...and they all smell. My Opinion Piece

[timcar86]

Disclaimer : I understand that most people here already get these points. I wanted to use this forum as a control before I release it into the wild.

I’ve remained somewhat silent on the issue of the gun control debate that’s been raging in the traditional media and social media over the past two weeks. I’ve decided that it’s time that I say something because me and people who share my views are being demonized by those who have very little knowledge of firearms. So, without beating around the bush, let’s jump straight in.

“Why does anyone need an ‘Assault Rifle’? “ I have heard this phrase so many times in the last few weeks that it’s beginning to make me nervous. Why? When a point is made over and over, the uninformed begin to pick it up and run with it. Those who don’t understand the world of firearms believe what those in the media, who also don’t understand firearms, tell them. I see a few corrections on the web but those are few and far between and will never reach the masses like CNN or FOX News. While we’re on that subject, all news organizations get it wrong. Left, right, middle, all of them get it wrong. Do me a favor, look up some of these terms that people keep throwing around, “assault weapon”, “assault rifle”, “clip”, “magazine”, “automatic”, “semi-automatic”, and inform yourself just a little. So back to the topic, of “Why I need a modern sporting rifle”, and no one in the gun community will want to say or hear this, It’s better at stopping threats than a handgun. That’s it, period. Yes it’s easy and fun to shoot. Yes it’s nice to accessorize and customize. But the fact is if men break into my home and threaten my wife, my children or myself, I know my semi-automatic modern sporting rifle will stop them better than any other firearm that I own. I don’t want to be fair, I don’t want to give them a chance, I want a better firearm than the threat and the best firearm that I have is a modern sporting rifle or an AR-15. Some will say that a shotgun is a better firearm for the home but when you see video of military or law enforcement breaching and clearing a room, they use a shotgun to open the door and switch to rifles to clear the room. If it’s the choice of military and law enforcement then it’s my choice as well.

“But they make it too easy to kill!” “They’re only designed for killing as many people as fast as possible!” “The .223 ‘bullet’ is one of the most powerful ‘bullets’ in existence!” “If we could get rid of ‘assault weapons’ we would be safer!” Let me explain something to all of you who don’t quite understand how firearms work. To make it simple, firearms accept a cartridge that fits into a barrel. A pin strikes the primer on the end of the cartridge and fires a bullet out of the end of the barrel. How it gets there is different but for 99.99% of firearms, that’s how it works. A firearm that looks like my AR-15 or a firearm that looks like something out of WWII will fire that cartridge no differently and it will be no less lethal. How a firearm looks has no bearing on its lethality. I need everyone who reads this to understand that. A firearm’s appearance has no bearing on how lethal it is. I’ll say that one more time because everyone is so hung up on military “style” rifles. How a firearm looks will not affect how the bullet comes out of the end of the barrel. If you could wave a magic wand and make all “assault weapons” disappear there are still hundreds of firearms that will accept the same size cartridges. All of those firearms the gun control advocates say are acceptable to own yet they fire the same cartridge at the same velocity and have the same magazine size as today’s modern sporting rifles. They just look different. One more time in case you missed it, how a gun looks makes no difference in how it fires a cartridge.

