Originally Posted By: Daye
"I can see absolutely no justification, constitutional or otherwise, why anything
deadlier than hunting or handguns should be allowed for personal possession. We
don't allow personal ownership of artillery for example, why would we allow something
like AK47? "

The same can be said for just about anything. Computers ( omghackers ), cleaning
chemicals ( omgterrorists ), moving trucks ( omgbombers and omghumantraffikers ),
and well . . . you get the idea.

For those unfamiliar with firearms, let me clarify something.

There is no difference in lethality between a revolver, a bolt action rifle, or a
semi-automatic. None. Nada. Zip. Many firearms shoot the same calibers, only their
appearance and / or rate of fire changes. That's it.

A .223 bolt gun used for hunting is every bit as lethal as its high capacity AR-15
brother. The latter allows you to simply shoot faster than the former. Make no mistake
about it, both are equally lethal. The former requires more skill to use than the latter
but, in skilled hands, is more effective.


"First AUTOMATIC weapons are illegal"

Not really. Full auto weapons manufactured prior to the full-auto ban are still legal
to own. They are considered Class III devices and therefore subject to NFA regulations.
In other words, you have to pay the government an extra tax to own one, have the paperwork
blessed by the BATFE and adhere to the extra rules governing the weapon in general.
Same thing applies to any NFA device. ( Short barreled rifles, suppressors, destructive
devices, etc. etc. ) Subject to your own State laws of course but, at the Federal level,
they are quite legal.


"So when are the same people wanting to ban guns going to start calling for the ban of
alcohol?"

Chuckle. I hear you. Never going to happen, tried it once. Didn't end well. Apparently
lesson not learned about banning things for everyone because a few don't know how to handle.


"Additionally, gun ownership rules are extremely lax right now"

Did you know, with the exception of private sales, that purchasing a firearm will subject
you to the FBI NCIS check prior to your leaving the store with it ? Every. Single. Time.
Without exception.

Purchasing a firearm LEGALLY is easy IFF you can pass the background check. If you have
never committed a crime and have never been evaluated for psycological problems, you'll
easily pass the check. Without a history to work with, it would be nigh impossible to
predict who will crack / snap next and what they will do. Even WITH a history, it would
be tough to predict.


You're right about the full auto. But that's being technical about it. Not many people have a class III license like that because they are not only hard to obtain but are expensive. If you so much as mess up paperwork you can lose it pretty fast.

The reason I didn't mention people have to get a back ground check before buying a gun is that I figured everyone already knew this. So for those that don't, YOU DO have to go through a federal background check before you can buy a gun. Handguns in some states take a couple days for them to do a background check. Some states have what they call a cool off period, where it takes a couple days for gun purchases to be granted.