I don’t think I can make my point any clearer, if you bother to read the facts. Don’t just take my word for it; If you really want to learn something, search out a few facts to read for yourself. If you don’t want to see things any other way, then your way is the only way you’ll see it, I guess.
Facts everyone here can agree on (I hope):
Banning all weapons = bad
Banning no weapons = bad (unless you think civilians should have access to military equipment?)
The tricky part is figuring out where to settle in between the extremes. Should properly licensed individuals be able to get around certain bans (hmm would that really be a ban then…)? What weapons do law enforcement agencies need access to? How much regulation should someone have to go through to get a weapon?
Also, assault weapons seem to be poorly defined under the assault weapons ban. What properties does a weapon need to have to be classified a certain way?
Vorpy is right.
Right on all points.
Aldred, I’m not saying that military rifles equal a nuclear weapon. I’m saying that everyone having access to powerful weapons doesn’t make everyone safer, in fact it generally creates more fear and tension. Hell, people aquiring more powerful weapons just leads to arms races where more powerful weapons are produced as well as more insecurity. If everyone has powerful weapons on the streets, then the criminals will likely come up with more powerful weaposn to give themselves an edge again, like how assault rifles give them an edge right now and why they work to get them.
I don’t understand what you mean. I was simply clarifying Infonick’s point, not refuting yours, since you seem to misinterpret his comparison.
All you have to do is read…I’m talking about how the law effects PERSONAL DEFENSE weapons, not machine guns. HANDGUNS. I think I’ve said that many times already.
And yes, Vorpy has said in a simple statement what I could not get across in umpteen posts.
EDIT: To answer your question, Vorpy, the ban had only one set standard: anything with a magazine that held over 10 rounds was an assault weapon. That was the only uniform rule; in addition to this, the ban targeted specific weapons by make and model rather than type (e.g. banning the Glock 19 handgun), as well as certain types of ammunition.
This only lead to criminals using different weapons, which is how the Desert Eagle became as popular as it is now; the people who wrote the ban foolishly decided the Desert Eagle, in addition to other similar handguns, was too expensive for criminals to afford and didn’t include it in the ban. It has a 7-round clip (within the legal limit) and is indeed expensive, but can fire .357, .44, and .50AE ammo, which basically lead to handcannons being used on the streets for several years.
Since more states have begun allowing citizens to carry concealed, the violent crime rate in those states have dropped, and the rate for the entire country as a whole has lessened as well.
Guns are harmless. People who feel they need guns to protect themselves, now, those aren’t.