Opinion

[Nick]

Maybe but doutful
Senators Introduce Assault Weapons Ban
Nov 08 2017

Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and a number of her colleagues today introduced the Assault Weapons Ban of 2017, a bill to ban the sale, transfer, manufacture and importation of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Joining Senator Feinstein on the bill are Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.). All Dems, never pass.

Senator Feinstein, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement:

“We’re introducing an updated Assault Weapons Ban for one reason: so that after every mass shooting with a military-style assault weapon, the American people will know that a tool to reduce these massacres is sitting in the Senate, ready for debate and a vote.

“This bill won’t stop every mass shooting, but it will begin removing these weapons of war from our streets. The first Assault Weapons Ban was just starting to show an effect when the NRA stymied its reauthorization in 2004. Yes, it will be a long process to reduce the massive supply of these assault weapons in our country, but we’ve got to start somewhere.

“To those who say now isn’t the time, they’re right—we should have extended the original ban 13 years ago, before hundreds more Americans were murdered with these weapons of war. To my colleagues in Congress, I say do your job.

History

“It’s important to understand how we got where we are today. In 1966, the unthinkable happened: a madman climbed the University of Texas clock tower and opened fire, killing more than a dozen people.

“It was the first mass shooting in the age of television, and it left a real impression on the country. It was the kind of terror we didn’t expect to ever see again. But around 30 years ago, we started to see an uptick in these types of shootings, and over the last decade they’ve become the new norm.

In July 2012, a gunman walked into a darkened theater in Aurora and shot 12 people to death, injuring 70 more. One of his weapons was an assault rifle. The sudden and utterly random violence was a terrifying sign of what was to come.

In December 2012, a young man entered an elementary school in Newtown and murdered six educators and 20 young children. One of his weapons was an assault rifle. Watching the aftermath of these young babies being gunned down was heartrending.

In June 2016, a gunman entered a nightclub in Orlando and sprayed revelers with gunfire. The shooter fired hundreds of rounds, many in close proximity, and killed 49. Many of the victims were shot in the head at close range. One of his weapons was an assault rifle.

Last month, a gunman opened fire on concertgoers in Las Vegas, turning an evening of music into a killing field. All told, the shooter used multiple assault rifles fitted with bump-fire stocks to kill 58 people. The concert venue looked like a warzone.

Over the weekend in Sutherland Springs, 26 were killed by a gunman with an assault rifle. The dead ranged from 17 months old to 77 years. No one is spared with these weapons of war. When so many rounds are fired so quickly, no one is spared. Another community devastated and dozens of families left to pick up the pieces.

“These are just a few of the many communities we talk about in hushed tones—San Bernardino, Littleton, Aurora, towns and cities across the country that have been permanently scarred.

“And the numbers continue to grow. Between 1988 and 1997, 125 were killed in 18 mass shootings. The next decade, 1998 to 2007, 171 were killed in 21 mass shootings. And over the last 10 years, 2008 to 2017, 437 were killed in 50 mass shootings.

“That’s 89 mass shootings in the last 30 years that snuffed out the lives of more than 700 people. Additionally, many police officers killed in the line of duty are killed by assault weapons, including 1 in 5 officers killed in 2014.

After each shooting, we’re told it’s not the right time to act. We’re told to respect the victims by sitting on our hands. Well, the time for inaction is over.”

It will never pass so long as the NRA has so many Senators in its pocket!

 

[highup]

“It’s important to understand how we got where we are today. In 1966, the unthinkable happened: a madman climbed the University of Texas clock tower and opened fire, killing more than a dozen people.

“It was the first mass shooting in the age of television, and it left a real impression on the country. It was the kind of terror we didn’t expect to ever see again. But around 30 years ago, we started to see an uptick in these types of shootings, and over the last decade they’ve become the new norm.

How about we regulate the news and media which glorifies these recent tragedies for weeks or months, showing other deranged individuals how they too can gain attention and become famous.

 

[Floorist]

Feinstein said several years ago that her goal was to eliminate private ownership of all guns. First of all, none of those shooters used an "assault" weapon. an assault weapon is a selective fire rifle, which is almost impossible to own. It takes a special $200 permit and the rifles cost about $25,000. Second, the AR 15 is generally a 22 caliber gun which is primarily used to hunt small game. Most regular semi-auto hunting rifles are more powerful. Third, the original "assault" weapons ban was based on looks, not function. A muzzleloader would have been banned if you added the "scary black" accessories. Fourth, they don't enforce current laws. Over 80,000 people have lied on the background check, a felony, and less than 2% of those have been prosecuted.

The number of gun homicides has declined every year for almost 30 years. It is about 1/2 of what it was then, while the ownership of guns has increased.
The AR 15 type guns were not illegal under the assault weapons ban of 1994. So to say the ban did anything is an outright lie.
What she would really like to do is confiscate all 300 million guns in the US, just like Hitler did before he killed the Jews.

 

[Floorist]

At the present time, there are over 20,000 gun laws on the books and almost none get enforced. I believe it is Mass. that that has a law that makes it illegal to pass an antique gun down to a relative. The places with the most gun homicides, Chicago, DC, etc have the most restrictive gun laws in the US.
Almost everyone in my area owns a gun or several. We have had one gun homicide in the last 7 years in my county and it was a drug deal gone bad.

 

[Floorist]

Sen Diane Fienstein said that EVERY returning vet has PTSD and should NOT be able to get a gun.

 

[Nick]

....

