Gun News: Assault Weapons are Fun, Sex Offenders Can't Own Guns

Friday, December 03, 2004

I'm in the process of creating a detailed Disclaimer page for the ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN CLOCK, as I'm still getting mail regarding the recent tragedy that resulted in the death of six hunters. As I pointed out, the weapon used in the slayings was never classified as an assault weapon under the Clinton ban.

And now that "assault" weapons are back on the market, interest in these misunderstood guns has grown tremendously (yet despite warning from anti-gun hysterics, there has not been a dramatic increase in sales). Here is well written article by a female reporter who got to fire an M1A rifle for the first time. From the article:

Before I know it, I've shot the beast of a weapon [M1A rifle], and its stock is slamming back into my shoulder, knocking loose my senses from their transfixed numbness. Only then does an ambiguous excitement tempered with relief begin to set in.

One overwhelmingly unanimous opinion among gun enthusiasts is that Clinton's ban really didn't have a clear target. Most gun retailers despise the use of the term "assault weapon," often ridiculing it as a misnomer fabricated by politicians ignorant on the subject of firearms. Tamara Keel, a long-time salesperson at Randy's Guns and Knives, says, "The real inanity of the ban is that several legal shotguns were more powerful [than banned weapons] but had wooden stocks, so they didn’t look as scary."

Admittedly, the once-banned AR15, all black metal and plastic, does look a lot more sinister than the M1A, which has a wooden stock and would look homey on the mantle of a hunter's cabin.

In other news, the West Virginia Supreme Court upheld on Wednesday a state law banning convicted sex offenders from owning guns. I agree with this ruling as I'm generally reluctant to recognize any rights of convicted sex offenders.