colorado Springs. Almost exactly a year before the rampage, he purchased an AK-47 assault rifle and a large shipment of ammunition. Less than two months later, he purchased another.

He was armed with a Bushmaster XM-15 assault rifle, the kind used by military and law-enforcement personnel, during his killing spree in Colorado Springs. He also had handguns. The AK-47 assault rifle was found in the trunk of his car.

Such extraordinary firepower is not meant for hunting animals or target shooting. We see only one other purpose. And so did Murray.

The gun control debate is tricky, and emotional. But Congress should move quickly to re-enact a federal assault weapons prohibition.

[marktwain]

“Such extraordinary firepower is not meant for hunting animals or target shooting. We see only one other purpose. And so did Murray.”

Such selective and unimaginative intellects.

Millions of so called “assault rifles” are owned by the general public, yet they number among the rarest of guns used in crime. This is diametrically opposed to the quote above, yet it doesn’t phase the authors that reality is so at odds with their world view.

They also see no contradiction between the fact that these rifles are “used by the military and police”, and their assertion that the rifles only use is to kill large numbers of people. They use their selective vision not to see that the police and military in America kill vanishingly small numbers of people with these rifles.

Cognitive dissonance for all the world to see.

[muawiyah]

A real man's "assault weapon" is usually uncomfortably heavy. Having carried several different types in the Infantry, I know I'd much prefer something much lighter and easier to use when I go "out on the town" to hunt down stupid newspaper reporters.

This guy in Denver would never suspect for a moment that he was in trouble he'd be so busy looking for a big ol' assault weapon.

[FunkyZero]

Those aren’t assault weapons at all.

But here is one:
http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/-/c/ted_kennedy_hooters.jpg

By the way, can someone tell me how to post a picture in the body of a comment? I can never figure it out

[Flintlock]

Doesn’t anybody notice that virtually ALL of these beserkers are on Mind-altering drugs—one SIDE EFFECT of these drugs is this kind of unfocused HOSTILITY towards people in general?
This side-effect happens in a significant number of patients.
DUH!

[muawiyah]

They were that way anyway.

[djf]

Easy.

A “LESS THAN” sign followed by text similar to this:

img src=”http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/-/c/ted_kennedy_hooters.jpg";

Then follow the mess with a “greater than” sign.

[ExGeeEye]

Leave out the ampersand:

<&img src=http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/-/c/ted_kennedy_hooters.jpg>

[2harddrive]

Why don’t the “police” turn in THEIR assault rifles? They just use them for mass killing sprees like Waco and Ruby Ridge. Now is the time for real Americans to put the 2nd Amendment FIRST!

[PubliusMM]

Yep...the Brady Bunch is out in force on this one, and the one in Omaha.
And, it is just such incidents as these that make RKBA so important in our society. LEO can’t prevent crime...they can’t defend and protect you (regardless of what they paint on their cars). The primary responsibility for your safety is yours and yours, alone.

I’m sick to death of these bleeding heart, knee jerk liberals trampling on my God given rights. Time for them all to grab a nice warm mug of STFU and settle in for the night. The rest of us will bail out their sorry butts when the excrement hits the rotating air movement device...again.

[wastedyears]

***Politicians learned a painful lesson the first time they enacted this ban. They are not likely to repeat it.***

Who was it that said something about human stupidity, that he wasn’t sure of?

[wastedyears]

Thanks, now I don’t think I can eat ‘till about Tuesday morning.

[Da Coyote]

Not to worry. The Post is in a full stall, spin to follow...ending in crash. It’s normally two or three days behind Drudge now...and the difference is widening. The writers are clownish, and can be relied upon to oppose guns and support illegals.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Overlooking the obvious.

[goldstategop]

They're stupid. They're not automatic weapons! Then again the MSM is abysmally ignorant about guns.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[wastedyears]

I’m not doubting you at all, but could you please provide a link to information about the .22 being the murder’s firearm of choice?

[djf]

I had heard it a while back (on some media show).

So I was just googling to verify it, but haven’t found it yet.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I still remember from 40 years ago when the Denver Post only wanted to ban “saturday night specials” like the Ruger .22 semi auto pistol.

Yes, they considered the Ruger pistol to be a “saturday night special”.

[FunkyZero]

All the data I find is pretty old, and it all seems to be using the same statistical data. Here is a sample:

http://www.ojp.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/guic.pdf

We have to always keep in mind the trends on firearms.
20 years ago, a 70’s model car was most driven, today it is not for obvious reasons, th same hold true for these statistics, I doubt they are even close to being accurate, but do take note of the trend towards larger calibers over time.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Such extraordinary firepower is not meant for hunting animals or target shooting. We see only one other purpose...

---

Me too. The purpose is to frighten, and if needed, kill tyrants and their troops.

[rellimpank]

—IIRC, Neal Knox pointed out about thirty years ago that the publicity given criminals and the type of fiearms that they use, along with ban attempts, cause an upgrading, as it were, in the type of firearm used in crime-—