Rational Basis Analysis of "Assault Weapon" Prohibition (Long, but must read)

Independence Institute ^ | 1994 | David Kopel

[Atlas Sneezed]

"Hm, not exactly an informed gunowner, are you? You shouldn't post on topics of which you know nothing."

I suspect he knows plenty about guns, but is a little too affectionate toward government in general, and is happy to have individuals crippled while cops and the standing army is not.

I'd like to hear the government's interest in forcing the Korean shopkeepers to reload more often while defending their property and family against attacking looters. Full-capacity magazines are precisely necessary for urban defense, in a scenario when there may be multiple determined attackers.

If they are commonly issued to the military, there must be a good reason to have them.

[spodefly]

BTTT

[Trailerpark Badass]

.. like by the gangs during prohibition?

I'm sure "common sense" gun laws would stop them about as well as the 18th Amendment did.

[Trailerpark Badass]

Baaaaad article. Quite literally falls apart in several places in the last several paragraphs IMNSHO ...

Care to explain?

[ZULU]

I agree with you. WE do not need to present a "reason" for possessing anything. The burden is on the state for presenting a reason why we shouldn't have it - and in the case of firearms, especially of military type shoulder firearms, there is no compelling logical reason they should deny us that right - as the abhove article so tellingly illustrates.

[Bryan24]

M-60 Machine Gun = Assault weapon

M249 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon) = Assault weapon

M-16 = Personal Rifle

Unless you are a member of the uniformed armed services, you should not be allowed to have possesion of the top 2. They are not precision weapons but weapons used to kill by utilizing overwhelming fire. That is why we have armies.

Any citizen of the United States should be allowed to own the bottom weapon (subject to some common sense restrictions, convicted violent felons, etc...). It is a precision weapon, even with full auto capabilities available.

Just my personal opinion.

[ZULU]

There is no litmus test for participating in this forum. Unfortunately, I believe there are any number of "stealth" liberals repsonding to posts here, particularly on guns, Muslims and illegal aliens.

The current President said, when he ran for office that he would impose no new gun laws nor revoke any gun laws currently in existence - hence his indication he would sign the unconstitutional assault rifle ban. Some of his staff -
Ashcroft and Rice come to mind - support the Second Amendment. Others of his staff - the notoroious Chrisse Whitman for example - are anti-gun. Bush is NOT a conservative, regardless of the fine job he did in Iraq. He is a genuine Republican moderate. He merely APPEARS to be conservative to some people as a consequence of the far left liberals we have had in office in the past, and due to the radical lefts hatred for anyone who is not a far leftist.

The antigunners in America are determined to legislate the Secind Amendment into meaninglessness. They are trying to do this on several levels.
1) By enacting legisaltion restricting or banning young people from using or even being exposed to a positive image of firearms, they are brain wasing the next generation into anti-gunners.

2) As more and more of the Country becomes developed and the animal rights fanatics become more and more virulent, the sport of hunting is losing it adherents.

3) By revising history into an attack on dead white European males, they are attcking renactment groups who use firearms like the NSSA and Brigade of the American Revolution.

4) By continually harping on the deaths of "children" and other fraudulent data, they continually link in the public mind firarms and crime.

5) The mass media, overwhelming anti-Constitutionalist, will publish ANY gun fatality regardless of what remote part of the Country it occurs in, while NEVER publicizing the effective use of firearms to deter a criminal.

We have a hard job ahead of us, but if they take away the Second Amendment like this, they can do in the other Amendments just as easily.

[mvpel]

Unless you are a member of the uniformed armed services, you should not be allowed to have possesion of the top 2. They are not precision weapons but weapons used to kill by utilizing overwhelming fire. That is why we have armies.

Any citizen of the United States should be allowed to own the bottom weapon (subject to some common sense restrictions, convicted violent felons, etc...). It is a precision weapon, even with full auto capabilities available.

"Allowed?"

My friend, you seriously lack a critical bit of understanding about the meaning of the Constitution. This nation was founded on the principle that all POWER and all RIGHTS are inherent in the soverign individual citizen. For the purposes of effective government, in order to allow it to achieve its purpose of SAFEGUARDING THE RIGHTS of the individual citizen, we DELEGATED some specific powers to the Federal government.

If the government has the power to purchase a SAW or a door gun, then BY DEFINITION, the individual citizen from whom that power derives also has that power, and that right.

Among those powers delegated WAS NOT the power to dictate which firearms are and are not to be "allowed" to the citizens. "Shall not be infringed" -- ring any bells?

We don't live in a monarchy, where our rights and freedoms are subject to the whims of some bureaucrat or jittery king.

And indeed, if you've got the dough, you can buy yourself an Apache helicopter complete with door gun, or your own private SAW, in Nevada and other states which still understand the meaning of the right to keep and bear arms.

[mvpel]

THIS article is what should be mailed to every member of Congress and the president, not some stupid temper-tantrum "poll."

[Badray]

If he argued factually rather than attacking the poster, I wouldn't have a problem. But he tries to highjack the thread and distract from the discussion.

[HenryLeeII]

Who are you or the government to decide at what capacity a magazine becomes excessive? And yes, the Korean storeowners you mentioned made good use of firearms to protect their property and livelihood.

[eno_]

Quite so! It's the federal government that has it's duties and functions enumerated in the Constitution. Everything else is for the people, or the governments of the states in which they live.

[vannrox]

.

Don't be too sure that Bush will extend the assault gun ban. All this is spin. It is being treated as if it is a foregone conclusion. I think that everyone here might be pleasantly surprised...

.

[Kenno]

I'm not at all sure he will either. I actually have a pretty hard time believing he'll sell out his base right before a close election. It may be that he's just trying to keep the RINO's calm until after he's gotten their votes for his tax cut.

[mvpel]

We need to get busy delivering this article to our congress critters.

[PatrioticAmerican]

".. like by the gangs during prohibition? "

You are absolutely right, _Jim. There is no need to have automatic weapons or weapons of assault weapon style to kill innocent people...the FBI has done it many times.

The FBI killed an innocent woman and her baby with a bolt action rifle. The FBI shot a kid in the face point blank using only one round. etc, etc, etc.

Get the picture? Your beloved Famous But Incompetents have killed using less than assault weapons.

[PatrioticAmerican]

"What 'tank cannon'?

Is this more "urban legend" in the making?
"

Not if you consider that a tank used its cannon to destroy a building. The cannon may not have been used to fire a projectile, but it was used in the destruction that lead to the killing of those women and children.

[PatrioticAmerican]

"clip"??? I believe the term is "magazine". You must be a fed. You know, the people that don't know dick about firearms but love to abuse the privilege of having them by shooting people without cause.

[PatrioticAmerican]

If assault wepaons are only for killing lots of people quickly, then why does your beloved feds have them???

Have they the need to kill many of us quickly???

[Lurker]

The one they used to pump CS gas into the building jerkoff.

L