“No one needs a 30 round clip.” I do. Well, I need a 30 round magazine or more specifically I don’t need a limit on what size magazine I can own. I hear the magic number of 10. You only need a 10 round magazine. Why? Who decided that 10 rounds was the number? I can’t find any studies on the decision but it’s really popular with the gun control advocates. If we, as gun owners, concede on this decision it will go down to 5 then 3 then 1. I can hear the cries now, “If he only had 5 round magazines!” then “If he only had 3 round magazines!” Where does it stop? Let me break down some statistics for you. It typically takes 2 rounds from a rifle to stop a threat. Most trained individuals in a high-stress situation will miss 50% of their shots. So, if we do the math, If 4 men try to break into my house and harm me or my family, statistics say I need to put 2 rounds on each threat to get them to stop hurting me. We’re up to 8 rounds there and that’s if I’m perfect. Now, odds are I’ll miss 50% so we’re up to 16 rounds. What if I miss more? See where I’m going? The officers in NYC who shot a man that pointed a gun at them fired 16 rounds at one guy and they only hit him 9 times. Understand? It took 9 rounds to stop the threat. Statistics say if you are attacked, it will be by more than one person. Why does anyone need more than 10 rounds in a magazine? Most gun guys will say it’s for convenience but for me it’s about having more rounds than the men trying to kill me. Ask anyone who’s been in a gunfight if they had too much ammo. I’m guessing they would say no. Now the question is, does having a limit on magazine size make people safer? After all the outcry, interviews and opinion pieces it all boils down to that question. Does having a ban on “high-capacity” magazines make you feel safer? Or does having a 30 round magazine actually make me safer? Looking at all of the stats and numbers I’m going with the latter. With all of that being said, the point is kind of moot. One large supplier of firearm accessories said they sold 3.5 years worth of 30 round AR magazines in a week so the market is flooded. Even if they do ban them, you’ll be able to get one and so will those who want to hurt people.

“It’s too easy to get guns. We need to close the gun show loophole!” A survey of prison inmates in 1997 found that less than 2% purchased their firearms at a gun show. 80% were from friends, family, stolen or from other illegal sources. A gun show is where a group of dealers go to sell stuff in one place. If you buy a gun from a dealer at a gun show you’re subject to a background check just like you would be if you went into a gun store. If you’ve ever been to a gun show you’d also know that there are several police at the front door to ensure people are not armed and that they check firearms they intend to sell. Also, the prices at gun shows are so ridiculously inflated that the average criminal wouldn’t be able to afford a firearm. Why buy one when you could just steal one from Grandma’s nightstand drawer. A potential criminal would have to be extremely stupid to go to gun show to buy a firearm.

Hopefully you got something out of this. I know I didn’t offer up any solutions to crimes but that wasn’t my intent. I basically wanted to inform anyone who would take the time out of their day to read my rant because the misinformation, intentional or not, from those who can sway the argument is getting out of control.

Share this on any site you want, just leave my name attached -Tim Carroll Edited December 31, 2012 by timcar86

[LagerHead]

Tim, that is an awesome piece. Do you mind if I use this? I would be more than happy to give you full credit. I would love to post this on Facebook, at least.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Well done!

[maroonandwhite]

I will be posting this as well on FB with your name attached. Thanks and very well put together!

[timcar86]

Post away! I give permission to anyone who wants to re-post this anywhere you want. Edited December 31, 2012 by timcar86

[Guest Mbeck]

Nicely said!

[jtmaze]

I like it and am going to repost on FB as well when I get home to computer.


JTM
Sent from my iPhone

[Links2k]

I'd post on my FB page, but everyone that I know is so anti-gun that they treat me like the unibomber.

[Chucktshoes]

I'd post on my FB page, but everyone that I know is so anti-gun that they treat me like the unibomber.

Quit wearing hoodies. ;) Edited December 31, 2012 by Chucktshoes

[Steelharp]

Most excellent.

[JWC]

[quote name="LINKS2K" post="873386" timestamp="1356994433"]I'd post on my FB page, but everyone that I know is so anti-gun that they treat me like the unibomber.[/quote] Sounds like it's time to purge all of them and start over... I delete people that post stupid crap all the time. I mean Facebook "friends" aren't really friends. To me actual friends share interests and values.

[Chucktshoes]

Sounds like it's time to purge all of them and start over... I delete people that post stupid crap all the time. I mean Facebook "friends" aren't really friends. To me actual friends share interests and values.

I've applied this theory to family as well. It is remarkably peaceful in my life since I started doing that.

[Guest cardcutter]

I reposted it on face book. I did give you the credit as well.

[Whistle4Fly]

Sounds like it's time to purge all of them and start over... I delete people that post stupid crap all the time. I mean Facebook "friends" aren't really friends. To me actual friends share interests and values.

This just hit home for me. Thank you! Maybe first big decision of 2013. Too many "old friends" and their propaganda are not what I want to read even for entertainment anymore.