Is there really a good reason for someone to own an assault rifle????? After Colorado shooting, it is even more clear why this gun should not be sold!

Originally Posted by jebartle

Is there really a good reason for someone to own an assault riffle????? After Colorado shooting, it is even more clear why this gun should not be sold!

Change a few design aspects of an "assault rifle" and it just becomes a rifle, although it's the same firearm.

Because its our constitutional right to own and bear firearms. Criminals and crazies will always kill people no matter what gun, knife, baseball bat brick or chemical they can find.

But that's the liberal way. Any time something goes wrong they want to ban it for everyone else. They say "you don't really need that." I don't have it so neither should you.

What happened in CO is unbelievably tragic and heart breaking but to me personally so is taking the life of so many unborn babies. But that seems to be a right some folks say others should have.

Crimanls will always get guns, just like drunk drivers will always get cars and child molesters will always find children.

It can be cruel and tragic world but you can't legislate sanity.

As I pointed out in a different thread on this subject, mass killings and so-called 'assault rifles’ are not the primary problem. The primary problem is the 10's of thousands of people killed each year by gang shootings. It is not only the number of deaths, but also the impact on our neighborhoods and cities. Detroit did not become a ghost town because people wanted a typical suburban house, but because they fled for the lives of themselves and their children.

Gangs do not use licensed/registered firearms. Cracking down on a particular type of firearm will not impact them. The murder capitol of the United States, Chicago, has one of the strictest if not the strictest gun control laws. Proposed gun control laws on the elimination of assault rifles do no good apart from leaving law-abiding citizens from having some means of self-defense.

So far as I can tell, twelve people have been killed here in the United States by citizens with ‘assault rifles.’ This excludes people being killed with fully automatic weapons furnish to Mexican drug cartels by our government. Contrast that with thousands killed by gangbangers. I realize that gang killings get little publicity. After all, who cares if another gangbanger or perhaps an innocent victim in the inner cities is killed? As a conservative, who believes in the value of life, I care. For this reason, I want to change the focus from the Aurora, CO and the Treyvon Martin killings to the deaths of thousands of our citizens. It’s time to stop focusing on the front page and begin focusing on the health of our nation.

Don't miss the point of Gun Control. It is not Gun Elimination, but Gun Control. Better screening of gun buyers.

I am not concerned that I will be killed in a Drug Buy Gone Bad as I do not do drugs, I don't hang around with drug users or drug dealers nor even in the areas where this is most likely to happen.

I am concerned with indiscriminate killing by NORMAL CITIZENS that have an off day. I would feel safer in line at walmart with an armed drug dealer than with a depressed and armed Villager. CRIMINALS in general use weapons for offense/defense against each other where NORMAL CITIZENS having a bad day, are far more dangerous to the general public.

If better accountability was given to one 24 year old collage student that had bought military gear and four fire arms in a short period of time, there may very well be 12 souls still among the living.

Also, don't tell me it would be better to have more NORMAL folks packing heat in public. I know people that own guns that Should never be allowed to load them due to their inability to handle them properly. I have read posts on here by folks like Fig Bo and I get a comfortable feeling that he would be a good choice to have a concealed weapon, but several others would likely shot more innocent by-standers than the intended target. Please just think twice before you act.

Let's define an Assault Rifle>

An assault rifle is an automatic rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine.[1] Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies. Assault rifles are categorized in between light machine guns, which are intended more for sustained automatic fire in a light support role, and submachine guns, which fire a pistol cartridge rather than a rifle cartridge.

The term assault rifle is a translation of the German word Sturmgewehr (literally "storm rifle", as in "to storm a position"). The name was coined by Adolf Hitler[3] to describe the Maschinenpistole 43, subsequently renamed Sturmgewehr 44, the firearm generally considered the first assault rifle that served to popularise the concept and form the basis for today's modern assault rifles.

