So Dad what is an Assault Rifle??

[Basementdweller]

Watching the news last night and the hot topic was the Assault rifle ban. Of course they talk about Sandy Hook, Aurora and Columbine.

 

Son looks at me and ask "So dad what makes a gun an assault rifle?"

 

 

hmmmm, Indeed. What makes a gun an assault rifle?

 

Bein the fellow who I am and wanting to give the correct answer I wikipedia's it.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_rifle

 

 

"An assault rifle is a selective fire (either fully automatic and/or burst, and semi-automatic as well) rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine."

 

 

hmmmm,

 

 

He follows up with, Well dad, that is my favorite one to shoot. I enjoy shooting them too.

 

 

So in my opinion any automatic or semiautomatic rifle with a detachable magazine and say 12 grains of propellant in the cartridge should be declared an assault rifle, Irregardless of whether it is in military service or not.

 

 

So the fix....

 

For hand guns and rifles Ban all detachable magazines and any means to quickly reload them, Limit capacity to 10 rounds or less, for civilian ownership.

 

 

[gsdad]

Since the police are civilians in unform, does your plan apply to them as well?

 

You can not propose something like that and stick to the argument you support The Second Amendment.

 

What makes ten the magic number?

[Stosh]

Hmmm... Kinda makes one wonder.

 

1) How does it look? (like that makes any difference)

2) How many cartridges can it hold? (only takes one round to really hurt)

3) Does it have a folding or telescopic stock? (??? really?)

4) Pistol grip? bayonet lug? (??? com' on!)

 

If it capable of automatic fire, it is not an assault rifle, it's a machine gun or machine pistol (Uzi).

 

So, then when I look at my home "arsenal" I have no assault rifles.

 

But I do have a gun that is:

 

1) a manual bolt action. (no semi-automatic setting).

2) magazine of 5 rounds. Zip strips (not a magazine) hold 5 rounds for reloading quickly.

3) "antique" it's been around for 130+ years. FTA says pre-1900 guns are not real firearms, but antiques.

4) is still in active use by some military/police in 3rd world countries.

5) is the same caliber as the AK-47

6) has more powder than the AK-47 cartridge.

7) the cartridge is only used today by Russian sniper firearms.

8) does not fit the definition of an assault rifle.

 

I have two of them and they are the most prolific weapon in the world today. One can pick them up for about $100 at any gun show or used-gun shop.

 

This gun does not fall under any of the current legislature, doesn't need to be registered, and as far as any new legislature, it still falls outside the scope of concern.

 

Does that make anyone sleep easier tonight? Probably not.

 

Stosh

[scoutingagain]

"So in my opinion any automatic or semiautomatic rifle with a detachable magazine and say 12 grains of propellant in the cartridge should be declared an assault rifle, Irregardless of whether it is in military service or not. "

 

Well with that approach when you get into a firefight with your fellow citizens armed with previously or illegally obtained 30 round magazines, taped together and can re-load in a matter of seconds, your toast.

 

or the zombies will get you when you have to re-load.

 

SA

 

 

 

 

[Kahuna]

Assault rifle is a made-up term to denigrate certain types of weapons of which certain people disapprove.

 

We had a ban against these types of weapons from 1994 to 2004. Numbers of gun deaths have actually decreased since 2004. School massacres such as Sandy Hook and Aurora (Columbine didn't involve that type of weapon) are sad, unfathomable and piss us off. However, in the end, there isn't much that can be done to stop this kind of violence.

 

Then there is the fact that there are enough of these weapons and magazines in existence to last over a hundred years. We aren't going to get into confiscating weapons are we?

 

So why pass a bunch of laws that will do nothing but make some people feel better?

[Stosh]

Rules of a gun fight:

 

1) If you are not shooting, you are reloading.

2) If you are not reloading, you are moving.

3) If you are not moving, you are dead.

4) Cheat to win if you have to.

5) There are no rules in a gun fight.

 

You shot and killed an armed intruder with a sawed off shotgun/100-magazine assault rifle/Uzi (yes, they are capable of having a 100-round magazine)! So what, arrest me, you and the family are still alive and that's all that counts.

 

Remember, if a criminal is breaking into your home, he/she probably hasn't followed the gun laws in America in the first place. Adjust accordingly.

 

Stosh

[gsdad]

Stosh,

 

You forgot rule #1 of a gunfight:

 

Have a gun.

