Mystery Solved?
I missed it in the post below but it should be noted that the press is now reporting that the unnamed assault weapon used in the Oakland shooting was an SKS. Which was a weapon not covered by the Assault Weapons Ban. And in California, the SKS is banned unless the grenade launcher attachment is filed off and the muzzle brake is permanently attached.
Still, we must ban assault weapons because they were not used in this crime.
Clenched fist salute: Rustoleum.
March 31st, 2009 at 1:47 pm
They’ll all be Assault Weapons someday.
March 31st, 2009 at 2:26 pm
I have a Yugoslav 59/66, the same kind of firearm they say the murderer used in this crime. Even a cursory look would tell you they’re not at all the same. Even I get confused over AK variants, but the difference between an SKS and AK is just enormous.
SKS
AK
March 31st, 2009 at 4:20 pm
There is no such thing as an “assault weapon” unless by that we mean any weapon (knife, club, fist, et al) used in the commission of an assault.
Surely you all know how this works; we demonize a class of guns for a generation, and get people thinking there’s something uniquely different about them that makes them subject to more restrictions, then we start referring to other guns as “assault weapons” so we have excuses to restrict them as well. Restrict, rinse, repeat.
Even we gun people are falling for it as we argue over what is and what is not an “assault weapon”. We’re concentrating on watching one hand, while the other hand is busy working the trick. You say, “hey, look– this is an AK and this is an SKS. Look at these differences!” Yet we all know that the practical differences are almost nil, as is the difference between your SKS and a Remington 7400 (except that your 7400 in .308 is far more “deadly”). And if the 7400 is an evil death machine, well then so is your CMP M1 Carbine, your 10/22, your J-frame revolver, ad infinitum. If banning your Browning belt-fed and your Thompson sub machinegun doesn’t end all crime (you know it can’t possibly) and if banning your semi-auto AK doesn’t end all crime (you know it can’t possibly) well then obviously we need to ban your 1860 Colt percussion .44 revolver (it was, after all, designed for war– for killing people don’t you know. It’s called the 1860 “Army”)
Don’t fall for any of it.
March 31st, 2009 at 5:44 pm
I don’t think the mystery is solved yet.
The supporting link is blind. When I search for mercurynews.com all I find is an editorial dated the 31st (which is not news) and a much earlier story dating to the 23rd. And a single early story, though seemingly detailed about the events of that day, is not enough for me to believe mercurynews got it right on the one detail of which rifle model Mixon used.