Sunday, January 23, 2011

Another Gunloon Myth Goes Bye-Bye

Assault Weapon Ban Deterred Gun Crime
The number of guns with high-capacity magazines seized by Virginia police dropped during a decade-long federal prohibition on assault weapons, but the rate has rebounded sharply since the ban was lifted in late 2004, according to a Washington Post analysis.

10 comments:

  1. Hmmm, under the Brady fiasco, an AR15 with a bayonet lug = bad. AR15 without bayonet lug = good.

    I concede, while the Brady ban was in place, no one was a victim of a drive by bayonetting. Crime was reduced.

    Now, spin your nonsense all you want. Make up crap, massage data, whatever. Have fun. Because McCarthy's bullshit bill is not going anywhere. You'll sleep better once you all realize that and move back into obscurity. Maybe another slaughter will come along for your enjoyment seeing how that is what you all hope and wish for.

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  2. I always liked the Eddie Izzard riff that guns don't kill people, people with guns kill people. Because if they had to simply throw the bullets at others by hand instead of using a gun (and he mimes throwing bullets by the handfull, to simulate the larger capacity magazines) they wouldn't go as far, and would just bounce off.
    For fat white man to try to spin people objecting to gun violence as desiring another tragedy is as good an example of poor reasoning as I have seen so far.

    With Robert Levy, the co-counsel on the Heller decision publicly speaking out in support of McCarthy's bill,

    http://penigma.blogspot.com/2011/01/banning-big-clips-is-supported-by.html

    and others like former Vice Pres. Dick Cheney joining in speaking in support of such a ban as a good thing, I suspect FatWhiteMan might well be wrong about that bill going somewhere. Going all the way to the President's desk for signature, we can only hope.

    What I suspect will be the best way for that to happen is for Gabrielle Giffords to recover enough to speak out in support of that bill - and I pray for that day.

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  3. "Going all the way to the President's desk for signature, we can only hope."

    That bill is never going to see the President's desk. There is no way he wants to have that put in front of him before the election. Mark my sage words.

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  4. "The number of guns with high-capacity magazines seized by Virginia police dropped during a decade-long federal prohibition on assault weapons, but the rate has rebounded sharply since the ban was lifted in late 2004, according to a Washington Post analysis. "

    The "high capacity magazines" of the AWB era are now "standard capacity magazines". Kel-tec has set a new standard - 30 round standard capacity magazines for a handgun. These aren't extended or high-cap magazines - they are standard issue and fit the firearm perfectly...

    whatcha gonna do?

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  5. Gee anon, WDC has the answer to your question:

    Division IV Criminal Law And Procedure And Prisoners.
    Title 22. Criminal Offenses And Penalties.
    Subtitle VI. Regulation And Possession Of Weapons.
    Chapter 45. Weapons And Possession Of Weapons.

    § 22-4501. Definitions.
    (c) "Machine gun," as used in this chapter, means any firearm which shoots automatically or semiautomatically more than 12 shots without reloading.

    This prohibition extends to all semi-automatic firearms which can be fitted with a clip or magazine containing 12 or more cartridges. This includes .22 caliber rifles with 15 shot tube magazines as well as automatic pistols with magazine capacity in excess of 12 rounds.

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  6. I forgot to mention that there are five states (CA, HI, MA, NJ, & NY) along with DC that restrict the sale of high-capacity magazines.

    So, there's your answer Anon--the gun is illegal unless it has a lower capcity mag.

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  7. "and others like former Vice Pres. Dick Cheney joining in speaking in support of such a ban as a good thing..."

    Of course Dick Cheney would support it. There is nothing the Republicans want more than to paint the democrats as the party of gun control this next election cycle.

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  8. I don't see the spinning or the massaging in concluding that if the number of confiscated guns with high-capacity mags went down during a time when they were properly restricted, that the law worked.

    Seems obvious to me.

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  9. MikeB,

    The article says nothing about these guns being used in the commission of a crime. In fact, very few rifles are ever used in the commission of a crime. These "confiscations" mostly include guns grabbed because other crimes were being committed and they were found at the scene or the owners were prohibited persons.

    The fact that more of these guns were confiscated with restricted capacity magazines in no way reflects the actual use of standard capacity magazines in the commission of a crime.

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