The translation assault rifle gradually became the common term for similar firearms sharing the same technical definition as the StG 44. In a strict definition, a firearm must have at least the following characteristics to be considered an assault rifle:

It must be an individual weapon with provision to fire from the shoulder (i.e. a buttstock);
It must be capable of selective fire;
It must have an intermediate-power cartridge: more power than a pistol but less than a standard rifle or battle rifle;
Its ammunition must be supplied from a detachable magazine rather than a feed-belt.
And it should at least have a firing range of 300 meters (1000 feet)

Rifles that meet most of these criteria, but not all, are technically not assault rifles despite frequently being considered as such. For example, semi-automatic-only rifles like the AR-15 (which the M16 rifle is based on) that share designs with assault rifles are not assault rifles, as they are not capable of switching to automatic fire and thus are not selective fire capable. Belt-fed weapons or rifles with fixed magazines are likewise not assault rifles because they do not have detachable box magazines.

The term "assault rifle" is often more loosely used for commercial or political reasons to include other types of arms, particularly arms that fall under a strict definition of the battle rifle, or semi-automatic variant of military rifles such as AR-15s.

The US Army defines assault rifles as "short, compact, selective-fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between submachinegun and rifle cartridges.

Assault rifles vs. "Assault weapons"

The term assault weapon is a United States political and legal term used to describe a variety of semi-automatic firearms that have certain features generally associated with military assault rifles. The 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which expired on September 13, 2004, codified the definition of an assault weapon. It defined the rifle type of assault weapon as a semiautomatic firearm with the ability to accept a detachable magazine containing more than 10 rounds, and two or more of the following:

Folding or telescoping stock
Primary pistol grip
Forward grip
Threaded barrel (for a muzzle brake or a suppressor, commonly called a silencer)
Barrel shroud

The assault weapons ban did not restrict weapons capable of fully automatic fire, such as assault rifles and machine guns, which have been continuously and heavily regulated since the National Firearms Act of 1934 was passed. Subsequent laws such as the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 also affected the importation and civilian ownership of fully automatic firearms, the latter fully prohibiting sales of newly manufactured machine guns to non-law enforcement or SOT (special occupational taxpayer) dealers.

You can read the complete article at Assault rifle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Get the terms correct. Stop with the political correctness.

Originally Posted by Figmo Bohica

Let's define an Assault Rifle>

An assault rifle is an automatic rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine.[1] Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies. Assault rifles are categorized in between light machine guns, which are intended more for sustained automatic fire in a light support role, and submachine guns, which fire a pistol cartridge rather than a rifle cartridge.

The term assault rifle is a translation of the German word Sturmgewehr (literally "storm rifle", as in "to storm a position"). The name was coined by Adolf Hitler[3] to describe the Maschinenpistole 43, subsequently renamed Sturmgewehr 44, the firearm generally considered the first assault rifle that served to popularise the concept and form the basis for today's modern assault rifles.

The translation assault rifle gradually became the common term for similar firearms sharing the same technical definition as the StG 44. In a strict definition, a firearm must have at least the following characteristics to be considered an assault rifle:

It must be an individual weapon with provision to fire from the shoulder (i.e. a buttstock);
It must be capable of selective fire;
It must have an intermediate-power cartridge: more power than a pistol but less than a standard rifle or battle rifle;
Its ammunition must be supplied from a detachable magazine rather than a feed-belt.
And it should at least have a firing range of 300 meters (1000 feet)

Rifles that meet most of these criteria, but not all, are technically not assault rifles despite frequently being considered as such. For example, semi-automatic-only rifles like the AR-15 (which the M16 rifle is based on) that share designs with assault rifles are not assault rifles, as they are not capable of switching to automatic fire and thus are not selective fire capable. Belt-fed weapons or rifles with fixed magazines are likewise not assault rifles because they do not have detachable box magazines.

The term "assault rifle" is often more loosely used for commercial or political reasons to include other types of arms, particularly arms that fall under a strict definition of the battle rifle, or semi-automatic variant of military rifles such as AR-15s.

The US Army defines assault rifles as "short, compact, selective-fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between submachinegun and rifle cartridges.

