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The Spectacle Blog
If you want a corrective to some of the anti-gun nonsense circulating since the Aurora shootings, there is no better place to start than this well informed piece by Robert VerBruggen.
On whether 1990s-style gun control laws would have prevented the shooter from obtaining weapons:
James Holmes passed a background check — his worst prior infraction was a traffic ticket — and although some of his acquaintances found him “creepy,” there is no evidence that he was diagnosed with any mental illness. Further, while it’s true that one of Holmes’s guns was a so-called “assault weapon” similar to an AR-15, this gun does not differ from standard hunting rifles in most of the important ways. Holmes’s rifle fires at a semiautomatic rate — one bullet for each pull of the trigger, unlike a machine gun, which fires continuously when the trigger is held down — and uses .223-caliber ammo. This ammo is frequently found in “varmint rifles”; it is on the small side even for shooting deer.
What about the magazine, which was higher capacity than was permitted under the now-expired assault weapons ban?
Mayor Bloomberg is wrong that these magazines have no legitimate purpose — I personally own an extended magazine for my 9mm pistol; it cuts down on loading time at the range if you fill a big magazine before leaving the house. But one can make the case, and many have, that high-capacity magazines make these kinds of shootings easier to pull off by decreasing the number of times that the shooter has to reload or change guns….
However, changing magazines can take less than a second — here is an extreme example of a fast change — and someone who takes as much time preparing as Holmes did will practice doing this. Further, Holmes’s choice of a drum magazine might have made him less effective — there are reports that the magazine jammed, as large magazines are known to do.
The whole thing is worth a read.
View all comments (13) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by W. James Antle, III
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/07/24/anti-gun-media-firing-blanks
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Occam's Tool| 7.24.12 @ 4:09PM
His parents would know if he had been treated for mental illness.
Speedg3| 7.24.12 @ 8:14PM
SpeedG3
3:16 PM EDT
I am in favor of banning gun right after they ban cars. They kill many more people each year than guns because irresponsible and drunk drivers. The ones that can prove that they need a car to get to work and it cannot be reached within a mile by mass transit they may get an override as long as the get a Obama approve electric car. All in favor say yea!!! The ones not Vote Republican Nuff Said.
ebonystone| 7.24.12 @ 11:36PM
And after first banning abortion, which kills many times as many as guns and cars combined.
JohnD| 7.24.12 @ 11:15PM
I find it to be an insult to human dignity that the same government that cannot protect me, or even protect our borders, wants to prevent me from defending myself with a gun.
I live in a nice suburban neighboorhood where there is virtually no crime, but about 8 miles away there are neighboorhoods rife with MS-13 and other Latin American gangs who seem to like to carry out home invasions. I keep a Chinese SKS with a detachable 20 round magazine just in case. (I keep the gun and ammo separate, but I can grab and load it in a few seconds). I take it to the range every Friday and practice shooting with it.
The good news is Maryland has been found by a federal court to have been violating the 2nd Amendment by requiring "good and substantial" justification for concealed carry permits. I do not have to petition the Maryland State Police and set forth "good and substantial" reason to be allowed to exercise my 1st Amendment rights, do I? Starting August 8 the State of Maryland will be prohibited from requiring applicants to set forth a reason for needing a CCP. If you apply, have no record, aren't nuts, or under a domestic violence order, etc., the State Police must issue your permit.
spike59| 7.25.12 @ 5:46AM
when seconds count, the police are minutes away
police response time: 10-30 minutes
.357 response time: 1200+ FPS
JohnD| 7.25.12 @ 7:48AM
I prefer the .45 ACP round.
Maxwell| 7.25.12 @ 8:27AM
I just checked my law firm of Baer, Brown, Wilson, & Springfield. They said you are correct.
Maxwell| 7.25.12 @ 8:28AM
I wish that would happen here in Jersey. Christie said there will never be CCW. His words, not mine.
Gr0w1er601| 7.25.12 @ 9:24AM
Can't have the average New Jersey citizen looking like Wise Guys.
AllAmericanAmerican| 7.25.12 @ 8:31AM
Well hopefully if one of these MS13 members ever breaks into your house in the middle of the night they give you "a few seconds" to load your rifle before attacking you.
Why would you EVER keep the ammo separate from the gun is something I will never understand.
Ryan| 7.25.12 @ 8:48AM
Child safety. Ammo can be kept separate enough (like in a magazine), yet still be accessible. It's not necessarily a detriment to good self-defense.
electronicwizard | 7.25.12 @ 10:12AM
Its hard to own guns in Australia. They ban semi automatic weapons. To own a pistol you must be in a pistol club and have logbooks to show you go. To have any gun must be registered with the police and pass criminal and safety test.
Speedg3| 7.25.12 @ 5:04PM
It was my understanding that the militia was the civilian population. For the security of a free State an their personal security, in an age that these rights were written the by the people, of the people, and for the people?? Did you miss that part?? It was the civilian population that took up arms against the British. The arms they the people took up were theirs and their property. it was not doled out by the government. to the best of my knowledge it was the those people that brought us freedom. Not some one hiding in his bathroom for protection maybe from a neighbor that owns a firearm. It does not mention in the 2ND amendment that civilians were not allowed to own arms. Well regulated is a person that is determined to be lawful. In fact there is a small city named Kennesaw GA. Where it is illegal NOT TO OWN A FIREARM- AT LEAST ONE PER HOME. In fact it people like you that think it is some else's responsibility to protect them. By the time you dial 911 you are robbed, shot, or most likely both. Much like it is the governments responsibility to support able body workers. You Must Be Democrat!! Nuff Said.