Posted on 02/16/2018 8:10:52 AM PST by Simon Green
Last night, Jonathon Fishman of the Broward County Sheriff’s Department revealed that mass murderer Nikolas Cruz used a Smith & Wesson AR15 semi-automatic rifle to kill 17 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.American Outdoor Brands, the holding company that owns the Smith & Wesson brand, has not commented on the revelation. Nor should we expect a comment to be forthcoming. What we can expect is the ongoing demonization of America’s most popular rifle platform as a “high powered” firearm, a “weapon of war” whose sole purpose is taking as much innocent life as quickly as possible. Like this:
In Florida, an AR-15 Is Easier to Buy Than a Handgun – New York Times
But other features that make the AR-15 so deadly on the battlefield remain. It is light, easy to hold and easy to fire, with a limited recoil. Bullets fly out of the muzzle more than twice as fast as most handgun rounds.
Equally important for a gunman looking to do a lot of damage in a hurry: AR-15-style weapons are fed with box magazines that can be swapped out quickly. The standard magazine holds 30 rounds. Equipped in this way, a gunman can fire more than a hundred rounds in minutes.
Here’s What You Need To Know About The Weapons Of War Used In Mass Shootings – Huffington Post
But the very same traits that have made them the preferred weapon for military personnel and sport shooters are what make them a natural choice for those who want to inflict senseless violence with maximum casualties.
It now seems the toll of mass killers is limited only by their choice of weapon, their training and their target. The political response to that terrifying reality has been to hope that people will choose not to kill. That plan clearly isn’t working.
It’s time to bring back the assault weapons ban, gun violence experts say – Washington Post
The killers in recent incidents like Las Vegas, Orlando and Sutherland Springs were each able to walk into a gun shop in the days and months before their attacks, and legally purchase their assault weapons and magazines after passing a standard background check. Under an assault weapons ban, that wouldn’t be possible . . .
In 2016 the New York Times asked 32 gun policy experts to rate the effectiveness of a variety of policy changes to prevent mass shootings. The roster of experts included violence prevention researchers like Harvard’s David Hemenway, as well as more ideologically driven gun rights advocates like John Lott.
On a scale of effectiveness ranging from 1 (not effective) to 10 (highly effective), the expert panel gave an average score of 6.8 to both an assault weapons ban and a ban on high-capacity magazines, the highest ratings among the nearly 30 policies surveyed.
And so on . . .
Smith and Wesson? Sure is a good thing he didn’t buy a Bushmaster. Last I heard those were super-lethal.
Tough to have a grown up discussion when the Left refuses to acknowledge facts.
I don’t care how many idiot killers the Democrats send out.
After the Democrats used armored vehicles to kill children at Waco, I’ll never support gun control.
One idiot Democrat Killer is a problem.
Millions of Democrat killers is the apocalypse.
I really can't believe that these fools are wrong/misinformed as consistently as they are.
Unless someone is shooting back.
What caliber?
I’m wondering what more is possible in the case of madmen who haven’t yet been found to be madmen. It was tragedy that Cruz went and got this gun while blind with rage.
But do we need to be blind too. I don’t know how it would sit with 2A purists to have a law requiring a psych test of people buying sufficiently large weapons. To try to see if they are in a rage. And if they are, to forbid the sale and refer the person to a choice of psychological or spiritual counseling. Now even this could go wrong — any law of mankind can — but the horse of philosopher kingship is already well out of the courts’ barn. Staying ahead of the curve to mitigate court decree harms may be the best we can do in the short run.
Good point
Don’t mock even these fools too much, for they are state fools and possess great weapons of mischief on their own.
Even liberals I know, realize that gun control isn’t the problem.
The only people that clamor for gun control, are the ones that would like to point a gun AT US.
It’s noticeable that these idiots never mention the “caliber” of these firearms. It’s: (1) because they do to know, or (2) to say that it fires a .223 projectile just mitigates their “high caliber” argument.
It’s okay to take away mentally ill people’s firearms, but put them back in confined care to protect society from baseball bat attack, or knife attack. etc.
Well what do you mean by gun control.
Even if it is to hit what ought to be hit, it also has to be to not hit what ought not to be hit.
What do we do with madmen without yet turning into a “psychiatric state”? If “conservatives” will not thread this needle wisely, “liberals” will do it perhaps unwisely.
Another rant... PING
AR-15. Looked to be the same weapon that those oppressors-with-badges carried as they ran to the sound of gunfire.
Good question!..I think I heard .22 cal
Not that .22 cant be lethal but Id like to learn more....22 Magnum or Hornet maybe?... and BTW...Welcome Home Brother!
Welcome home to both of you brothers ... I like my 5.56x45 in 62 grain as opposed to 55 grain
5.56 oe .223
Ruger Mini 14 fires either, very little difference in the two, size wise.
Enough difference for an AR15
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