Fate of military arms part of larger gun issues

The Washington Times (AP) ^ | Dec 1, 2003 | Tom Stuckey

[neverdem]

ANNAPOLIS

[neverdem]

LOL, FWIW.

[debaryfl]

>> "They are especially deadly and are designed for inflicting lethal harm on a large number of people at once," Mr. Quinter said.

Rifles or Democrat politicians? You be the judge.

[neverdem]

I'm still scratching my head about the HTML loss of paragraphs. You're asking a really tough question.

[NYFriend]

"I fired M16s in the Army reserves, and nobody needs them," [Garagiola] said. "These weapons are designed to kill people, not a deer."

He's right, although I guess a 5.56 NATO round would be OK for varmant (four-legged, not two) hunting. Who needs the M16? HK makes nice rifles, as does Herstal. I always thought Mini-14 was a better rifle than the M16. The new Russian infantry rifle is the worst idea since the M16. We should ban the M16 and M4 from our military. 5.56 might be the way to go, or you might want a heavier NATO standard round, but the Armalite design could be improved upon. Anyone know why the charging handle on the M16 is the way it is? Is it just so you have a reason for a forward assist?

[demlosers]

ANNAPOLIS — With a federal prohibition on sale of military-style semiautomatic rifles set to expire next year, gun control advocates in the Maryland legislature plan to push for a state ban during the legislative session that begins in January.

"I doubt very much that Congress will reauthorize the federal ban," said Delegate Neil Quinter, Howard County Democrat. He and state Sen. Rob Garagiola, Montgomery County Democrat, plan to introduce companion bills in the House and Senate to ban weapons they say serve no legitimate purpose. "They are especially deadly and are designed for inflicting lethal harm on a large number of people at once," Mr. Quinter said. Opponents and supporters of gun control are considering introducing other bills that would expand or restrict the rights of gun owners, but bills dealing with semiautomatic rifles and shotguns are expected to be at the center of the battle over guns during the 2004 General Assembly session.

A state police report questioning the usefulness of Maryland's ballistic fingerprinting law for handguns may forestall an attempt to expand that law to include long guns. State Sen. Jennie Forehand, Montgomery County Democrat, said she is considering such a bill.


Supporters of gun rights would like to repeal the ballistic fingerprinting law and pass a "right to carry" bill that would allow Marylanders to carry concealed weapons without a permit. But given the legislative bent toward gun control, there may be no effort to increase gun rights. "I think we are realists. We know what can get passed and what can't," said Senate Minority Leader J. Lowell Stoltzfus, Somerset County Republican. Delegate Carmen Amedori, Carroll County Republican, said she is considering introducing "right to carry" legislation to repeal the law requiring a state police permit to carry a weapon. But Mrs. Amedori said that "the biggest thing on the radar screen is the assault weapons ban. We want to make sure that doesn't reach the governor's desk." Even if Democratic supporters get the assault weapons bill through the legislature, it might be a candidate for a gubernatorial veto, aides to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. say. "He believes that a so-called assault weapons ban is a folly.

Assault weapons are not used in crimes in Maryland," said Paul Schurick, Mr. Ehrlich's communications director. "The governor has made it clear to the few legislators that have raised this issue that he will not support any legislation to ban the weapons," Mr. Schurick said.


Maryland bans the sale of some semiautomatic pistols, but the state has relied on the federal law to ban sale of long guns such as the AK47 and Uzi. Mr. Garagiola said his bill would be aimed at weapons that are the equivalent of the M16 rifle carried by members of the military. "I fired M16s in the Army reserves, and nobody needs them," he said. "These weapons are designed to kill people, not a deer." "Nobody's going to talk about taking away hunting rifles. We're not trying to infringe on the Second Amendment," Mr. Garagiola said.

The federal law was passed in 1994, and will expire Sept. 13 unless Congress votes to extend it. President Bush has voiced support for extending the ban, but he is not expected to lobby aggressively for it, and Mr. Quinter predicted Republican congressional leaders will not allow passage of a bill to continue the ban. Opponents of a ban on private ownership of semiautomatic weapons argue they are not the kind of guns used by criminals and the ban does not reduce crime. "That's just wrong," Mr. Quinter said.

