Friday, January 18, 2013

On "Assault Weapns"

I think that there's a lot of confusion on this one. a) Real assault weapons are NOT available to the public (they're only available to the military). b) Semi-automatic weapons sometimes ARE used for hunting. No, you don't need them for a deer but you might for a wild boar, a bear, a moose, or a wolf (cocking a rifle takes time and it causes you to have to re-aim - 2 very dangerous requirements). c) Weapons such as the Bushmaster aren't all that appreciably different from your average hunting rifle (in fact, there actually less powerful in that they're of a lower caliber). They just look different on the outside because some people like having a weapon that looks like a military weapon (the magazine, "Outdoor Life", recently ran a comparative review of 14 hunting rifles that could be considered assault weapons and noted that “virtually every manufacturer is producing these guns"). d) 100 round magazines are rarely loaded to capacity because they jam and the military itself actually uses 30 round magazines. e) Semi-automatic rifles are used in less than 2% of all American gun crimes and are responsible for less than 3% of all gun murders (323 out of 12,664).......People like Ema say that they want some facts. Here are some facts.......And I'm also going to say what I said over at Les's site. I am NOT a Second Amendment guy. I'm an animal-loving vegetarian who doesn't have a gun and who doesn't plan on buying one. But I'm also a person who tries to be empirical and the facts aren't necessarily with the gun-control people 24/7 on this, not by a long shot (sorry).

6 comments:

  1. Time and again, the gun control guys show nothing but ignorance about the specifics of firearms and the difference between different types and models.

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  2. I think that the vast majority of guns these days would probably be considered "semi-automatic".

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  3. There's a place for gun patriots ...
    but why here, for chrissakes?

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  4. I support reasonable firearm laws, the 2'nd amendment, registration, and the right of all law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms. For individuals like Ema gun control is simply a emotional reaction that makes them feel good about themselves. Higher level of compassion and all you know. That and the personal sense of being superior beings.

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  5. Universal background checks (on ammo as well as on guns) and a doing away with the gun-show loop-hole are measures that I could live with.

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  6. RN: What does registration mean to you? A federal database of exactly who owns which gun?

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