The assault rifle is under assault again, despite its minimal actual involvement in heinous domestic crime. I think I know why it's targeted: it's got a hellacious moniker which actually traces back to Adolf Hitler. He named the novel weapon das Sturmgewehr (the assault rifle). The original assault rifle had the defining characteristics: light weight, medium cartridge size, & short range. The original Sturmgewehr was both semi- and fully automatic.
Here's a short video on the history of das Sturmgewehr:
Automatic weapons are illegal in most states. Not in Nevada. I fired a Thompson (Tommy gun) in Las Vegas and my son shot an MP5 last year.
.02% of firearms in the USA are ever used to commit a crime. It's an inconvenient truth to opponents of privately held firearms.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see the language in the new bill, particularly whether it uses language like "assault rifle", "assault weapon", etc., instead of metric "defining" language like gun weight, caliber, range, etc. Using the metrical language could end up banning a shit load of firearms besides the semi-automatic assault rifle. Perhaps that will be the intent.
DeleteDid you see the story about the woman who turned in a Sturmgewehr to a gun buy back program? It was valued at between $20,000 and $30,000. No follow up, of course, but knowing that politicians and union police are always honest, I am sure it all turned out fair and square.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard that term until I read that story, and now I see it again here. Kleine Welt, eh?
Well, Sixty, I do have a penchant for the Germanity of things because they don't mince words. "Assault Rifle" is a loaded term, wielded by the gun foes in written and spoken discussions. I'm trying to parse exactly what mean by the term. The legalese phrase noscitur a sociis applies.
DeleteI see from this post on Legal Insurrection that Feinstein is taking the enumerated species approach to the language.
ReplyDeleteI want one of those guns that the ignorant ranters go on about - 60 rounds a second, full automatic, cold dead hands, baby! Oh yeah!
ReplyDeleteActually, I don't. Ammo is expensive. One shot one kill is more like it.
The price of shooting the Tommy Gun in Vegas was around a buck a round. It was a one-off thing.
DeleteHoly carp! One might be tempted to burn through some money at such a venue. And burn through it one would, from the sound of it. Damn, boy, that is awesome!
DeletePut me down for ten bux worth right now!
And, as I have written about DiFi previously, give Dan White a diet of something other than Twinkies and she would not be a senator.
ReplyDeleteShe is an idiot, but let us hope she fails on this particular idiotic pursuit.
All the legislation in the world, won't solve the problem. The problem rests with people, not with the instruments that they use. Politicians (lawyers) feel that the right law will make a difference and it NEVER does.
ReplyDeleteSen. Feinstein needs to go live in Mexico with its police state and very tough gun laws to see what good those laws do.
That was avery good post you did on that point, LL.
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