What Will Gun Controllers Do When Americans Ignore an ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban?

reason.com ^ | June 21, 2016 | J.D. Tuccille

[SkyDancer]

What the gangs of Chicago do - ignore the law.

[Billthedrill]

The author points out that this is not speculation, we have data, and where it's been tried, we have Prohibition all over again:

That gun owners mean what they say in the "assault weapons" context can be inferred from the 5 percent compliance rate achieved by New York's recent registration requirement for such firearms. Or from the 15 percent compliance rate in neighboring Connecticut.

This wide rejection may account for the class warfare aspect of the issue. Authority does not like to be defied, and it gets violent when it happens. And it is running up against a particularly adamant population. That has an irresistible-force-immovable-object aspect to it that should be setting off some alarms in government. The insistence by some that the people will just go along rather than confront authority on the issue seems to me to be demonstrably naive.

[Gaffer]

Here’s a “for instance”.......the Upper on a Thompson (MiA1) is a massive, heat treated hardened hunk of steel that withstands continual slam firing (the firing pin is machined into the very heavy bolt). I just don’t see how current techniques can duplicate that.

[JimRed]

I assume any such ban would include a restriction on ammunition sales.

And (so I've heard) using reloads voids your warranty.

[Gaffer]

Exactly.....and despite claims that S/A is just as good, FA is still more effective.

[Wonder Warthog]

".....fully automatics, have been illegal to privately own, except for certain very specific circumstances, like verified and licensed collectors, since 1934...."

The reality is that anyone who can legally own ANY firearm in the US can also own a fully automatic weapon just by paying the $200 licensing fee and passing the background check.

[DesertRhino]

Because you just waste ammo and won’t hit anything?

In 99% of hands, id rather face a full auto than a semi with them taking 30 shots. Grit your teeth for two seconds then run. Semi is a lot more dicey...

[Edward.Fish]

What Will Gun Controllers Do When Americans Ignore an ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban?

I'm going to have to go with soil themselves.

[laplata]

They have to go home at night. They have families.

The problem with a government declaring war on its people is that those people no longer have any obligation to obey ANY law.

---

Right on both points!

And if Hitlery should become president, we will certainly be a lawless society.

[paulcissa]

FA isn’t worth it unless you get into the crew served world. Especially in a reality where ammo and weapons are highly restricted.

I think the inference here is if you're going to become a felon by virtue of some BS law, and if in-fact you're committed to you're cause, FA is a force multiplier. The feds won't show up with semi-autos.

[BobinIL]

Simple there will be a 6 month long media blitz to demonize us then the raids will begin under the guise of national security and public safety then we all get treated like Ammon Bundy and David Coresh.

[elcid1970]

Worth reading the entire article and the comments.

Ban this, ban that, but nobody specifies how to do it; as in with what legislation, logistics, enforcement, legal system, etc.

[archy]

No. Not 3D printers making limited weapons. Underground machining. Turning those semis into FAs.

Not just rifles.

[Lurker]

Yep.

L

[martinidon]

I am not a “tin foil” hat type of guy; but I just find it odd with the fast and furious gun walking, the San Bernadino and the Orlando shootings the government was involved or “missed” the opportunity to stop the shootings. Maybe to ultimate goal is to let these things happen so the public demands gun control.
I am afraid public opinion is starting to turn on this issue. My very Conservative wife said she did not think anyone should own an assault weapon. I had to remind her what the second amendment was about. I asked her if the only people with assault weapons were the criminals and government where do people like us stand?

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***Between the 20 + trillion rounds***

The ammo I bought 45 years ago still shoots well today.

[Biggirl]

There will be plenty of ammo made.

[Biggirl]

That will not happen.

[moovova]

“The problem with a government declaring war on its people is that those people no longer have any obligation to obey ANY law.”

There you have it, my friend

[archy]

The next step in 3d printing needs to be to make the rest of the gun parts instead of just 80% lowers, and also to making parts for things besides rifles and pistols. Imagine a 3D printer that could run off, say, the pieces for a put-together bazooka (fill the warhead with your choice of Fun Stuff) and a few claymore shells to go with your rifle.

Aside from the explosive filler, the primary component of an improvised Claymore mine is the 800 ball bearings that provide the fragmentation effect. These are a bit difficult to obtain locally in some areas and expensive for the prrpose to boot. However, stacks of ten glued-together pennies will do the job, with ten rows of ten each along the bottom-to-top rows and six or eight high along the sides. this works out to around six to eight bucks worth of pennies per unit, reasonable enough so long as production runs are small.

Oh, if you have trouble finding a blasting cap? Use an automotive airbag initiator, available *here* or at your local auto wrecking salvage yard.