I\u2019ll try to keep this as sane as possible; it\u2019s difficult with some of the arguments being thrown around.\u00a0 Let\u2019s first set the stage, I am pro-gun.\u00a0 All the firearms I own are legal.\u00a0 I have a license to carry a firearm in the state of Texas.\u00a0 I exercise that right a lot.\u00a0 None of the firearms that I own have been used to harm another human being and to be clear, I hope that I am never put in to a situation where that would change.\u00a0 I try to make it to the range on a regular basis to maintain a level of proficiency with the firearms that I own.<\/p>\n
There is a narrative across media outlets that is hell-bent to demonize anyone like me.\u00a0 Every time some of these people get screen time they revive tired old arguments that, despite any and all previous disproval or rebuttal, they claim goes unanswered.\u00a0 So; let\u2019s put things back in to context.<\/p>\n
The term Assault Rifle: <\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s interesting, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Mirriam-Webster is the only one that defines a rifle that looks like a military assault rifle as an assault rifle.\u00a0 In fact, looking through weapon classifications through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) there is no actual designation of an Assault Rifle except as it pertains to the proper name of specific firearms (AK-47, MP-43, MP-44 and STG-44) Everything else refers to what is defined above as a \u201cMachine-Gun\u201d or \u201cMachine Pistol\u201d.\u00a0 Funny how the governing body doesn\u2019t use the term Assault anywhere in regulations.<\/p>\n This raises 2 important questions;<\/p>\n First, who brought the term Assault-Rifle in to the narrative?\u00a0 We harken all the way back to World War II where Nazi Germany coined the term Sturmgewehr<\/em> (loose translation Storm Rifle, or Assault Rifle).\u00a0 A more apt term to consider is \u2018Assault Weapon\u2019 which has been narrowed down to pretty much any semi-automatic weapon that looks like it could be military issue.<\/p>\n Second, why is a dictionary allowed to push political agenda?\u00a0 It\u2019s been my understanding that Mirriam-Webster is a de-facto standard for word definition, and now they\u2019re attempting to alter the meaning of a word (or two in conjunction in this case) in accordance with social and political landscape.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know about you, but I think that should put Mirriam-Webster in the same league as Wikipedia.\u00a0 Still mostly valid, but cross reference with another source.<\/p>\n Gun-Crime <\/strong>vs<\/em> Violent-Crime<\/strong><\/p>\n There is a willful disconnect between Gun-crime and Violent-crime when the statistics start flying.\u00a0 There are always claims that after a ban on guns goes in to effect, gun-crime goes down.\u00a0 Nobody likes talking about violent crime.\u00a0 In fact if you compare the two, the only thing that changes after a ban goes in to effect is the weapon of choice.\u00a0 The reality is usually somewhere in the middle, while I will concede that having a gun someone determined to cause a lot of damage has less hindering them if they have a gun, but far more devastating atrocities have been achieved without guns.<\/p>\n It\u2019s easier to buy a gun than a \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n This is where things get funny.\u00a0 To legally obtain a firearm, one must fill out an ATF Form 4473, and pass an FBI Background check.\u00a0 It\u2019s neither quick nor is it easy.\u00a0 Not to say that the 4473 is equivalent to the SAT, but it is comprehensive and falsifying information on the form is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and\/or up to a $250,000 fine.\u00a0 I frequently ask anyone who thinks purchasing a firearm is as easy as getting a coke to actually take a look at the 4473 form.<\/p>\n A gun\u2019s only purpose is to kill human beings<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, no, and in the same vein, yes.\u00a0 There are some gun\u2019s whose sole purpose is to be accurate for target shooting.\u00a0 But that\u2019s an outlier.\u00a0 Of course, we\u2019re talking about the AR-15, and similar rifles.\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019re right, it\u2019s primary function is to kill human beings.\u00a0 Unless you\u2019re hunting small game, it\u2019s not a great choice.\u00a0 But the ownership of said rifle is usually not for hunting, it\u2019s for defense, be it from a home invader or some other threat to one\u2019s liberties.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After only scratching the surface that\u2019s all that\u2019s there it\u2019s an argument between the two sides.\u00a0 Since this is the United States, there must be two sides, and we must be polarized against each other to maintain our way of life.\u00a0 Look the only way to truly put the whole thing to bed is stop the mud-slinging, and have an adult conversation about all the contributing factors.\u00a0 Some takeaways from the narrative to consider; Most people want less murder (on both sides), most want to keep guns out of the hands of those who wish to commit evil. \u00a0Lastly there is not nearly enough education about firearms in the world today.\u00a0 I don\u2019t even pretend to have all the answers, I just know that we\u2019re trying to achieve the same goal, maybe we should work together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019ll try to keep this as sane as possible; it\u2019s difficult with some of the arguments being thrown around.\u00a0 Let\u2019s first set the stage, I am pro-gun.\u00a0 All the firearms I own are legal.\u00a0 I have a license to carry a firearm in the state of Texas.\u00a0 I exercise that right a lot.\u00a0 None of … Continue reading “Shall not be infringed”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,10,7,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-firearms","category-imo","category-politics","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gypsynet.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gypsynet.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gypsynet.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gypsynet.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gypsynet.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gypsynet.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gypsynet.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gypsynet.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gypsynet.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n