Assault rifles will now be deemed legal in the US

[gnuman]

News of the Assault Rifes Ban is now expiring as of Monday and people will now be allowed to own those weapons legally. Of course the Bush administration and Congress did not bring up the matter to extend the ban on these weapons.

Bush ofcourse being looked upon by the NRA as a hero to get votes when this ban will not be renewed, it will help Bush gain even a bigger lead against fellow running mate John Kerry.

Kerry is standing up for what he believes in and is attacking the Bush Gov't by not extending this ban to protect citizens of the US, and hopefully those who have been affected by the carelessness of previous govts in regards to weapons should speak out and support Kerry on this matter.

With such loose gun control laws, it seems like Kerry really wants to take a stand and support a safer America, while on the other hand Bush will just do anything to get votes.

I give it not too long before robbers and other criminals start using Uzis and AK-47s to get what they want, and also people using AK-47s to protect their house by shooting the intruder as well and whoever is in the path of the bullet.

 

[Haggis McBagpipe]

Stuff like this makes me want to run out and dance in the (safe and free from assault weapons) streets. It is a world gone crazy, south of the border.

 

[gnuman]

It won't take too long before incidences will be happening. Who knows what though, bank robbery with AK-47s that happened back in the 90s in LA.

It will not take too long before there is another school shooting but probably will be the first with an assault rifle and the NRA will just shrug it off like they did in Columbine with their lame excuse of guns don't kill people, people kill people.

Guns are out of control in the US already and yet with assault rifles being deemed legal it will not take too long for the US to be having shootings and killings as that of a third world country.

 

[Andem]

It will not take too long before there is another school shooting but probably will be the first with an assault rifle and the NRA will just shrug it off like they did in Columbine with their lame excuse of guns don't kill people, people kill people.

It's like putting aresenic in candy. It's not the candy, it's the kids who eat it!

 

[bogie]

Total insanity. As it is, right now, Americans kill more Americans each year, within their own country, than are being killed in Iraq - or anywhere else in the world combined.

This has got to be a terrorist plot to "eliminate from within". Let 'em kill themselves!

 

[Chewy]

Yeah it pretty interesting though they claim that the ban itself was infective as it pretended to weapons that looked like an assault rifle. However if you made the weapon less scary looking and with a smaller clip it was legal. It also did not apply to weapons that were sold prior to the ban. Either way me an this Swede have been taking a pounding from our US counter parts for our opinions on gun controls. Americans love their guns. They claim they need them to keep themselves safe, they even claim they reduce crime. Most believe the crime rate in Canada is almost twice even three times that of the US, this is due to our gun laws. I’ve been really busy de-bunking the vision that Canada is that unruly.

 

[Reverend Blair]

RE: Assault rifles will n

Our crime rate is lower than theirs and our violent crime rate is dropping.

I caught a guy trying to steal the stereo out of my truck the other day at work. If I had a gun, I guess I could have shot him. If I had an assault rifle, I could have looked just like John Rambo while doing it.

I didn't have either of those things though, so instead I just walked up and said, "Excuse me, can I help you?" He apoligised and promised not to steal from our parking lot anymore.

He's not dead, I still have my stereo, and I don't have to fill out forms or hire a lawyer or patch up bullet holes in my truck. I was also able to approach him knowing that it was unlikely that he had a gun.

I work in a pretty rough neighbourhood, and I have no illusions that someday my stereo will disappear...drug addicts need to get their money from someplace. It can also be incredibly violent...the kind of place where people get kicked to death over a case of beer. It would be a far worse place if guns were readily available though.

 

[LadyC]

He apoligised and promised not to steal from our parking lot anymore.

Wow, you're good!

 

[Reverend Blair]

RE: Assault rifles will n

I look vaguely bikerish and stand in the parking lot handing out smokes during lunch and coffee breaks. The locals seem to like me, or at least look on me as an amiable rube.

I also fully understand that he'll likely break his promise the next time he starts feeling shakey. Promises are one thing, addictions are another.

 

[Chewy]

Re: RE: Assault rifles will n

Our crime rate is lower than theirs and our violent crime rate is dropping.

Bush and his administration never claimed they have brought freedom to Iraq, freeing the people, preventing terrorist attacks from Iraq?


