One of these two rifles is an assault weapon the other is a rifle. What’s the difference?
- Each fires the .223 Remington cartridge.
- Each magazine holds 20 rounds.
- Each rifle fires one shot with each pull of the trigger (semiautomatic).
- Each has a flash suppressor.
- Each rifle has a full metal receiver and fiberglass/composite stocks.
- Each rifle is about the same size and weight with the approximately the same lenght barrel
- Each rifle is used by at least one military force around the world.
- Each rifle is used by typical American police forces.
Roll your mouse over each image below to discover just how crazy the laws have become.
These two rifles are nearly identical. They fire the same cartridge, use the same capacity magazines and are made of similar materials. They both function identically with one bullet being fired with each pull of the trigger (semiautomatic). But the AR-15 series of rifles have been labeled as evil assault rifles. The facts are that the AR-15 series of rifles are the most accurate match semiautomatic rifles in the world. They have for years been the dominate rifle at Camp Perry and at any match where semiautomatic rifles compete. They also happen to be my choice of target rifle.
The Ruger Mini-14 is a much cheaper rifle selling for about $350 at Walmart where the AR-15 series rifles typically start at about twice that and run up into the $2500 to $3000 range out of the box. There are dozens of companies specializing in making match competition components for the AR rifles but less than a handful for the Ruger rifles.
Some readers of these facts will say that the Ruger Mini-14 rifle should be an assault rifle then. But then when you ban an object because of the way it looks rather than functions you have these sorts of problems. All guns when misused can kill. Then following this logic all guns should be ban and so should swimming pools, cars, knifes, soccer balls, baseballs and baseball bats and … well I hope you see where this all leads.
The supreme law of the land doesn’t change with the will of the President, the Congress, the media or even the people. The law, as stated in The Bill of Rights of these United States of America, clearly states that the “…the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” As scary as an AR-15 might be to you, you have no legal right to take one from my hands or any other law-abiding citizen. The law protects our rights equally and honestly can’t be changed from day-to-day to fit the politically correct feelings of the mood of those in charge.
There is a proper way to change the Untied States Constitution and that is by Amendment not by administrative rulings and regulations. Moral people have a duty to disobey immoral laws. Was Rosa Parks committing a crime when she refused to sit in the back of a public bus or were the people who wrote the immoral law committing the bigger crime?
Our Constitution has been amended many times for very good reasons throughout American history. Never before have the rights of the people been so usurped by our government. These are busy times and this is a complex issue, important issues like these take careful thought and study. To me it comes down to point that how can I trust, and continue to serve a government that doesn’t trust me to own the method to protect my family and myself?
Don’t be so confused with the emotions of the issue to think that gun control is crime control. Child pornography, drunk driving and arson are all terrible crimes but do you hear the government calling for bans on digital and instant cameras, cars or cigarette lighters and matches? It’s the misuse of the camera, car, and lighter that we control. We all agree to punish the user of these items for the misuse rather than controlling the ownership of them. Why are firearms any different? Because they scare urban social liberals who have never had an enjoyable experience with a firearm. One of my fondest childhood memories is going to Boy Scout camp and plinking (informal target shooting) with a .22 LR bolt action rifle.
Sure I know we license and regulate the use of automobiles on public highways but not their use on private lands. Nobody makes you wait three days, limits the shape and features or tells you what size of car you can buy now do they? If cars were only as safe as firearms we’d be much better off. According to the National Center for Health Statistics National Vital Statistics Report children are 12 times more likely to die in an automobile accident than from gun-related homicides or even legal interventions (like being shot by the police) if they are ages 0-14 years old. For the age group 0-24 years old the rate is still 8.6 times or 860% higher for cars.
There are so many myths about firearms that aren’t supported by the facts or the laws that entire web sights with links to the FBI, BATF, and the National Center for Health Statistics are available. I however am puzzled by a question that I have not yet been able to answer. Why are liberal politicians so bent on taking rifles from me and not putting criminals in jail or taking guns from their hands or even holding people accountable for their actions? What does the liberal public have to fear from lawful citizens owning firearms? That is the sixty-four thousand dollar question.
Paul
Remember “...that he right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed” – is not just a part of the Constitution it’s good sense. As an American citizen I will continue enjoy the Second Amendment one fine firearm at a time.
"On every question of construction [of the Constitution], let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed." Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, June 12, 1823, The Complete Jefferson, p. 322.
