8 ms·

For the purpose of shooting up your local mall, the difference between a fully-automatic and semi-automatic AR-15 is not that great (it's not like you're going

by jfager 16y ago

For the purpose of shooting up your local mall, the difference between a fully-automatic and semi-automatic AR-15 is not that great (it's not like you're going to be laying down suppressing fire), and you certainly can buy the latter without any real difficulty.

shawndumas 16y ago
"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." -- The Dalai Lama, (May 15, 2001, The Seattle Times)
- jfager 16y ago
  I guess I don't understand how that quote relates back to what I said. Are you saying that terrorists should be prepared to lay down suppressing fire, and thus shouldn't settle for the semi-auto weapons they can easily purchase at most fine sporting goods stores?
  - shawndumas 16y ago
    lol: No I was just thinking of someone trying to '[shoot] up [my] local mall' and as a licensed concealed carrier I remembered what the Dalai Lama said. Sorry. "Gun bans don't disarm criminals, gun bans attract them." -- Walter Mondale
    - fnid2 16y ago
      I wonder about the tragedy that can be caused with easy access to deadly force. If/When the proverbial shit hits the fan, if many people around you have guns, a single irrational one could cause a firestorm that kills you in the crossfire. If everyone isn't walking around with guns and a fight breaks out, you can run away. But you can't outrun bullets. This is why I am concerned about open carry laws or even concealed gun laws.
      - shawndumas 16y ago
        "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." — Jefferson "You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence." — Charles A. Beard
        mturmon 16y ago
        Why these quotes? Is anything Thomas Jefferson, Walter Mondale, or the Dalai Lama said automatically true?
        jrockway 16y ago
        Because they were famous and their quotes were pithy. My question is, how come nobody ever gets shot in Japan? Guns are banned, there are criminals, but most murders are stabbings (or arson, etc.) If you listen to Jefferson, Japan would be a haven for dangerous gun-toting criminals shooting up anything and everything just to get some pocket change. But that is apparently not the case.
        shawndumas 16y ago
        Shootings in Japan [1] . [1] http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Shootings+in+Japan http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Shootings+in+Japan
        jrockway 16y ago
        And the first result says, "The number of shootings in Japan fell to a record low of 53 in 2006." From the wikipedia page "Gun Violence in the United States", "In 2005 [there were] 10,100 homicides committed using firearms". The US is bigger than Japan, but not 190x bigger. So if you are trying to disprove my argument, you did a bad job.
wmeredith 16y ago
I think you and I have different definitions of real difficulty. It's expensive, time consuming and you have to go through a background check. Yes, its possible, but definitely difficult.
- jfager 16y ago
  It depends on the state and the kind of gun you're buying. Purchasing a shotgun in Oklahoma, for instance, just requires a trip to Wal-Mart and $200 or so.
  - wmeredith 16y ago
    We were talking about silencers and automatic weapons, not shotguns.
philwelch 16y ago
For the purpose of shooting up your local mall, the difference between a semi-automatic AR-15 and a bolt-action hunting rifle is not that great, either. You'd get fewer bullets off but each individual impact would be worse (.30 caliber over .223) and if you aimed, and actually knew how to shoot, you'd probably do alright.

by jfager 16y ago

shawndumas 16y ago

"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." -- The Dalai Lama, (May 15, 2001, The Seattle Times)

jfager 16y ago
I guess I don't understand how that quote relates back to what I said. Are you saying that terrorists should be prepared to lay down suppressing fire, and thus shouldn't settle for the semi-auto weapons they can easily purchase at most fine sporting goods stores?
- shawndumas 16y ago
  lol: No I was just thinking of someone trying to '[shoot] up [my] local mall' and as a licensed concealed carrier I remembered what the Dalai Lama said. Sorry. "Gun bans don't disarm criminals, gun bans attract them." -- Walter Mondale
  - fnid2 16y ago
    I wonder about the tragedy that can be caused with easy access to deadly force. If/When the proverbial shit hits the fan, if many people around you have guns, a single irrational one could cause a firestorm that kills you in the crossfire. If everyone isn't walking around with guns and a fight breaks out, you can run away. But you can't outrun bullets. This is why I am concerned about open carry laws or even concealed gun laws.
    - shawndumas 16y ago
      "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." — Jefferson "You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence." — Charles A. Beard
      - mturmon 16y ago
        Why these quotes? Is anything Thomas Jefferson, Walter Mondale, or the Dalai Lama said automatically true?
        jrockway 16y ago
        Because they were famous and their quotes were pithy. My question is, how come nobody ever gets shot in Japan? Guns are banned, there are criminals, but most murders are stabbings (or arson, etc.) If you listen to Jefferson, Japan would be a haven for dangerous gun-toting criminals shooting up anything and everything just to get some pocket change. But that is apparently not the case.
        shawndumas 16y ago
        Shootings in Japan [1] . [1] http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Shootings+in+Japan http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Shootings+in+Japan
        jrockway 16y ago
        And the first result says, "The number of shootings in Japan fell to a record low of 53 in 2006." From the wikipedia page "Gun Violence in the United States", "In 2005 [there were] 10,100 homicides committed using firearms". The US is bigger than Japan, but not 190x bigger. So if you are trying to disprove my argument, you did a bad job.

wmeredith 16y ago

I think you and I have different definitions of real difficulty. It's expensive, time consuming and you have to go through a background check. Yes, its possible, but definitely difficult.

jfager 16y ago
It depends on the state and the kind of gun you're buying. Purchasing a shotgun in Oklahoma, for instance, just requires a trip to Wal-Mart and $200 or so.
- wmeredith 16y ago
  We were talking about silencers and automatic weapons, not shotguns.

philwelch 16y ago

For the purpose of shooting up your local mall, the difference between a semi-automatic AR-15 and a bolt-action hunting rifle is not that great, either. You'd get fewer bullets off but each individual impact would be worse (.30 caliber over .223) and if you aimed, and actually knew how to shoot, you'd probably do alright.