Assault weapons, assault rifles, and machine guns
We may never know.
Been following the news on the AL nut job who killed a bunch of people to learn what weapon was used. Figured it may be a catalyst to some talks about bans on weapons that look like assault weapons.
One article calls it an automatic weapon.
Alabama Department of safety says:
McLendon was armed with two assault rifles, an SKS and a Bushmaster, using high-capacity magazines taped together; a shotgun; and a .38-caliber handgun. At this time we believe that he fired in excess of 200 rounds during the assaults.
Over at Reason, Jacob Sullum says the police say the shooter used a machine gun:
He opened up on us with an AK-47. That’s what it looked like. It could have been an M-16, but it was an assault rifle, automatic. And he burst about 15 to 18 rounds on our vehicle, all at once.
So, which is it? Probably never know for certain but I’m guessing it was probably not a machine gun. But the conflation of assault weapon and machine gun is one of the things anti-gunners use to their advantage. Get ready for the spin.
Update: With a quickness, the Brady Camp seeks to cover the earth with the blood of the lambs. And apparently his 38 caliber handgun is also a military-style semiautomatic assault weapon.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
I’m waiting for the day the Brady Bunch calls my Single Action’s *Military Style* assault weapons.
Geez.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
What about all those plastic-handled assault knives that people have in their kitchens? Most of them are razor-sharp and can cut flesh with very little effort! There’s no licensing to buy or own them, and the government has no system to track them. Scary, I tells ya! Something should be done about them!
March 11th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
I no longer give a shit what they say or how they lie. If they really believe this shit, now is the time for them to try to take them.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Now, what do they say about the 17 year old German kid who shot up his school?
Oh wait, that’s double unpossible: he’s 17, and in Germany.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
ASSAULT REVOLVERS!!!
RUN FOR THE HILLS!!!
Sorry, I’m a bit jumpy today: I made the mistake of checking in on my 401K.
March 11th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Poll at CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/
March 11th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
To the Brady Bunch, a Brown Bess musket would still be a military style assault weapon.
Colt 1873 revolvers were military issue like Trapdoor Springfields and 03A3 Springfields.
Anything not resembling military issue will be too small and cheap, Saturday Night Special, or hunting related, with regulation provided by PETA.
Pardon me, my cynicism is showing…
John
March 11th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Markie Marxist sez: “If only we had laws against people being allowed to buy these military machine guns designed for the battlefield at the local mom and pop gun store, then we wouldn’t have all these terrible massacres where dozens of people are mowed down with the spray of bullets from these dangerous fully automatic weapons of war whose only purpose is to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible. That’s why we’ll say we have to renew the assault weapons ban. The public will buy that argument. They’re ignorant enough. They won’t believe it when their banned 10/22’s get them a visit from a state police SWAT assault weapons gun safety confiscation team, but it’ll be too late then. Once we have them disarmed, we can round up our political enemies, those former gun owners, and send them to the gulag for their executions whenever we please. They’ll get a bullet in the back of the head and we’ll say it’s necessary to reduce gun violence.”
March 12th, 2009 at 11:04 am
“Alabama, and our nation, must take action to make it harder for dangerous people to get dangerous weapons,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign.”
Well, at least they got part of it right..