Another Gun Story Rebuttal
Posted by Jeff Pruitt - 6/30/08 @ 11:38 pm - Filed Under Featured, Local Politics
There was a gun-related article in last week’s News-Sentinel that I wanted to respond to - it was about the dreaded AK-47 and its impact here in Fort Wayne. As typical with any gun article there were a few inaccuracies. Let’s start from the beginning:
The bullets that tore into him March 31 as he pumped gas were the extremely powerful 7.62 x 39 mm slugs from an AK-47-style semiautomatic rifle.
First the 7.62×39 describes the cartridge and not the “slug”. Next, just because it was a 7.62×39 cartridge doesn’t mean it came from an AK-47 as the SKS fires the same round and is half the cost of an AK-47. And guess what else? The SKS wasn’t subject to the original Assault Weapons Ban.
Don’t forget that more people are killed with knives every year than assault rifles, but let’s just continue with more odd quotes from the article:
The Associated Press reported March 26 that traces by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for semiautomatic rifles seized or connected to crimes have increased 11 percent since 2005. Traces of AK-47s and knockoff models increased from 1,140 in 1993, the year before the ban took effect, to 8,547 last year, the AP reported.
These statistics go against the point they’re trying to make. Follow me here - according the numbers given above, from 1993-2007 (the vast majority of which fell under the assault weapons ban) we had an annual average increase of 43% per year; that is AK-47s traced to crime.
But their own data now shows that after the ban expired the number of guns connected to crimes has only gone up 11% over the last three years! Sounds like violent crimes committed with semi-automatic rifles is actually going down - not surprising considering the weapon of choice for criminals is the handgun. Now for the good stuff:
Cronin refused comment on whether the expiration has made it easier for criminals to get semiautomatic rifles, but York said he believes it has.
“I certainly don’t think it’s helped, because even legitimate owners can get them stolen in robberies and they end up in the wrong hands,” York said. “I don’t know why the civilian population needs an assault rifle.”
Let’s step back a second here. The Assault Weapons Ban grandfathered in all existing models. Also, manufacturers were able to eliminate minor features to make their new models exempt from the ban - pistol grips, flash suppressors, bayonet lugs, etc. I guess my point is that the assault weapons ban didn’t really ban semi-automatic rifles as some people might think. Criminals could still get them, just like they can now, but I guess they had to live without the bayonets.
I’m not sure what Rusty York considers an assault rifle but I’d say that I have just as much a reason to own one as the police do. The fact that the police have them means I definitely should have the right to have them. The day the military and the police lay down their arms will be the day I consider doing so as well. This President has pushed us ever closer to a police state and the quickest way to accelerate that process is to disarm the citizenry - ask Mugabe. Furthermore, I would think the Chief of Police might want to spend his time worrying about the dozen unsolved murders (11 of which I believe were committed with handguns) rather than AK-47s.
And what would a 2nd amendment post be without a ridiculous Paul Helmke quote:
He noted the 1934 ban on machine gun sales helped reduce gang-related carnage
Really? Gang violence in 1934 was worse than it is today? I’m sure those living in South-Central Los Angeles might disagree with that a bit.
Semi-automatic rifles are rarely used in homicides. And do you honestly think that a murderous thug wouldn’t just pick up a semi-automatic handgun if he couldn’t get his hands on a rifle? The truth is the Assault Weapons Ban was always about laying the groundwork for a full up ban on guns. Thankfully the Supreme Court has closed that possibility…
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12 Responses to “Another Gun Story Rebuttal”
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Jeff,
I would also like to point out the sensationalism written into the first paragraph you quote. The 7.62×39 cartridge is not considered “extremely powerful” by any means. A 12 gauge slug, used extensively by Indiana hunters, has a muzzle energy of around 2500 ft-lbs, compared to about 1500 ft-lbs for the 7.62×39. In fact, the majority of common hunting cartridges have far more energy. For example, the 30-06 comes in around 3000 ft-lbs.
Is the 7.62×39 more powerful than a handgun round? Yes. But the fact that the rifle firing it is black and scary does not make it an “extremely powerful” super cartridge.
Jeff:
The size of the round doesn’t seem as important to me as the volume (rate) of fire. While I would rather not have to face a person pointing even a BB gun at me, I would be even less pleased by having some clown drive down my street spraying 7.62 or 9MM or .45 Cal or ANY calibre round at a rate of 800 rounds a minute. I don’t care if he/she is trying to hit the house next door or not. Once the round leaves the barrel, NO ONE has any control over it no matter what the size. And as far as you having a weapon that has a rate of fire of more than zero, You show me how well trained you are in the use of that weapon and I’ll stop worrying about where your shots end up. I would much rather have a police officer handling an automatic weapon (assuming he listened in training class) than my next door neighbor throwing rock at me from 10 feet. By the way, a real assult weapon is a 12 Ga. Shotgun with number 4 (.32 cal) buck shot. Now thats scary!
John-you like most of our citizens and virtually ALL of our biased media do not understand the workings of SEMI-automatic weapons.No one can “spray rounds from a semi-auto at 800 rounds per minute”. By definition a semi-auto requires the user to pull the trigger for each round fired and even expert marksmen would have trouble firing more than 150 rounds per minute and most magazines only hold 10 or less rounds. Fully automatic(commonly called machine guns)weapons have been subject to very strict Federal regs and licensing since the 30s. The use of terms such as “semi-automatic,assault weapons and AK47″ are simply designed to scare the uninformed and promote gun controls/bans i.e. the Helmke agenda!