A report by the Justice Department found that the murder rate dropped nationally when the federal law went into effect and that the biggest drop came in states that did not already have a state law banning sale of assault weapons, he said. State Sen. Brian E. Frosh, Montgomery County Democrat and chairman of the Senate committee that handles gun bills, said he supports the Garagiola-Quinter bills, but doesn't know if they can pass the legislature and become law. "It's an uphill climb. I'll put it that way," he said. Maryland gun owners had hoped that Mr. Ehrlich, who opposed most federal gun laws, would move quickly to repeal state laws, which are among the strongest in the country.

He said during the 2002 campaign that he would look at existing state gun laws to see if they have been effective in fighting crime and would try to repeal laws that don't work. Jim Purtillo, a gun rights activist and publisher of a pro-gun newsletter, Tripwire, said he is disappointed "that a more aggressive and objective investigation has not been done as candidate Ehrlich promised." He said the governor should support efforts to get rid of the ballistic fingerprinting law passed in 2000 that established a database of unique marking on cartridge cases from guns sold in Maryland.

"Why are we fully funding a social experiment like this when we should be talking about school textbooks or road construction?" Mr. Purtillo asked. A report from state police released in September said the program has produced only four "hits" so far, in each case matching a gun to one stolen in a robbery of a gun store.

State police said the program should be continued because it would take three to six years to collect enough records to make the database an effective tool to fight crime. But it recommended that the law not be expanded, as Mrs. Forehand has suggested, to include long guns until there is more of a track record on whether the database will be a useful tool to help solve crimes.

[NY.SS-Bar9]

I always thought Mini-14 was a better rifle than the M16.

You obviously don't know a damn thing about the subject.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

We need them for you, Mr Garagiola.
We need them for you.

[laotzu]

The Ruger Mini-14 is a far superior weapon to the Mattel M-16.

It is obvious to anyone that knows a damn thing about the subject. Others guess wrong.

[neverdem]

Thanks for your effort in making paragraphs, but I'm afraid everyone slogged through that blob already.

Do you have any idea about how the blob lost its paragraphs?

[cryptical]

*BANG*

[Fee]

M-16/AR-15 is designed for higher rates of fire than the Mini-14. Mini-14 barrel is too thin and designed to shoot 5 to 10 rd mags. However the moving parts of a M-16/AR-15 are tightly spec, meaning it must constantly be kept clean or it will jam from dust and dirt. The Mini-14 moving parts is looser and can tolerate dust/dirt more and requires less cleaning. Trade off in rate of fire/higher price for lower rate of fire/lower price.

[WorkingClassFilth]

Being a Republican water carrier for many years, I have always voted for substandard 'R' candidates when it came down to a contest between socialist RATs and ambivalent Republicans.

However...

If my legislators endorse or support keeping this ban, the guilty individuals WILL lose all support and votes from me. I do not see this as a lose/lose situation. This is where the rubber meets the road.

[white trash redneck]

That's why we have the AR15 for folks who like AR15's, and the Mini-14 for folks who like Mini-14's.

Why argue? Celebrate diversity!

[demlosers]

Do you have any idea about how the blob lost its paragraphs?

I don't know you... There could have been an hidden HTML tag so the autoformat didn't work, or when you copy/pasted the article there was not enough room between the paragraph(s).

[laotzu]

"Celebrate diversity!"

Good one!

Let's all hold hands and sing.

[DrNo]

Indeed, Caliber .223 = 5.56mm

[Restore]

"These weapons are designed to kill people, not a deer." "Nobody's going to talk about taking away hunting rifles. We're not trying to infringe on the Second Amendment," Mr. Garagiola said.

So, the Second Amendment is about deer hunting and not self defense.

What a maroon.

[demlosers]

I fired M16s in the Army reserves, and nobody needs them," he said. "These weapons are designed to kill people, not a deer." "Nobody's going to talk about taking away hunting rifles. We're not trying to infringe on the Second Amendment," Mr. Garagiola said.

Another government Critter who doesn't know what the 2nd Amendment is about, or is this guy being disingenuous?

The 2nd Amendment was included in the Bill-of-Rights to prevent a tyrannical government from taking over.

This guy is probably lying like Clintoon does about the Right to Bear Arms.

[demlosers]

What a maroon.

Yup. You beat me to it. :)

[Dead Corpse]

I've never thought of it as "diversity", more a "right tool for the job" kinda thing. Pistols and shotguns for up close and personal. Small calibers for kevlar skinned predators, and the big guns for dropping large game to feed the family.

One size fits all rarely ever does.