Ban Assault Hammers !
I had a number of comments over the last several days, both on the blog and by email, concerning my Thought for the Day this past Wednesday.
When I was a kid living on a river in south Alabama, one of my favorite pastimes was to take a long stick and poke a water moccasin nest and watch them come boiling out at me.
So here goes.
First off, there is no such thing as an “Assault Weapon”.
I repeat, there is no such thing as an “Assault Weapon”.
It is a made up term, made up by politicians to try and ban a very popular type of weapon.
Below is a photo illustrating the difference between a legal and an “illegal” weapon under the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban.
Without reading the list below, other than the larger magazine, can you tell which is which?
According to the 1994 Ban, an “Assault Weapon” is a ‘SEMI’-automatic firearm with the ability to accept a detachable magazine, and two or more of the following features:
1. a folding or telescoping stock
(Yep, this makes it much more dangerous)
2. a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon
(Ditto)
3. a bayonet mount
(Seriously, is this really a problem? Bayonet deaths?)
4. a flash suppressor or threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor
(So having threads on the end of your barrel makes it a killing machine?)
5. a grenade launcher
(Darn. I was looking for a way to use up that case of grenades I have tucked away.)
So the above definition is what the politicians have decided constitutes an “Assault Weapon”.
Note the definition says it’s a SEMI-automatic weapon. This is not a machine gun, not a FULLY-automatic weapon.
Again, an “Assault Weapon” is not a fully-automatic ‘machine gun.
A semi-automatic, whether a piston or a rifle, means one pull of the trigger fires one round, just like a revolver.
A fully-automatic means one pull of the trigger keeps firing until the magazine is empty, or you release the trigger.
Since 1986 the only fully-automatic weapons allowed to be owned by civilians are those manufactured or imported before May 19, 1986, the enactment date of the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986.
Part of the confusion (some people say it’s deliberate) comes from the fact that there is a real definition for an “Assault Rifle”.
Here’s an online definition of an “Assault Rifle.
An assault rifle is a selective fire (selectable among either fully automatic, burst-capable, or, sometimes, semi-automatic modes of operation) rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. It should be distinguished from the US legal term assault weapons.[1]
Note the last sentence. Also note that an assault rifle is capable of FULLY-automatic fire.
Here’s Jan at The Gun Store in Las Vegas firing a fully-automatic .45 cal. Thompson Submachine Gun, obviously pre-1986.
According to the ATF, since 1938 there have been TWO deaths in the U.S from legally-owned ‘machine guns’.
Most hunting rifles sold in the U.S. are semi-automatics.
Most handguns sold in the U.S. are semi-automatics.
Although the term “semi-automatic handgun” is usually applied to pistols, I guess in reality a revolver is a “semi-auto” too, from the ‘one trigger pull for one round fired’ point of view. You just run out of rounds quicker.
Wrapping up, this picture, based on FBI crime stats.
Just a note. The 323 murders listed are from ALL rifles, not just ‘scary-looking’ ones.
Finally, under the heading of “Why dig a shallow hole, when you can dig a really deep one”, tune in tomorrow for “Bullets and ‘High-Capacity’ Magazines.
(now ducking for cover!)
Just call me Bad Greg.
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Thought for the Day:
"A heavily controlled citizenry, being necessary to the subservience of an ignoble serfdom, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be allowed."
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