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MY COMMENT: It seems like what makes something an assault
weapon, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Or, to paraphrase what Obewan said to Luke
Sky Walker: what we believe to be the truth depends greatly on our point of
view. Allow me a few lengthy quotes:
Assault weapon is a term used in the United States to define some types of firearms. The
definition varies among regulating jurisdictions, but usually includes semi-automatic
firearms with a detachable magazine and a pistol
grip, and sometimes other features such as a flash suppressor or barrel
shroud. Some
firearms are specified by name. At
the time that the now-defunct Federal
Assault Weapons Ban passed in 1994, the U.S.
Justice Department said, "In general, assault weapons are semiautomatic
firearms with a large magazine of ammunition that were designed and configured
for rapid fire and combat use.”
A large group of people who own guns, shoot with them,
hunt with them, and keep them for personal defense would disagree with the
above. Other persons, not involved in
the shooting community sometimes agree with the gun owners. Those who know guns best hold that a selector
that allows the weapon to fire in a fully automatic mode is necessary to make
it an assault weapon.
The term "assault weapon" is sometimes conflated with the term "assault rifle". According to the Associated Press Stylebook, the media should differentiate between
"assault rifles," which are capable of fully automatic firing, and
"assault weapons," which are semiautomatic and "not synonymous
with assault rifle." Civilian
ownership of machine guns has been tightly regulated since 1934 under the National
Firearms Act; and since 1986 under the Firearm Owners Protection Act.
From there, the debate rapidly shifts to the
minutia. Cosmetics and semantics begin
an interminable
splitting of hairs that obscures meaningful discussion. The following
are examples of cosmetics used to define what constitutes an “assault weapon.” With
the possible exception of the grenade launcher, they add nothing to the
lethality of the weapon, and the ignorance displayed drives gun enthusiasts to
distraction:
Common attributes used in
legislative definitions of assault weapons include:
·
Folding or telescoping (collapsible) stock, which
reduces the overall length of the firearm.
·
A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously
beneath the action of the weapon.
·
Grenade
launcher. (I know of no weapon
produced for the civilian market that comes with a grenade launcher.)
·
Barrel shroud,
which prevents burning of shooter's arm or hand as a safety device.
A number of
states have unilaterally passed their own assault weapon bans, including:
California, Hawaii, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia.
It is this kind of gun phobia
that makes gun owners unwilling to trust he government to be an “honest broker”
in deciding which guns should be legal for honest citizens to own.
Recent actions by the Clinton and
Obama Administrations, aimed at restricting gun ownership by law abiding
citizens have eroded Americans’ ability to trust the government on gun control
issues:
- · The Clinton Assault
Weapons Ban (1994) was not effective in reducing gun related deaths. It was later allowed to lapse, due to lack of
public support.
- Especially under
President Obama, the government has engaged in various surreptitious gun
control activities that have undermined the public trust. These include, but are not limited to the
following:
o The Obama Administration, and their anti-gun allies, have
advocated for “universal background checks” as a “common sense” way to keep
criminals, terrorists, and the mentally ill from obtaining guns. There are at least a couple of things,
however, that they are not being honest about.
They want a record to be kept of every background check, which amounts
to registration. Where such background
checks have been enacted by states they have been worded so poorly that it
would be illegal for me to let a friend fire my hunting rifle at a range
without a background check.
o They want to interfere with the ability of heirs to inherit
so called assault weapons by confiscating them; removing them from civilian use
by attrition.
o President Obama and John Kerry signed the United Nations
Arms Trade Agreement. It is a treaty
that, if ratified by the Senate, would trump the Second Amendment because
treaties supersede all other law. It treats the sale of small arms to civilians
in the same way the sale of tanks to a foreign country are regulated. The ability of Americans to own guns would be
supervised by the UN, under its rules.
Virtually all private ownership of firearms would be illegal. Fortunately, the Senate refused to even
consider the treaty. However, it remains
signed by a President, and may be ratified by any subsequent Senate if they had enough votes.
o Unable to ban guns, there have been several attempts by the
government to make ammunition unavailable, more expensive, or illegal. Mass purchases of ammunition for government
agencies have created artificial shortages and driven up the price of
ammunition for private citizens.
