Re: Re: Friday Sober Thread: Tragedy in Connecticut As Stephen Colbert sagely said (paraphrased): I have no use for books or facts. I have something much better - my gut.
I have to at least in part blame the media for this. I can't count how many times they've discussed assault weapons as instruments of mass carnage, listing off factoids that demonstrate the devastating damage they can do to the human body. Guess what? A bullet to the head kills you no matter what gun fired it. The media also has been ignoring the practical and sporting uses for the gun, instead painting them as the weapon of choice for the homicidal minded (which isn't even true anyway). So people are convinced it's a far more efficient killing machine than anything else on the market, and it has no other purpose.
In my country, and your country, handguns are overwhelmingly the majority cause in firearm-related deaths. It makes perfect sense: you can hide them completely, reload them quickly, go anywhere with them where there isn't a walk-through metal detector. They cost less money (don't they?) and can be stored easier.
Truth. The amount of instances in which AR-style rifles are used in gun crimes is miniscule. More people get murdered with hammers than get by AR-15s. Funny enough, the proposed assault weapons ban won't touch most of the guns that are used most frequently in crimes. This isn't surprising in the slightest because the proposed law is a knee-jerk reaction playing on irrational fear and people only caring about themselves. White people see the Sandy Hook and Aurora shootings and think "that could have been me". If you're poor, use illegal drugs or are involved in gang activity then statistically you have a much higher chance of being a victim of gun crime, being black or Hispanic doesn't seem to help either. Then again if you're in one of those categories your chances of being a voter also decrease, hence why lawmakers don't give a shit about them and the proposed law won't touch the guns that are actually most commonly used in crime, not that targeting specific guns will actually do anything to decrease gun crime in the US.
I had no idea you could even buy these, get 'em before the legislators take them: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tactical-As...569?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ccdfcada9
I've read through only some of the posts in this thread, so please, TiB, forgive me (or not) if my sentiments have already been expressed at some point. Honestly, I'm with both sides when it comes to guns; it's really not that black and white. However, it really irks my pee-hole that both sides are using this awful tragedy to further their own agendas. That is all.
Did anyone else catch Sen. Feinstein's press conference today? Some details of her new Assault Weapons Ban... The bill would grandfather in firearms legally owned on the day of enactment BUT they would require NFA registration too- effectively creating a registry for all of the guns on the list! She wants to specifically ban these guns: In addition to that list, the idea of curbing gun violence by banning thumbhole stocks of all things epitomizes the stupidity of these laws. She claims there are 2000+ firearms exemot specifically for "hunting and sporting" purposes, but the same people making those decisions think a .223 will blow up a deer and put AR rifles built for target shooting (sporting) on the ban list anyways.
I saw the conference. Such a grandstanding charade. One of them claimed that if the Ban had been in place it would have saved hundreds of thousands of lives*. They totally disregarded the governments own study on the effectiveness of the first ban and claimed every single mass shooting would have been prevented if it was in place (I think they might have meant the bill debuted today, still hogwash). That if the guns weren't sold in stores these killers wouldn't have the capability to seek out a black market. Some of their irrational fear based emotional arguments were far beyond anything Ive heard before. * I have been of the notion lately that they are including pistol deaths in this as well as attributing all rifles regardless if they meet the silly "assault rifle" standard, when they make claims like this. I have a hunch that their reasoning is this, a gun that can except a magazine that holds more than 10 rounds (basically any and all semi auto pistols) is a assault weapons. Visavi all handgun deaths can be attributed to "assault weapons."
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/24/politics/congress-gun-control/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/24/politics/ ... index.html</a> "How are you going to hunting with something like that?" asked Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, pointing to the assault weapons displayed to his left. "You kill something, there's nothing left to eat." Brilliant logic there...
The list says the "Ruger Mini-14 Tactical". So, then unless I missed it, the mini-14 ranch or target model are still ok to have? Her research must have just been GIS'ing tactical. I guess then that as long as it says tactical in the name it's banned? I'm off to go hide my tactical flashlights. ETA: This .22 would be illegal also: images by Jacam2002, on Flickr J
Seeing as they didn't include the Remington 750 on the list (which is a semi-automatic rifle that can fire rounds much more powerful than the AR-15), I'd say that's a big 'ol yes to your question. If it is a scary black gun, it's banned. Remember- Feinstein personally looked at pictures of guns, so she has to know what she's talking about. Serious research there.
The mini 30 isn't on the list, which is 16 minis more dangerouser than the mini 14. I guess it would be in poor taste to interrupt her while she's making a mistake.
Unless it's on the exempt list, the regulations would ban the Marlin model 60 as well because of the magazine capacity. It just so happens that's the most popular .22 rimfire in the US too. Yep, Feinstein wants you to register your squirrel rifles.
Not to split hairs, but isn't the Ruger 10/22 not only the most popular .22 in the country, but the most popular rifle in the country, period?
The Marlin 60 beats the Ruger 10/22 in the US by about five million units (6 million for the 10/22, 11 million for the M60).
This may pass the Senate, but there's no way it passes the House. Its chances are slim in the Senate depending on which Democrats in Red leaning states are up for election in 2014. And what does she have against these?
Automatic (transmission), high capacity tank, detachable brush things . . . It's clearly an assault truck.