A guy can use a car to run a bomb into a building and kill as many people as a guy with a gun or a AR, glock, 1911, shotgun or any weapon. If you ban ar's and ak's, next you will be banning Ruger Mini 14's because heck you can get 40 round clips for them too! So now that you ban the ranch rifle, how about short barrel shotguns made for home defense. Once you get rid of glocks, how about Para Ordinance or 1911 colts, You can buy high round clips for them too! Next let's go after Baseball bats and knifes, the trend doesn't end. Everytime someone gets killed with a gun, gun control laws are proposed as a knee jerk reaction. The same thing will happen with hot rods. Some rat rod poorly constructed will end up rolling and flipping and killing a mini van full of kids. Knee jerk reaction, don't let people build their own cars, ban high horsepower vehicles with the potential to be more dangerous. The problem is the car, the bat the knife the gun, the bomb or whatever, is not the problem. The problem is the person using them. Getting rid of the device will just change the weapon. Meanwhile those of us who collect weapons, who target shoot, who hunt, who want something in the safe for the next natural disaster to defend our families from these same idiots are going to be in trouble, because it will be against the law to do or own anything. This isn't hype, or war mongering or NRA line of bull, it is happening already. Everytime someone on this forum chimes in about hotrod restrictions, or NASCAR restrictions, based on accidents, or about paint regulations based on chemicals, where do you think this stuff starts? Usually in California or New York, and they spreads like an epidemic nation wide. To own a "Assault Weapon" in California, it has to have : 1) a bullet button to lock the magazine into the reciever. 2) a ten round or less magazine that works in conjuction with the bullet button. It is a felony to Own or buy a magazine greater than ten rounds for any weapon here. You can't tell me that an AK or AR set up this way is the problem, it isn't. People using AK's for crimes aren't purchasing them legally. If you ban any ak or ar here, people will still be shot with ak's and ar's bought on the black market(because that's what criminals and psycopaths do!) All I want is to have an equal opertunity to defend myself as they do to try and kill me.
An assault weapon is any rifle with a clip with greater than 10 rounds! This includes mini 14's and 30's, it includes some of those old hunting rifles you may remember, it include a 1941 M1 carbine. It also includes any rifle of any make with a colapeable stock or folding stock. It includes any thumb hole rifle stock on a center fire rifle. Any rifle with a pistol grip or a foregrip. This is already in place here in california. As is the laws making it next to impossible to carry a concealed weapon legally. For those of us, working until midnight, near wonderful cities such as Richmond and Oakland, driving 25 miles in remote areas of unpratrolled freeways, this is scarry! I've been run off the road by gang bangers going home, I've had crazy people come at me in the hospital parking lot. Yet it is illegal for me to be able to carry self protection. If you don't think the second ammendment is under attack, then you are not aware of the laws being proposed and that are already inacted.
I agree people don't need 30 round clips or automatics, other than for redneck fun. But the fact is banning a weapon because of how it looks is rediculous. As for far better weapons for hunting than an AR, read up on some of the new semi auto hunting models and why hunters of 40 and fifty years are switching over to them. The are very accurate out to long distances, with the new ballistic combinations, they are light weight and accurate with shorter barrels at 300 plus yards. Some of my buddies are having a hard time carrying their old 10 lb remingtons and are going to the composit stock ar's for their versitility. They do not own barrel magazines or 30 round clips. They don't have automatic firing options. Ultimately, banning this won''t change anything! The problem is faulty logic that getting read of the gun will get rid of the pyschopaths. Take one weapon away from this type of individual, and they will simply find another method. I agree screening for these people can be impossible. But stopping them can be impossible too reguardless of what weapon is leagal to buy. As always the problems start at home with how these people were raised, what drugs thier parents took while they were concieved and what society allows as what is normal. I'm sure each and everyone of these things can be traced back to people who at one time said, that guy's going to kill someone some day!
If you want to really make an impact, take extreme actions in the media against the perpetrator. Make it clear to those out there with similar ideals, that they will suffer like their victims.Stop the mass addiction to meth anfedamines, stop people who are taking drugs from having children who never develop empathy during the first trimester of life, because Mom and Dad were alcoholics, using cocaine, heroine or meth. That would be far more effective.