Yeah I know how ever they like to use the stats from the Bureau of Justice Statistics to display the violent crime in the US and the Violent Crime rate from Statscan. http://bjsdata.ojp.usdoj.gov/dataonline/Search/Crime/State/statebystaterun.cfm?stateid=52 504.4 per 100,000


http://www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/legal02.htm 983.8 per 100,000
I had to point to them that a) the US stats did not include Youth Crime and Canada's did. b)The US stats did not include common or lesser assults or even uttering threats, were as ours did.
So far it ended in a stand still. However most folks south of the border belive things are going to hell up here because we have no guns.

 

[Reverend Blair]

RE: Assault rifles will n

There isn't much that can be done about that except to tell the truth, Chewi. It sounds like you are already dong that.

 

[Chewy]

I'm not too worried about it. One guys pointed out that in Canada we use other things for weapons not guns.. He was true I said I have Hockey stick for special occasions like if someone ever broke into my home. They swarmed all over that one. I conceded to that point but asked them find any stats for accidental deaths from a hockey stick going off while it was being cleaned. Or a child getting their hand on an inappropriately stored hockey stick and killing a family member. It turns out the survival rate from a hockey stick wound is higher than a gun shot wound. It’s a tough one for many of them to deal with as well. National pride can be a great thing but at times it shackles you to beliefs that are simply not true.

 

[bogie]

Re: RE: Assault rifles will n

... I caught a guy trying to steal the stereo out of my truck the other day at work. If I had a gun, I guess I could have shot him. If I had an assault rifle, I could have looked just like John Rambo while doing it....

You end result was a typical "Canadian" solution, and why we are superior in that regard.

On other forums I have seen so many NRA types, in the US, supporting the sale of all arms - "as it is their right".

Recent news item: "The sale of firearms escalated with the approach of Hurricane Ivan. One person put up a sign - If you loot I shoot". Scary stuff - imagine these "homeowners" with AK47s!. If a Hurricane rushes through Canada, everyone helps those who were devastated - "looting" is not part of our devastation.

In our "civilized" society we have trained Police, and Armed Forces, that "bear arms" on our behalf. Nothing is more dangerous than a weapon in the hands of untrained, and unskilled, civilians.

 

[Andem]

In response to one of bogie's points... I can't understand at all why someone would see it their right to own a dangerous weapon which could kill several people in one go. How does somebody have the right to hold that power? Police officers in England don't even hold that power!

The English seem to be fine with that.

 

[Isengard]

RE: Assault rifles will n

Andem, imagine you're walking in manhattan on 5th avenue, suddenly you see the biggest deer you could ever dream of, now wouldn't that be a good reason to take out your M-16 and kill the bastard? You could provide meat for your family back in your cavern for a long time! Let them have Bazooka too, more hits with one shot!

 

[Milpool]

Get your facts straight.

The so called "Assault Rifle Ban" never actually banned any assault rifles. During 1994-2004 you could still buy an AK47, the bill only banned the aesthetics that put the "assault" in assault rifle.
In the eyes of legislation, there were seven "deadly evils" that made a rifle more dangerous; collapsible buttstock, pistol grip, removable magazine, grenade launcher, threaded muzzle, bayonet lug, and flash hider.
If you purchased a gun after the ban was put in place, you could not have more than two of these items on your assault rifle. If you did, you faced a fine of $10,000 and up to 10 years in prison
However, if you purchased an assault rifle BEFORE the ban, you could have any or all of these deadly evils. Although it is near impossible to prove that your gun was pre-ban.
So, Fully automatic weapons are still illegal in the U.S, you can't go out an purchase an Uzi, however, you can purchase a Semi-Automatic AK47 with more than two of the aforementioned "assault" aesthetics.
Thank you.

 

[bogie]

I was involved in a study on Violence in the Workplace and Violence by Youth, in the U.S. These statistics were assembelled with information from various state police forces and the National Life Insurance Company. We even put together various White Papers detailing our findings.

Some U.S. info/stats to consider, that only involve "workplace violence":

The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reported that in the late 1990's that on average in the USA, 20 employees per week were murdered and another 18,000 per week were assaulted. It was also noted that the Centers for Disease Control termed "violence in the workplace" as an epidemic and that the epidemic was spreading.

From July, 1992 to July 1993 for example:
2.2 million full-time workers were physically attacked
6.3 million were threatened
16.1 million were harassed

Now, these stats make Canada look like kindergarten in comparison.

The stats on full-blown U.S. violence are much more staggering.