1. We did not have an assault weapons ban… we had a “scary looking gun ban”.
2. By definition a true assault rifle is able to switch from semi-automatic to fully automatic with the flip of a switch. They are not banned, but have been severely regulated since the 1930’s
3. I would argue that the automatic weapon ban in the 1930’s did little to curb gang violence, but rather the law enforcement methods of the 1930’s curbed gang violence. For example:
John Dillinger 2008: Mr. Dillinger would be tracked down by the ATF for 5 years and eventually caught. He would post bond and wait till his trial date (18 months after his arrest). His trial would occur on in Chicago and he would be defended by an attorney that would point out how poor he was and how abused he was by his great uncle twice removed. He would be found guilty and sentenced to 5 years in prison.
John Dillinger 1934
Blackmail an illegal immigrant girlfriend to finger Dillinger, set up an ambush and gun him down before he could draw his weapon.
Bonnie and Clyde 2008: ATF and FBI agents would track the duo apprehending them. Clyde is tried and sentenced to death by lethal injection. He spends 25 years in appeal and dies of a heart attack brought on by high cholesterol n 2033. Bonnie is released after serving 4 years because she was a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of Clyde.
Bonnie and Clyde 1934:
Ambushed in Bienville Parish, Louisiana by four TEXAS rangers. During the ambush the four rangers emptied four Browning Automatic Weapons into the car before switching to their 12 ga shotguns and finally to their 1911 colt handguns. When asked why they shot so many times the reply was “we just didn’t want to take any chances”.
Seems to me law enforcement was just more effective in 1934.
Lockwood:
I understand the operation of simi-automatic weapons quite well. Having been in law enforcement for a number of years. I also know it takes very little effort to modify almost any simi-automatic weapon so it will fire with one pull of the trigger. And “to spray” even 5-10 rounds per minute from a simi-automatic weapon is not conducive to accurate placement. As for the fear of violating the federal ban on fully automatic weapons, I’m sure the persons that post the methods to modify simi-automatic have very little respect for that law. I have no bias toward properly trained persons that HAVE A NEED possessing semi-automatic weapons. I know of very few properly trained persons that need a semi-automatic weapon that has a 30 round clip. No matter what calibre the round it fires. As a matter of fact I know a number of “trained” police officers that should be driving cars, let alone carrying simi-automatic weapons.
Jon:
Thank the maker someone pays attention to history and our propensity to seemingly repeat the wrong aspects of it,while doing nothing about the good ones.
I also much prefer a 12 ga slug (outbound of course) as opposed to a 7.62 x whatever or even a 9mm.
And if I ever needed to get something that would “clean the streets” in a hurry, I’d go with a Kriss .45 SMG or a Grendel (A4 modified)
Funny thing…we probably wouldn’t be having this convo if that small percentage of the populace could never get weapons…but they CAN…and WILL, no matter what ban IS or IS NOT in place.
Anyone recall the term “straw purchase” and the woman caught here at H&H when she “bought” several .40 cal handguns for PERSONAL PRTECTION?..hell, even I don’t need all that in MY neighborhood…yet, but it’s trying to get to that point.
Still, it is nice to have the law-abiding people on a more LEVEL “playing field” for a change.
And granted, some LEOs might better serve the public from BEHIND the desk, than with a firearm on their hip.
BTW Jon…love your “updated” analysis of Dillinger and Bonnie & Clyde…right on target (pun intended).
;)
B.G.
Just so you know, the AK-47 rifle was developed in the USSR in 1947. Many different variants of it exist, all of them fire the same round. An authentic AK-47 can fire 600 rounds per minute.
John-I apologize for misjudging your knowledge of weapons based on your “spraying” comment.I guess none of us want reckless criminals firing weapons in our neighborhoods. I am a bit concerned about your comments on private citizens”having a need’. When Australia banned all semi-auto weapons they got hunting rifles(browning BAR for example),and semi-auto shotguns of all types. I would not be happy with some politician or judge deciding whether or not I need my 35Rem hunting pistol or my Winchester semi-auto shotgun!!
The Eighteenth Amendment (Prohibition of alcohol) was largely responsible for creating a huge criminal enterprise in the 20’s and 30’s. This is not meant to dismiss the fact that those criminals did use guns, but just to point out that their main source of business simply would not have existed had it not been for prohibition.
By the way, I believe the Twenty-First Amendment (repeal of prohibition) was passed in 1933, a year before the ban on machine gun sales. So is it really fair to give full credit for the drop in gang violence to the weapons ban, or could it be at least in part because they took one of the gangsters main enterprises out of the criminal arena?
Robert,
Nearly all AK-47s in circulation today are semi-auto. Full auto versions are highly regulated and thus extremely expensive…
Lockwood:
Not a problem. I have no wish to see all simi-automatic weapons banned. I disagree with those that feel everyone should have a right to anything. Just as I would not want my sons to drive Formula One race cars (I have been a passenger from time to time), I believe there are very few persons that are qualified to posess rapid fire, high velocity firearms. As a retired police offcer I still feel the finest home protection firearm is the 20 GA shotgun. It won’t kick the wife to hard or scare her to death! Can’t say I’m much of a hunter since I got shot on my first fox hunt. The guy had a semi-auto shotgun and a single shot brain!!!!!
Phil makes an excellent observation and one can’t help but see a parallel with the current drug prohibition. Would semi-automatic carbines be as prevalent on the streets as law enforcement alleges if there was not so much money to be made in illicit drugs? Just as the gangsters of old used BARs and Thompsons to protect their operations, modern gangsters have simply picked the modern (semi-automatic) equivalent to protect their trade.