Quote:
Originally Posted by ianch99
In that case, Paul, you had better shutdown the forum  The place is littered with people doing this ...
---------- Post added at 07:52 ---------- Previous post was at 07:37 ----------
No, not really. The argument has not been had but the successful attempts at misdirection have.
What are the "impossible or unrealistic parameters"? Please elaborate ..
You (again) have avoided the main problem i.e. the access to semi-automatic weapons by civilians. Look at the guns used in the most deadly mass shootings:
Deadliest mass shootings since 1949
If these were banned, in the same way as fully automatics are then the numbers of people killed would reduce.
You are obviously in favour of Gun ownership so I will ask this question yet again: why do gun owners in the US need, not want, semi-automatic weapons? Just to clear so we don't go down the rathole of "they want to take away all my guns!", I am discussing gun categories that fall outside of the group deemed appropriate to defend you, your family and your home. |
The most common reason for wanting (needing) a semi-automatic weapon is to defend one's self from an attacker armed with a semi-automatic weapon and/or multiple assailants. Since the early 1900s the semi-automatic handgun, and later the semi-automatic rifle, have been the most commonly produced firearms. As such, they are the type of weapon one would most likely encounter in an attack. Being armed with a single shot pistol in an engagement against 3 attackers puts the defender at a serious disadvantage.
This disadvantage was recognized well before the invention of the semi-automatic firearm. It was not at all uncommon for an infnatryman using a musket to be supported by a loader and two or more backup weapons. The infantryman would fire a round, hand the musket off, take a loaded one and fire again as the first weapon was reloaded. In later years this lead to the development of the cartridge which improved loading times compared to component loads.
I would also note that firearms are not required to commit a mass casualty attack. In 2014, in Kunming, China, 8 assailants stabbed to death 31 bystanders and injured another 140. The attackers, by the way, were stopped by a responder with either a fully automatic or semi-automatic firearm. THAT is the purpose of modern firearms and that is why self defense minded people want and need them.