Ammunition containing lead has been banned by California. The BATF&E has considered making
ammunition made without lead illegal by labeling it armor piercing; creating a double bind. The BATF&E has considered making certain
types of 5.56 MM NATO ammunition (used in the AR 15) illegal for the same
reason. Only intervention by the NRA and
other hunting and shooting organizations stopped the BATF&E from imposing
these restrictions by executive action, not by laws passed by Congress.
o When he was a Senator, Vice President Biden cosponsored a
bill that would have made most hunting ammunition illegal based on the muzzle
velocity of the bullet. The theory was
that velocity made the bullets armor piercing.
Again, more sensible people prevailed.
Mr. Biden, however, is still around … passing out bad advice about
scaring away prowlers by firing a shotgun out the back door. That’s bad practice, dangerous, and sometimes
illegal.
o The government has tried to prevent some veterans and social
security recipients from buying guns because they have a representative payee
for their benefits; due to their disability or old age. Most of these people are mentally competent,
and should have the right to defend themselves because they may be vulnerable
to victimization. Their only crime is
having a relative help them handle their money.
o Anti-gun advocates, in and out of government, have tried to
run firearms manufacturers out of business by filing frivolous law suits.
Due to malice, ignorance, or
both, the government clearly cannot be trusted to act in good faith
where firearms are concerned. Each
of us must make up our own mind. Each of
us must advocate in the marketplace of ideas for their own point of view.
Recent history
has shown that military arms can be used for civilian purposes. Bolt action rifles and
semi-automatic pistols, developed for the military , came into use by civilians
following World War I. The use of
semi-automatic rifles by civilians followed World War II and the Korean
Conflict in like manner. Shotguns have
proven to be effective multi-purpose tools when used by the military, the police, hunters, and
people defending their homes.
The Firearms Act
of 1934 made it illegal for private citizens to own fully automatic firearms,
following their misuse by criminal gangs.
However, private citizens may own fully automatic weapons if they
obtain a Federal Firearms License, (which also gives the government the ability
to vet and track the owners). In my
opinion, that is all we need.
The difference between
what happened following WW I and WW II, and civilian models of the M-16, AK 47, and
their various “knock off” designs is lethality. The cyclic rate of fire (how many shots per
minute that can be fired until you run out of the ammo in one magazine), and
the sustained rate of fire (how many shots per minute you can fire while
shooting and reloading), is different for the more modern rifles; and for some
semi-automatic pistols. Consequently,
you can kill more efficiently with a AR 15 or semi-automatic AK 47 than with a bolt action rifle, for example. The AK 47 and the AR15
are used for hunting all the time.
However, some states require that the AR 15 be chambered for a more
powerful cartridge that the 5.56 MM NATO for hunting big game.
For me, it just
doesn’t matter if a lying politician or a power hungry bureaucrat think a
pistol grip makes a gun an assault weapon.
I still have the right to own one, for the following reasons:
The
Second Amendment states clearly that:
A well regulated Militia, being
necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep
and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Now,
for all you Bill O’Reillys out there, it is clear to me that what is to be
regulated is the militia, not the people or their firearms. The Second Amendment says what it says, and the
government cannot infringe upon the right of the private citizen to own guns;
regardless of whether you consider the weapon to be an assault weapon ... or
not. If somebody gets hit in the head
with a baseball bat, does that make the bat an assault weapon, too? People kill people, not guns, knives, or
bludgeons. If you don’t like the Second
Amendment repeal it; if you think you can.
Otherwise, stop trying to infringe upon our rights with unconstitutional
laws, treaties, and backdoor regulations.
Further, we have the right to self-defense. At home and abroad, violence is increasing by leaps and bounds. To defend home, self, and family, the honest citizen needs to be armed on a par
with the criminals and terrorists.
Hilary Clinton likes to laud Great Britain as an example of “common
sense” firearms regulation. Let’s look
into that.
Registration of rifles and handguns by serial number
began in Great Britain in 1968. Then
Parliament banned semi-automatic and slide action rifles above .22 caliber In 1988, following a mass murder in Hungerford. In 1997, all handguns were banned after
another mass murder in Dunblane. In
2006, Parliament even banned the mail order sale of air pistols. However, gun related crimes increased
dramatically, due to the influx of illegal guns from Eastern Europe. Criminals had guns, but the honest,
law-abiding citizens did not. London
erupted in riots in August 2011. The
outnumbered police were overwhelmed by the rioters, who were generally better
armed. Unarmed British citizens were
helpless to resist when they were robbed on the streets and their business and
homes were looted and burned. Those who had guns were afraid that the government would charge them with criminal intent if they removed their guns from their safes to defend themselves.