Assault rifles vs. "Assault weapons"

The term assault weapon is a United States political and legal term used to describe a variety of semi-automatic firearms that have certain features generally associated with military assault rifles. The 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which expired on September 13, 2004, codified the definition of an assault weapon. It defined the rifle type of assault weapon as a semiautomatic firearm with the ability to accept a detachable magazine containing more than 10 rounds, and two or more of the following:

Folding or telescoping stock
Primary pistol grip
Forward grip
Threaded barrel (for a muzzle brake or a suppressor, commonly called a silencer)
Barrel shroud

The assault weapons ban did not restrict weapons capable of fully automatic fire, such as assault rifles and machine guns, which have been continuously and heavily regulated since the National Firearms Act of 1934 was passed. Subsequent laws such as the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 also affected the importation and civilian ownership of fully automatic firearms, the latter fully prohibiting sales of newly manufactured machine guns to non-law enforcement or SOT (special occupational taxpayer) dealers.

You can read the complete article at Assault rifle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Get the terms correct. Stop with the political correctness.

I should have waited on my earlier post. This is what I mean when I say Gun Control. We need Guns in the Control of people that understand them and can operate them properly. Putting a gun in the hands of anyone not qualified is as bad as handing the keys of a car to a drunk.

I understand that the Colorado shooter had a rifle with a 100 round drum magazine on it. He used it for assaulting the movie goers with deadly fire. That, to me, is an assault rifle. Hunting rifles, such as a 30-30, usually have a 5 round magazine. His ASSAULT RIFLE was not a hunting rifle.

Also, I understand that the shooter was dressed in head-to-foot body armor. Why was this even available for him?

Why was it allowed for him to buy 6,000 rounds of ammunition?

Shouldn't that all have raised questions?

Figmo is all upset about the semantics of the word ASSAULT RIFLE. I would think a person would be upset about the 12 dead and 59 wounded instead of the technical definition of a gun over the public impression of the gun.

or political phrasing.

Gun control is only effective with the law abiding gun owners. All the others will get their guns the same way they do today.

And thinking about standing in line at Walmart in a no gun society, and watch for the speeding car headed toward you....as one very small example. The person who is "having a bad day" does not need a gun to do bodily harm to themselves or the general public.

Talk about allowing a gun to be owned and operated by someone who is not capable of doing so....is that not just as true for the far too many licensed folks who should not be behind the wheel of a car? Or those who are too old to be safe drivers? Auto ownership and owning one and driving one is pretty well controlled. However there is nothing to stop an unqualified person or an unlicensed person or an incapable person or one "having a bad day" from getting behind the wheel.

Same goes for "gun control" a political only, feel good terminology.

As has been said many times and repeated as many times....it is not the guns!!!!!

btk

the right to purchase a 100 round capacity magazine and full body armor is not guarenteed by the 2nd amendment. A moment of inconvenience reloading your weapon on the shooting range is not more important than the lives of innocent people. Body armor? Why?

Any gun that obama and eric holder allowed into mexico to be used by the drug cartels against american citizens should be allowed to be owned by any american !!!!

Originally Posted by hulababy

Any gun that obama and eric holder allowed into mexico to be used by the drug cartels against american citizens should be allowed to be owned by any american !!!!

The guns to Mexican Drug Cartels was wrong. You think that allowing them to ordinary American citizens is right? Why?

They only allowed semi-autos and we can buy them. The ones that worry me are the fully automatic weapons that our government sold to the Mexician government, who then sold them to the drug cartels. That is the ones that should worry everyone, as they will find their way back across the border and will be used in this country at some point in the future.

Get real, Gun Control is People Control. Pass laws that make it life in prison or a death penalty to use a firearm in the commission of a crime. Illegal possession of a firearm by someone, life in prison, take the bad guy off the street and crime goes down. Passing laws to make gun illegal only allows bad guys to have guns.

Did everybody read the article in yesterday's newspaper about the New York police officer who shot and killed his 37 year old son, in the middle of the night, because he thought he was a burglar? Or how about last week's article about the three year old in Indiana who shot and killed his father, father of three, with his father's gun which was left unattended? This stuff makes for great reading.

Originally Posted by janmcn

Did everybody read the article in yesterday's newspaper about the New York police officer who shot and killed his 37 year old son, in the middle of the night, because he thought he was a burglar? Or how about last week's article about the three year old in Indiana who shot and killed his father, father of three, with his father's gun which was left unattended? This stuff makes for great reading.

In both cases, someone screwed up. Sad but it happens..