The resurgence of gun stupidity: an Update (see #15 below)

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

Last edited Sat Apr 30, 2016, 02:37 PM - Edit history (2)

IMHO the idea of a reincarnation of an Assault Weapons Ban is becoming popular. First of all the 1994 AWB defined an "assault weapon" as follows:

Semi-automatic rifles able to accept detachable magazines and two or more of the following:
- Folding or telescoping stock
- Pistol grip
- Bayonet mount
- Flash suppressor, or threaded barrel designed to accommodate one
- Grenade launcher mount

The stock: the main difference between a handgun and a rifle is barrel length and presence of a stock. The longer the barrel the greater the amount of energy derived from the propellant will be imparted to the projectile. The stock placed snug against the shoulder to steady the rifle. This becomes important when trying to hit targets at greater distances. An adjustable stock has 2 advantage over a fixed stock, it allows the same rifle to be adjusted for folks with different arm lengths and it can make the rifle somewhat shorter such that it can fit in a smaller case or lock-box. A folding stock simply makes the rifle more compact. Granted a shorter rifle may be easier to conceal but not nearly as easy to conceal as a handgun.

This feature gets the (double dunce) award for having no relation to the realities of crime and deadly assaults.


The pistol grip: A pistol grip (or two) gives one a more positive hold on the rifle than one can get on the traditional stock. A positive grip can make it easier to snug the gun against the shoulder and reduce injury from the kick. It gives the user greater control over the rifle. Greater control and a positive grip on the gun can promote safer handling.

This feature gets the (triple dunce) award for possibly making handling a rifle less safe.


The Bayonet mount, Flash suppressor or threaded barrel and Grenade launcher mount: These features are so totally irrelevant I view explaining the reasons why to be an insult to most folks over 8 years old.

These all get the (wtf) award for overall stupid, useless and irrelevant relation to anything at all.

[benEzra]

1. If you apply the "AWB" logic to cars...

I posted this on the "old" DU back in 2006, hence the Dubya reference (and Saturn, RIP)...it's "assault weapon" rhetoric, and associated misconceptions and handwaving, applied to cars.

Election Is Mandate for Race Car Ban

The Republican-led Brady Campaign to Stop Car Violence announced today that the results of last week's election, which gave control of the Senate and House to Democrats, show that the public is demanding a ban on race cars.

"Race cars have no legitimate transportation purpose," said the head of BCSCV. "You don't need a Ford Focus to tow a boat. It would pull the boat to smithereens." He added, "We're not trying to take anybody's cars, we just want to get deadly race cars like the Ford Focus and Honda Civic off the streets."

In an appearance with Senator Dianne Feinstein (DLC-CA), activists explained why banning race cars is so important. "Unlike conventional cars, race cars don't have to be steered, but merely pointed in the general direction of where you want to go," explained a race car expert from the Vehicle Policy Center. "And the rear wings on these cars enable them to slide sideways around corners."

"I'm tired of 13-year-olds running down 8-year-olds with NASCAR stockers," said a spokesperson for the Democratic Leadership Council, which has made the race-car ban its top legislative priority since the early 1990's. "We need to get these deadly race cars off the streets. They are the transportation of choice for bank robbers and drunk drivers."

"Race cars like the Honda Civic are truly vehicles of mass destruction whose only purpose is to outrun as many police cars as possible without having to refuel," added a spokesperson for Massachusetts-based Stop Car Violence. "Many of these cars are designed to go 350 mph."

He also noted that if someone snapped and went on a road rage incident, driving a Civic would make them much more dangerous than if they were driving a more conventional vehicle like a Chevrolet Suburban. "This is just common sense car control. Our bill doesn't affect responsible car owners. We're not trying to take away anybody's Hummer H2; our bill specifically targets race cars like the Mazda 3."

Incoming senate Democrat Jim Webb, an opponent of the ban who recently defeated Allen Macacawitz in the Virginia senate race, objected to the proposed ban. "Banning sport compact cars is stupid, doesn't help address drunk driving, and is guaranteed to piss off car owners. Congress has bigger fish to fry, like figuring out what to do with Iraq, helping people who don't have health insurance, and stopping the flood of jobs going overseas."

