Hats off to Charleston Daily Mail’s reporter Justin Anderson who writes:

On the Fourth of July, Raleigh County Sheriff’s deputies killed a man they said was shooting an “AK-47” off in his neighborhood.

Four years ago, police said a man walked into a Kanawha County school board meeting and shot a teacher with one.

But when police talk about a suspect wielding, possessing or shooting a so-called AK-47, it isn’t the World War II-era Soviet machine gun.

The gun that hits the news is typically a semi-automatic replica. You can buy them from licensed gun shops with a fistful of cash and a relatively clean criminal background.

The original AK-47s, and variations on the originals, are fully automatic and can’t be bought from just any gun shop like their civilian counterparts.

At least one expert estimates West Virginia collectors own only a handful of the originals. They have to be registered with the federal government.

Gun manufacturers trying to capitalize on the true AK-47’s mystique churn out the replicas.

But there’s no reason to fear a proliferation of so-called assault weapons in West Virginia. Even the replicas are rarely used in state gun crimes.

I’ve said all that a thousand times. Good to see someone in the press try to clarify. I am speechless.

Posted in uncategorized on July 28th, 2006 by SayUncle | RSS 2.0 |