[Stosh]

Oh yeah, I stand corrected! ...that could be important!

 

Stosh

[WasE61]

"Since the police are civilians in unform, does your plan apply to them as well? "

 

I believe that is incorrect, since technically, a Police officer is always on duty, even when not on duty.

 

 

[Brewmeister]

In the modern vernacular, "assault rifle" means "scary looking gun" to gun control advocates, and "modern sport rifle" to second amendment advocates. It's all a matter of perspective.

 

If we consider that the characteristics of an assault rifle are to put a lot of potentially fatal projectiles in the air in a very short period of time, as it turns out, the common hunting shotgun is perhaps a more effective assault rifle than the maligned AR-15:

 

 

After all, who really needs to fire a whopping 45, 1/4 inch lead balls within mere seconds? Undoubtedly we need some sort of restriction on high-capacity shells.

[Sentinel947]

Kahuna- close but incorrect. Assault Rifle is a military term. Its a class of weapons in between Light Machine Guns and SubMachine guns. It's distinctly different from Battle Rifles or Sniper Rifles, and very similar to Carbines.

 

Assault WEAPONS is the term you described. It's a term mostly used by the pro gun control crowd.

[gsdad]

"I believe that is incorrect, since technically, a Police officer is always on duty, even when not on duty"

 

Duty status notwithstanding, they are still civilians. They are not the military, therefore they are civilians. My brother who is a Federal Agent, is a civilian. Yet he has a submachine gun in his vehicle when driving to and from work, and in his safe when he gets home.

[Stosh]

Police may be "civilians" by some definitions, but they are also highly trained and proficient professionals.

 

With that being said, I don't want my brother-in-law taking out my appendix. There is a pretty big difference between him and a surgeon although they are also both civilians.

 

As far as a government employees go, there are a lot of different definitions on paper that encompasses a government employee. Police and military are quite similar except the military is trained to purposefully kill and defend. Police are trained to defend and kill only if necessary. As a matter of fact the two are trained to a level where if something should go wrong, the military can invoke martial law and impose police actions and the police can be involved in a police state taking on a military role. Now we are getting picky with such definitions.

 

How is a Navy firefighter on an aircraft carrier any different from a "civilian" firefighter down at the fire station? Fighting specialized fires in a floating city vs. house fire on land.

 

The definition of professional indicates a higher level of expertise and training than the ordinary "citizen".

 

Is a Citizen Soldier the same thing as a real Soldier?

 

Don't cha just love these word games?

 

Stosh

[Trevorum]

I'd like to know where these weapons are. How many are kept in car trunks? How many under the bed? Hanging on the wall? In locked wooden cabinets? In gun safes? How many gun owners have one? Have two? Have more than five?

 

Does anyone know? Are any reliable data available?

[Stosh]

One of the issues I have with any new regulations on gun ownership is that Hitler was the first government to have all guns registered in Germany. That way when it came time to confiscate them, they knew where they all were.

 

I have a number of weapons in my possession.

How many? Nobody knows but me.

Where they all are? Nobody knows but me.

Are any of them registered? Nope.

Are any of them considered an assault weapon? Yep.

Are any of them loaded at this time? Yep.

Do I have a permit to conceal carry in any state? Nope.

Do I ever open carry? Yep.

Do I hunt regularly? Yep.

Did I ever shoot something I didn't intend to eat? Yep (Shot a dog that was engaged in running down a deer, something our DNR encourages.)

Am I a danger to society? Nope.

Is society a danger to me? Maybe, I pray to God every day I never have to find out.

 

Other interesting questions:

Am I or have I ever been a member of the NRA? Nope.

Have I ever been arrested for anything whatsoever? Nope.

Have I even been called in by the authorities for questioning? Nope.

Last "run in" with the Law? Speeding ticket (1982)

Is there any reason in the world why I should be denied my Constitutional right or have it infringed upon? Nope.

Should I have to pay the government to keep my guns? Nope, that's an infringement.

Have I ever been subjected to a mental evaluation? Yep. (Part of a professional qualification determination.) I passed with no problems.

 

Go after the bad guys with guns. I have 62 years of proof I'm not one of them. In this country, I shouldn't have to prove my innocence, but there are those that are working on changing that. With a stroke of a pen, I could immediately have my Constitutional rights stripped away and made a criminal. That scares me more than determining what an assault rifle is.

 

Stosh