Feinstein dismissed Webb's concerns as right-wing gibberish. "Everybody knows that the #1 threat to this country is people driving race cars on the highway," she said. "Al Qaida wants to buy Honda Civics with wings so they can destroy our freedom. They hate us for our freedom. Oh, wait, that was George's line."

President George W. Bush, a supporter of the Race Car Ban, said he'd sign the ban if it gets to his desk. "I don't think its a good thing in our society for people to have these cars," said the President, reading from a Teleprompter. "It's just Unammerican. They should drive pickup trucks instead. Only terrorists and illegals would want to drive Civics." He added that no civilian car needs a rear wing. "You know, wings are for flying, and, uh, cars aren't supposed to fly."

The Race Car Ban of 2006 bans all compact cars with two or more of the following racing features:

Four valves per cylinder
Aerodynamic spoiler or wing that protrudes conspicuously above the trunk lid or rear deck
Air dam
Hood scoop
Chrome exhaust tip
Levitation lights
Afterburner


The Race Car Ban would also ban the following race cars by name:

Honda Civic (all models)
Subaru Impreza WRX
Mitsubushi Lancer (all models)
Honda S2000
Volvo S40
Mazda 3 and Protoge
Toyota Corolla
Scion (all models)
Saturn Ion
Bentley Speed 8
NHRA Top Fuel dragster
Caterpillar D9
Boeing 737
Airbus A380


In order to reassure car owners, the bill's sponsors included a long list of non-race cars that are not affected by the legislation:

BMW 3-series
Cadillac CTS-V
Cadillac Escalade
Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe
Ford Edsel
Ford Model T
Ford Mustang (without wing and spoiler)
Ford F-150
Hummer (all models)
Jeep Cherokee
John Deere Tractor
Kenworth T2000
Sopwith Camel


The bill also makes it a felony to own a car manufactured after Sept. 14th, 1994, that has a fuel capacity of more than ten U.S. gallons of fuel.

[Eleanors38]

5. Oldie, but goodie.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

7. I've read this before... probably your post

IMHO the ability to process an analogy is vital to critical thinking.

thanks

[Straw Man]

2. A few years back ...

... I had the "pistol grips and adjustable stocks" argument with someone on here. I argued that these were strictly ergonomic features. My interlocutor concurred but insisted that "ergonomics increase lethality," and that this fact was irrefutable. I responded that the logical extension of that conclusion would be legislation mandating that all firearms sold henceforth must be embedded with ground glass.

I didn't get an answer.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

8. Sometimes people spend a long time...

...defending something they said without thinking or just later regret saying.

[pablo_marmol]

3. The 1% LOVES piffle like "assault weapons" bans that keep us fighting amongst ourselves.

Great OP, and response by benEzra. Bookmarking.

To those without the knowledge to follow the race car analogy, there is this.........

......and this:

http://www.assaultweapon.info/

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

9. Thanks, the video and link are excellent bits of information n/t

[virginia mountainman]

4. The stupid, it hurts....

Class "A" ignorance on display..

&feature=g-vrec

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

10. It's sad that the video is so embarrassing.

Thanks

[jmg257]

6. Of course new bans will be more creative, like in NY & CT.

Then we can all buy these fugly things.

Or the bans will just be ignored by 95% of the population, like in NY.

It's just "common sense" ya know - passing laws that a vast majority of the population will ignore because they are too repressive.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

11. People are creative and...

...as the Yuri Orlov character said in the movie Lord of War, "Where there's will, there's a weapon."

[Kang Colby]

12. Good post.

However, according to recent polls AWBs are less popular than ever.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

13. Well then, good. n/t

[Kang Colby]

14. In 2013...30% of Democratic Senators voted

no on the AWB proposal and all but 1 Republicans noped it. Even in a Senate controlled by Democrats, in the weeks following national tragedy...an AWB couldn't pass.

Having said that, I do like when controllers propose AWBs because it greatly helps 2A fundraising efforts.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

15. "Assault Weapon" (whatever that means today) does not = "Assault Rifle"

Some of the same folks that hate guns, gun stores and gun manufacturers, along with everything they stand for, now justify calling a semi-auto like an AR-15 an "assault rifle" because a manufacturer's ad at some point did that.

Moral of the story for some controllers: "Lies, half-truths and inaccuracies which we like, become gospel."

Really????


It's fine to have no command of a vocabulary. Just don't expect to be taken for making any sense let alone common sense.