OT: At least 22 Dead at Virginia Tech

[Archive]

Posted By: David Vargha

David -- sorry, but you're not completley correct in your interpretation of the firearm laws. In any event, I lump in assualt weapons (which are technically "semi" automatic) with automatic weapons, so I apologize if I mispoke.

Firstly, the term "assault weapon" has different contextual meanings. Denotatively, it is simply a hand-held, selective fire weapon, which means it's capable of firing in either an automatic or a semiautomatic mode depending on the position of a selector switch.

However, through liberal legal posturing, the term "assault rifle" has come to mean whatever the writers of the anti-gun legislation they have proposed want it to mean. It can mean that it has a pistol grip, a folding stock or is capable of having a bayonet attached to it. Such symbolic labeling purposefully seeks to blur the definition and obscure the issue. It is simply for the purpose of evoking an emotional response and ultimately for the purpose of banning private gun ownership altogether.

As to semi-automatic guns, that just means that they fire as quickly as the shooter can pull the trigger. There is nothing inherently special about them. A bullet of equal caliber is no more powerful if it is fired from a so-called "assault rifle" than it is when fired from a handgun. Semi-automatic guns are simply no big deal. There are millions upon millions of them in the hands of responsible owners.

DavidVargha@hotmail.com