(This information was obtained from an article by David
Rooney, which appeared on pages 16-18 of the December 2011, “American Hunter,”
magazine published by the NRA.)
British
legislator Jo Cox was murdered by a Neo-Nazi just prior to the Brexit vote
because she supported staying in the European Union. (“Time” magazine, July 4, 2016, pages 8 and 17) She probably would have opposed the repeal of
the United Kingdom’s restrictive gun laws.
It
can happen here. I do not know what
course others may take, but I refuse to voluntarily cooperate with firearm
registration or confiscation. I will not
surrender my ability to defend myself in violent times to the likes of Barack
Obama, Hillary Clinton, Charles Schumer, Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, and Nancy
Pelosi.
Firearms
extend the distance at which one can deliver force on an attacker. In some circumstances, reliance on firearms
for defense may be necessary. In those
cases it is better not to be outgunned.
At those times, an AR 15 can give you a nice edge.
The
social order includes law and order and the interconnections that keep modern
society functioning. Our modern world is
gadget happy. The detonation by a rogue
state, or other enemy, of nuclear devices at an altitude of 150 miles over our
East and West coasts would take out of operation everything that has a computer
in it. There would be no electricity, water and sewer, or heating and air
conditioning. Food would belong to the
strongest and most violent; until it ran out.
Everything with a computer in it would stop. No cars, traffic lights, banks, smart phones,
trains, or airplanes. The resulting breakdown in the social order would create
chaos and anarchy. In that case, we will
need more that a .22 to protect our families.
A
similar collapse might result from a world economic crisis, caused by the
failure of “funny money” currencies. Or,
what if terrorists would use chemical or biological to contaminate the water
supplies of our major cities?
Instead
of developing ways to defend against real threats, the gun grabbers want to
take away our ability to defend ourselves if chaos and anarchy break out. Good grief, Charlie Brown! If you are a law abiding citizen, go out and
get the best gun you can afford to defend yourself with. Take classes, and learn to use it. If some dummy thinks it is an assault weapon
… good. That means you can protect
yourself and your family more efficiently with it.
A
study of Bible prophesy reveals that Jesus is going to return soon to call His
Church, the fellowship of all believers, to meet with Him in the air. Following that, there will be seven years of
literal hell on earth. When the seven
years of the Great Tribulation are over, Jesus will establish His Kingdom. It will be challenged one more time by Satan
after a thousand years. Then Satan will be cast into a great lake of fire, along with the
False Prophet, the Antichrist, and the unsaved multitudes. The smoke of
their torment will rise up forever.
Things
are going to get worse and worse, until Jesus Raptures all believers. We just do not know how bad it will get. Jesus said that it would be as bad as the
times of Noah. God destroyed the world
of Noah’s time because they were exceedingly violent.
God
in His mercy has provided us with a way of deliverance, in order that we will not have
to die in our sins or go through the Great Tribulation. Believe in Jesus and confess your faith, and
you can be saved. Ultimately that is the
only real defense any of us can have. Don’t be left behind. Please
accept Jesus into your heart today. Just
pray this prayer:
Precious Lord Jesus
I have sinned, and I ask you to
forgive me.
I repent of my sin, and I turn
away from it.
Save me Lord Jesus, and become
the ruler of my life.
Fill me with your Holy Spirit,
and live in me.
I ask the Holy Spirit to take
away my desire to sin.
Make me a new person, who sets
the old, sinful self aside daily.
Give me your strength to take
up my cross and follow You.
In Jesus’ Name, amen.
If
you prayed that prayer, then get a Holy Bible and read it every day; beginning
with the New Testament. Seek out a Bible
believing church. Attend regularly, and
go to groups and discipleship classes.
Be careful to avoid churches that do not teach the fundamental articles
of faith that the church has taught throughout history. Leave any church that teaches that there is
an authority higher than the Holy Bible for faith and practice.
God bless and keep you.