 

[zannej]

Is an M-14 with automatic firing disabled considered an assault weapon? I'm ok with having some common sense gun laws and actually enforcing them. I know people who are not allowed to own guns due to criminal history, but they still have them. I have friends who believe we should have to get licenses and registration for guns. I saw someone saying we should have to carry insurance--- but I disagree. That would just be a way to prevent poor people from being able to own guns because they couldn't afford the insurance. I'm honestly on the fence about a lot of things-- but I do think that gun safety and teaching children and young adults not to play with guns or treat them as toys would be wise.

I do think that the media plays a large part in the problem. They glorify the killers whether they intend to or not. People learn that if they want to cement their place in history and be remembered, they can accomplish it by killing a bunch of people or doing horrible things. There is some 14-year-old drug-using spoiled rotten brat who gets tons of $ from "followers" on Instagram and Youtube because for some reason, people look up to her because she became famous through notoriety. People like that should not be given media attention because it only encourages more people to be like them. I think another problem is that there is a lack of respect for other human beings. The lamestream media profits from all of the violence and mayhem and in some ways they encourage it. Shortly after 9-11 they were going to places and showing where they were on maps and saying how devastating it would be if those places were attacked/bombed too. They even detailed out plans of what terrorists could do. They wanted to fearmonger and also, I think some of them secretly hoped that the terrorists would use those plans or attack those places so they could get a more sensational news story.

 

[highup]

....

If I was a church goer, I'd be happy goin' to that one.

 

[highup]

I think some of those M-1 "type" rifles can be modified, but it's illegal to do so, or to sell the parts that convert them to be fully automatic.
It's illegal to combine fertilizer and oil to make a bomb too.......... People who are crazy, or criminals or terrorists don't really care about the law. Take away guns and they use trucks, or bombs. The problem is people...... and it's really hard to control planned attacks or spontaneous outbursts. Sad as it is, no laws can prevent the unpredictable.
As far as that last shooting at the church ...... Some heads ought to roll in the military for not reporting his mental state and criminal past. The guy still may have gotten his hands on a weapon by some other means if he had been denied legal access to one through a background check. But if the military had reported his mental issues and record, maybe this wouldn't have happened. ...or maybe it would have happened with a different method of attack. People bent on destruction will find a way.

 

[Floorist]

The AR 15 (scary rifle) is no different in function than a semi-auto 22 caliber rabbit gun. In fact, most AR 15s use a .223 round which is almost the same as a 22 round. The AR 15 is used for hunting small game like rabbits and squirrels and many people used them for feral hogs, although to be truthful, I think I would want something more powerful for a hog.

 

[Floorist]

“But to ban guns because criminals use them is to tell the innocent and law-abiding that their rights and liberties depend not on their own conduct, but on the conduct of the guilty and the lawless, and that the law will permit them to have only such rights and liberties as the lawless will allow. … For society does not control crime, ever, by forcing the law-abiding to accommodate themselves to the expected behavior of criminals. Society controls crime by forcing the criminals to accommodate themselves to the expected behavior of the law-abiding.” Jeff Snyder

 

[Floorist]

OK what is the difference in these two rifles?

 

[Floorist]

The top one, the AR 15 would be banned. The bottom one would not.
(same as the 1994 ban)

They both use the same ammo, hold the same amount of rounds and have the same rate of fire.

 

[Floorist]

United Kingdom: The UK enacted its handgun ban in 1996. From 1990 until the ban was enacted, the homicide rate fluctuated between 10.9 and 13 homicides per million. After the ban was enacted, homicides trended up until they reached a peak of 18.0 in 2003. Since 2003, which incidentally was about the time the British government flooded the country with 20,000 more cops, the homicide rate has fallen to 11.1 in 2010. In other words, the 15-year experiment in a handgun ban has achieved absolutely nothing.

Ireland: Ireland banned firearms in 1972. Ireland’s homicide rate was fairly static going all the way back to 1945. In that period, it fluctuated between 0.1 and 0.6 per 100,000 people. Immediately after the ban, the murder rate shot up to 1.6 per 100,000 people in 1975. It then dropped back down to 0.4. It has trended up, reaching 1.4 in 2007.

Australia: Australia enacted its gun ban in 1996. Murders have basically run flat, seeing only a small spike after the ban and then returning almost immediately to preban numbers. It is currently trending down, but is within the fluctuations exhibited in other nations.

 

[Nick]

.....

 

[highup]

I've never seen that mentioned anywhere... I never knew the Marines were that old.
That would be one interesting Birthday party for sure.

 

[zannej]

So, I was reading an article about the church shooting and there was an important detail that is not being mentioned on any of the news outlets I've been seeing discuss it: One of the parishioners pulled out a rifle and shot the spree killer and ended his shooting spree. The killer did manage to grab a hostage and drive off but later crashed and the police weren't sure of the cause of death-- but that man shooting him saved more lives.

And I still see people saying things like "Well, if people are carrying guns, why don't they just shoot them?" only in this case someone did, but the news is not mentioning it. If this guy had obtained his guns illegally and gone in shooting and citizens were not allowed to own guns, that parishioner would not have legally had a gun to stop him.

 

[Floorist]

Assault rifle==short, compact, selective-fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between submachine gun and rifle cartridges. It must be capable of selective fire. (not AR15 or AK 47, both are semi-auto)
Cost about $25,000....needs a special $200 permit. can take years to get one.

 

[Floorist]

ad from 1963....AR...Armalite model 15 (Armalite manufacturing company)

 

[Ernesto]

Thought I posted this here before but couldn't find it. AR does not stand for assault rifle. https://www.nssf.org/msr/