Posted on 01/08/2013 5:51:00 AM PST by Tailgunner Joe
Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal backed banning assault weapons on Tuesday, saying guns like the M4 and M16 belong in the hands of soldiers, not on the streets.
”I spent a career carrying typically either a M16 and later, a M4 carbine,” McChrystal said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “And a M4 carbine fires a .223 caliber round, which is 5.56 millimeters, at about 3,000 feet per second. When it hits a human body, the effects are devastating. It’s designed to do that. That’s what our soldiers ought to carry.”
He added, “I personally don’t think there’s any need for that kind of weaponry on the streets and particularly around the schools in America. I believe that we’ve got to take a serious look — I understand everybody’s desire to have whatever they want — we have to protect our children and our police and we have to protect our population. And I think we have to take a very mature look at that.”
McChrystal, who resigned as the top commander in Afghanistan after a Rolling Stone article portrayed him criticizing President Barack Obama, was promoting his memoir, “My Share of the Task.”
Obama is preparing to introduce legislation aiming to prevent mass shootings by the end of the month. Vice President Joe Biden is leading a task force on the issue and is reportedly considering a ban on assault weapons.
“I think we have to look at this legislation,” McChrystal said. “The number of people killed by firearms is extraordinary compared to other nations. I don’t think we’re a bloodthirsty culture, and we need to look at everything we can do to safeguard our people.”
When David Petraeus took a 5.56mm round through the chest, he was up jogging again two days later.
Attackers in Mogadishu had to be shot several times to stop them.
Hardly what I would call devastating.
That's why I don't own anything that shoots 5.56mm.
I agree. I find that they actually KNOW much less about the actual document they have sworn to defend (and the founder’s intent) than most civilians at the same level. All those years under UCMJ have misguided them somewhat.
And yet, the violence rate is more severe in other nations.
Why is it that liberals and gun grabbers think that death by firearm is worse than death by brutal beating with an iron pipe?
“And a M4 carbine fires a .223 caliber round, which is 5.56 millimeters, at about 3,000 feet per second. When it hits a human body, the effects are devastating. It’s designed to do that. That’s what our soldiers ought to carry.”
McChrystal has become quite the little propagandist.
A typical 300 win mag round or 12 gage shotgun slug will generate over three times the muzzle energy of the fearsome M4 and a Taylor KO (knock out) factor of ten times greater than the 5.56 nato round. The 41 mag generates a Taylor KO factor of three times the M4.
I’m guessing pretty much all shotguns, rifles and handguns really don’t need to be in the hands of civilians. After all, they’re just too devastating.
Loved him in City Slickers.
This guy is a pure moron.
.223 is devastating, as opposed to all the others? Please.
Hey Ted Cruz, existing laws are unconstitutional! What do you have to say about that?
It is obvious that the 2nd Amendment prevents the government from infringing on the pre-existing right of individuals to own military type small arms. Federal court rulings support exactly this view. Has McCrystal read the Constitution?
Lessons the Founders gained from the Revolutionary War included the idea that ad hoc, untrained, ill-armed militias were unreliable and ineffective at fighting a conventional war, as then understood. The 2nd A’s enigmatic words “well-regulated” did not imply “government micromanagement” in the modern sense of “EPA regulations” (a concept that did not exist then). They address the need for militia to be armed with “regulation” weapons (i.e., the same as REGULAR army), and to have “regulation” training in their use, so that units could fight cohesively and predictably. Other provisions of the Constitution require Congress to provide for arming and training the militia — a duty they manifestly fail to perform (our tiny National Guard is obviously not the militia). Interesting how the Founders trusted the People more than the very government that they, themselves, were creating. Do McCrystal, Obama, Finestein, et al., trust the People?
But in CW2 it is the weapon of the opposition and there will never be a shortage of ammo for it. So it has some value.
He had me until he opened his mouth.
In some states (I think still the majority), you can purchase a fully automatic M16 manufactured or imported before May 19, 1986 and registered with ATF. There is a ton of paperwork and since the supply is limited, it won't be cheap. And it will use a lot of ammo.
But he is nuts! The semi-automatic AR that looks a bit like an M4 is referred to by some as an "M4gery". It's just a semi-automatic carbine that is black and scary. I'd love to be able to buy a real M4, but I can't legally do so.
As you said ... it’s not “devastating”. ;-)
I have been looking for some time for any evidence that a registered, civilian-owned automatic weapon has been used in a crime. The tiny number of crimes committed with automatic weapons all utilized illegal weapons smuggled from Central America or illegally modified civilian weapons. Has a BATFE-registered automatic weapon ever been used in a crime?
Bueller??
The unfaithful-to-the-constitution general was justifying his stance on the energy in a (single) .223 projectile.
He's just another big government lackey. I fart in his general direction.
Come on Stan! I always thought you were a smart Flag Officer. You just blew your cover. Go into retirement somewhere and shut up you moron!
Watched the interview on Hannity last night in horror. He not only voted for Bam in ‘08 but obviously did in ‘12 too..by his refusal to say whom he supported.
Every time he spoke about the Kenyan Marxist, it was with deference and respect.
What a doofus...liked his wife way better than him.
And why do these former military and other “wronged” disgraced public figures inevitably feel the need to profit from a stupid book? I wouldn’t buy it if it was a penny.
I am so sick of hearing this line of BS. You are incorrect using a blanket statement. The few upper upper ranked mouth pieces that spew this stuff do not speak for the rank and file members of the military and LEO. Very few constitution loving patriots rise up in the ranks because they are too busy doing the real work.
I made it a point to tell everyone I knew an contacted when I was an LEO that my commanding officer and the Association of Police Chiefs did not speak for me or most of the people I worked with.
I’ve heard stories that a policeman owning a full-auto weapon used his in an (off-duty) crime, but have no details.
Yes, twice.
Since 1934, there appear to have been at least two homicides committed with legally owned automatic weapons. One was a murder committed by a law enforcement officer (as opposed to a civilian). On September 15th, 1988, a 13-year veteran of the Dayton, Ohio police department, Patrolman Roger Waller, then 32, used his fully automatic MAC-11 .380 caliber submachine gun to kill a police informant, 52-year-old Lawrence Hileman. Patrolman Waller pleaded guilty in 1990, and he and an accomplice were sentenced to 18 years in prison. The 1986 ‘ban’ on sales of new machine guns does not apply to purchases by law enforcement or government agencies.
Source: talk.politics.guns FAQ, part 2.
The other homicide, possibly involving a legally owned machine gun, occurred on September 14, 1992, also in Ohio (source).
http://members.cox.net/arporro/photos/Sh…;
Yep. My dad was a career military guy who retired from the Army as a LTC. When I asked him why he didn't just stay, and continue on to the general officer ranks, he told me that he didn't sign on to be a politician. He loved the Army, but the politics forced him out.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.