Before we can have a meaninful conversation about mass killings, we need to discuss.
I'm probably going to offend you by starting out this way, but: There is no such thing as an assault weapon. Assault is a verb, it's an action. If you have the intent to hurt someone, by the very act of hitting them, you have committed Assault.
From the Law Dictionary: Assault. ... An assault is carried out by a threat of bodily harm coupled with an apparent, present ability to cause the harm. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in either criminal or civil liability.
Under that definition, any weapon may be an Assault weapon; from a knife to a baseball bat, to a rifle.
That's why you can't get a ban on Assault weapons. The description would be too varied.
Like I tell other people, an AR-15 is variation of the .308 hunting rifle. It is a semi-automatic firearm, which means that it fires one round for every pull of the trigger, without having to pull back a bolt, seat a round, and push that bolt forward.
Almost every gun today is a semi-automatic, from the venerable revolver to the AR-15.
An Automatic weapon is one in which you can fire more than one shot with each pull of the trigger, and those weapons are illegal without a federal automatic firearms license.
First off, in order to pull of an assault weapons ban, you have to outlaw Assault....which, by the way, it's already illegal to assault anyone. Doing so comes with a prison sentence that varies in response to the level of the assault.
My next question is this. Are you wanting to get rid of the AR-15 because it looks Scary?
This is an AR-15.......(above)
A .308 hunting rifle. (Above)
Does the addition of the muzzle break, the plastic handguards (The pieces that surround the barrell.) and the pistol grip make it an assault weapon?
No, what makes it an Assault rifle is the human action that follows, namely the taking of life.
Stop blaming the damn rifle, and start blaming the criminals that carry out the act.
I agree with your intent but you have made a technical mistake.
the standard AR-15 is .223 cal .(5.57 mm)
the standard AK-47 is .308. (7.72 mm)
I say standard because both platforms are available in a wide variety of calibers..
other than that...good points..
You're right. I could have more accurately stated that the .223 also has a hunting rifle variant that doesn't look like the AR. Both shoot the same ammo, hold the same amount of ammo, and shoot the same semi-automatic rate of fire.
yup...sorry.
I'm a former munitions maint. puke.
that kinda stuff was seared..SEARED into my memory..
It's not a problem. I'm adult enough to admit when I've made a mistake. And I'm adult enough to thank a person for explaining why I'm wrong.
I'm also adult enough to defer to a former munitions maint. puke. :)
If it weren't for the fact that my employer was deadset on requals with the AR-15, I'd rather have a ruger mini-14 .223 with a good scope.
I've always been more of a sniper type. I like to take my time setting up a shot and take pride in hitting my target exactly where I aim, and the way that my employer requals doesn't promote taking your time and setting up a shot. They'd rather me stand and attempt to shoot a target. I know that I get better results when I can brace the weapon and take my time.
I was ammo...not weapons..so I'm not absolutely certain about guns..
BUT.
the mini-14 fires the same bullet (close enough)
as the AR-15..
Longer barrel...more accurate at distance..
you're right.
My employer thinks that this is still valley forge. We line up in a row of 25, aim and shoot. I'm always like, "Hey, this isn't the way I'd do it. I'd brace my weapon on the rail and shoot, or brace it on the hood of the car and shoot. I'm sure as hell not going to stand in a line and shoot. So your method is not only wrong, but it's also stupid. Besides that I'm a kitchen supervisor, I don't get to carry a weapon, other than my pepper spray and whatever tray or tethered tool I can get to."
knives.