Assault Rifles should be banned

[singlestacksig]

Maybe Zach will come back and read more of this.

An interesting thing is, the whole time we have been on this thread a major historic natural disaster has been taking place. Ike has slammed into the Texas coast and across the mid west.
Leaving several million with out power... no lights , no phones.. and in some areas there is no police or other help yet..
I am sure some of those who are left to watch what is left of their homes have choosen to have a 'military' style weapon at hand..

the pistol grip allows you to hold it while wading in water with a child in your other arm..
the 'finger print resistant' finish helps keep the salt water corrosion down, the magazine capacity gives you more ammo since you might have only grabbed 1.
the bayonet allows you to use it like a spear for fishing...

since events like Katrina & Ike do happen.. there is even more reasons for private ownership of such equipment..

 

[4sarge]

Zach (and anyone else who might have the same question in the future),

If you have not given up on this board after four posts and one day:

If you truly are interested in learning more about guns in general (and I hope you are since you claim you own two yourself), I strongly encourage you to read more of and post more on the other sections of this forum. There is a lot of good information to be had here from lots of really good people.

We are a group of people who actually enjoys trying to organize events so the board members can meet each other. So far, we have had decent turn outs for most of the events. For our NFA Day (which would have been an *excellent* event for you to attend, based on this thread), we actually had to limit the number of people who could attend so that we could ensure we provided a safe environment for everyone.

The key point I think you should understand is "moderation." Everything should be done in moderation. Swimming pools kill more children each year than guns do. A lot more people die in car accidents each year than are killed by guns. Yet no one runs out saying (with any sincerity anyway) that swimming pools or cars should be banned. The counter argument to that is usually "Pools and cars aren't designed to kill people. That's not their purpose. A gun's only purpose is to kill people." That's not true. A gun's purpose is to punch holes in things -- send a high-velocity projectile over a distance.

Is that dangerous? Is that deadly? Of course it is, in the hands of an irresponsible person. Just the same as a car can be deadly in the hands of an irresponsible driver. Just the same as a pool can be deadly for an inexperienced swimmer. A gun's purpose is to punch holes in things. That "thing" is not defined by the gun, but by the user. Responsible gun owners put holes in paper, steel, cardboard, animals (if they are hunters), but NOT people. Just as responsible car owners drive their cars on roads without the influence of drugs or alcohol, responsible gun owners operate their firearms in a safe area without the influence of drugs or alcohol. Just as responsible pool owners cover, lock, and/or block access to the pool, responsible gun owners lock up and/or block access to the firearm so others cannot get to it so easily.

The most particular ire against the AWB seems to be because "assault weapon" was defined so naively. Most of the definition was based on appearance rather than function. Either way, the AWB would not be well received by most gun owners because it limits the freedom outlined by the Second Amendment: the right to keep and bear arms.

The Second Amendment does not limit what type of arms can be kept and used, just as the First Amendment does not limit what method of speech may be used. The Founding Fathers had no idea that firearms would become so powerful. They also had no idea of the power of the internet, either. Why is nobody crying out for blogging to be limited to the military and the government? Why isn't blogging taxed at such a high rate that the common citizen cannot afford it? With the First Amendment, the tools are not limited, and technically speaking, the actual words are not limited by that Amendment either. Why then must firearms be regulated by such strict laws? It's not the tool that is dangerous, but the person using it, and it is only dangerous to the object it is pointed at.

From a different angle: I don't agree with abortion. I could never have one myself, and I wouldn't encourage anyone else to do so. In fact, a few years ago my sister was told her baby had a 1% chance to survive birth and was encouraged by the doctors to abort the baby rather than carry it full term just to have it die in childbirth. She chose to carry full term (and yes, the baby only lived 45 minutes, which was 40 minutes longer than the doctors had said he would) because she didn't want to have killed the child that might be that 1%.

But the point is that she chose. She had the freedom to make that decision, and it was entirely her decision because she feels much the same way I do in regards to abortion. However, I do not feel the government should control whether I can or cannot have an abortion should I choose to do so. That is not for anyone but me to decide. When abortions were illegal, women still had them done anyway, sometimes with much more dangerous methods than in a clean doctor's office. (This was not meant to start an argument on the rights or wrongs of that particular freedom, by the way, just a point that the practice is not illegal.)

Just like the government should not choose how I defend my life or liberty; just like the government should not choose how pursue my happiness. As long as I don't interrupt the life, liberty, or happy pursuits of my fellow Americans (or our neighbors, I suppose), I don't believe the government should have much say in what I do at all.

Great, thoughtful response

 

[quiggly]

Man have you guys been trolled... Hook line and sinker.

Reminds me of that scene in "We were Soldiers" where everyone jumped off the choppers and started dumping lead into the trees. Finally someone says Cease fire.

Save your ammo for a worthy cause.... Cease fire already.

 

[Pami]

We know it was a troll. That doesn't mean it's not a good topic for discussion.

Man have you guys been trolled... Hook line and sinker.

Reminds me of that scene in "We were Soldiers" where everyone jumped off the choppers and started dumping lead into the trees. Finally someone says Cease fire.

Save your ammo for a worthy cause.... Cease fire already.

What Scutter said.