Spacekiwi wrote:
thoughts?
My first thought is that it is unfortunate your father's experience and bravery has absolutely nothing to do with your knowledge on the subject, as shown by your post.
What is an 'assault rifle', or an 'assault weapon'? Are they the same thing? How often does a mass murderer 'spray and pray' with their gun? What is the difference between an automatic and semi-automatic firearm?
If we're going to talk about gun control, it would be good for everyone involved to be familiar with these basic concepts, so we know precisely what it is we wish to outlaw. Your post makes it clear you are not. This is precisely how laws that ban 'scary-looking semi-automatic assault weapons of mass destruction' and suchlike get made, and then either confuse the heck out of their supporters when they do nothing or get found unconstitutional and are struck down.
Some intro to guns definitions for you:
Automatic weapon: A weapon that fires more bullets as long as the trigger is held down. The M60 is an excellent example of this, as is the Uzi submachine gun, the M249, the Maxim, and Gatling machine gun. These weapons are incredibly restricted, and very hard to get in both time and money. They are practically never used in crimes because of how difficult they are to get, and because people who can get them tend to want to keep their records clean so they can *keep* playing with their toys.
Semi-automatic weapon: A weapon that fires one bullet every time the trigger is pulled. Most pistols are like this. Many rifles are like this too, including many hunting rifles. This is a basic standard for many modern firearms.
Revolver: The other kind of pistol. You usually get 6 shots, and it functions (to the end user) much like a semi-automatic pistol, although the inner workings are very different. When you want to reload, there are special devices to help you add rounds to the 6 chambers very quickly, but they need practice to use well.
Bolt-action: The other kind of rifle in common use. You fire one shot, you rack the bolt back and complete the firing cycle, to include loading a new round. You can then fire another shot. This is often considered more accurate than a semi-automatic weapon and capable of fire at longer ranges, but other factors can easily compensate for the difference most of the time.
Assault rifle: Used to denote a rifle with an intermediate cartridge (between the size of a battle rifle/large caliber hunting rifle and a pistol), a detachable magazine, and selectable fire that includes burst or automatic modes. These are another category of weapon that is almost impossible to get. You can get civilianized versions, which force the weapon to become semi-automatic only. Range on these is usually middling at best because of the round used, and accuracy is nothing to write home about. But they tend to be relatively light for a rifle and comfortable to use.
Assault weapon: It looks scary. No, really, that's about it. The requirements vary by whatever law is being used. The 1994 ban included bayonet mounts as part of the requirements to be considered an assault weapon. I'm not sure of any gun-related stabbing crimes in the last 50 years, but those were banned regardless.
If we can agree on those definitions, maybe we could have a discussion on the topic?
and, Mangy Fur the Smart Alick Spacecat.