Gun control laws. Reasonable or stupid?

[Excalibur]

Originally Posted by MT2008

I've told Excalibur (in this same topic) that the IRA did in fact purchase Barrett rifles in the 1990s. They got the weapons from American gun stores, too. And they used them to kill British soldiers in Northern Ireland.

Saying this does not mean I am in favor of a ban on .50-caliber rifles, but I think it does us no good to exaggerate.

But it isn't like we've got people in the states that are that are so paramilitary organized like the IRA against the US government to get off their lawn. That's what the IRA was fighting about, beating back what they are calling British occupiers in their nation and fighting what they are calling a war. But just because it happened over there and not in America, doesn't mean it couldn't. Just don't like like making a law about it when it hasn't happen and saying it will NOT happen because of a law that's written by men on a piece of paper isn't going to work.

Originally Posted by MoviePropMaster2008

I just LOVE IT when a gang banger shoots it out with a a gun that's already ILLEGAL under California law and the media and politicians use it as a call for MORE GUN LAWS. As if a perp with a rap sheet a mile long can buy ANY gun legally in this state, and also getting something which the rest of the population cannot. The lapse in logic is astounding.

Originally Posted by MT2008

The law is certainly illogical, but it's not illogical to see why it fails: As long as gun laws differ between cities and states, then obviously a law passed in one state is not going to be effective. I'm a gangbanger in Los Angeles and I have a beyotch in a neighboring state (like Oregon) with no criminal record, the only thing I have to do to get an AK or AR-15 is get her to buy the gun for me and then drive across state lines to get it from her.

That's 2 illegals. One a convicted man not allowed to own a gun, and he has one now. And the second is some girl who previously has no criminal record, will NOW have a criminal record by supplying a convicted man a weapon that said man isn't allowed to have.

Originally Posted by MT2008

Which "crazy guy" are you referring to? And if you can't tell intuitively that said "crazy guy" could kill more people with 33-shot mags, then you have something wrong with you.

I was referring to the VA Tech guy and how the media described in detailed what kinds of guns he was carrying and the ammo capacity of his magazines.

Do you really think he was firing pin point shots with a 33 round magazine in semi auto or that he would just shoot wildly around until he hits someone? We don't know that. The idea for a civilian is that listing something as a "high capacity" magazine is a scare word to the general public. Granted 33 round would be a high capacity mag when compared to a Glock 17 standard mag of what? half that? I've seen news report of reporters calling an M16's 30 round magazine a "high capacity" magazine.

Originally Posted by MT2008

No, but that's a moot point. Anyone with common sense knows that magazine capacity allows you to fire more and, potentially, shoot more people. Are you telling me that I shouldn't have spent so much money buying 15-round mags for my SIG, when I could have bought the 10-rounders for cheaper? (they're always on sale at my FFL, because nobody around here wants to buy them anymore)

First off, your state and my state allows for no limit on capacity in magazines. I could get a 100 round drum mag for a Glock 17. Would I? Not really, why? practicality. It's big, unwieldy and heavy as hell to carry.

If I had a Beretta 92 and I've trained to reload very fast and not fumble with mags. It'd take about a second or 2 to unload the empty mag, insert new mag and press slide release and continue firing. Would that be so much different than if I had a 15 round magazine with a round in the chamber? What if I had a gun that doesn't have a "standard" 10 round mag like a 1911, or revolvers? What about my carry conceal weapon, which can hold up to 9 rounds because it's designed to be small, like the Walther PPS, or the Glock 26? The magazine limits would only affect full size handguns, which can have mags more than 15 depending on which model, but carry conceal, back up guns, revolvers, weren't designed to have that much ammo as a "standard". And why 10? Why not 11, or 12, or 8, or 6? Did a committee sit down for several hours and decided on such a round number like 10?

Would and average street thug, gangbanger, or random crook be that trained? maybe not, but limit in magazine capacity is a "limit" sure to shooting, but only for a second or 2 before he reloads. If the man can carry as many mags with him as possible, do you really think it'll make a difference? One more life is spared for a second before the killer reloads and runs after said victim? or another victim?

Running empty from a 10 round mag and then reloading when you're shooting against a crowd of unarmed people is just a pause of hell in lead form. Running out of ammo with a 10 round limited magazine when facing hostile people in front of you can mean life or death.

And don't say most thugs would run away at the sight of a gun in your hand. That's the same what if talk that leads to stupid laws being created in the first place. Well what if that thug or thug doesn't run away when you draw your gun on them and they react and you need to shoot. What if they had a gun, takes cover and starts shooting and you had to shoot back? And you run out because you had only 10 rounds in your mag because of a stupid law. Yeah you're right, more than 10 rounds does make a difference. If you are the person that needs more than 10 rounds.


And how about if I go shooting up a school with a .50 cal Beowulf upper on my AR-15? That's 10 rounds in a mag, half a pound of lead will be coming out of that thing when I unload and the stopping power is extreme. Plus if I aim well and hit anywhere in the torso of a victim, I'd kill them with this thing. That's 10 dead from 1 mag. If I'm a highly trained man on a killing spree and in an office building, 10 rounds can get me say 7 people if I miss a couple. Reload and boom, several more. Would having just 5 less or 2 less if I am holding a different caliber matter that much?