I think every last chapter of the PSH Handbook is covered in this one article
Why is this gun in our neighborhoods?
One gun – many neighborhoods. It's like Dr. Who's TARDIS, only not a telephone booth.
St. Petersburg police Chief Chuck Harmon is right when he says that AR-15 semiautomatic rifles "don't belong on any city street in America."
Actually, St. Petersburg police Chief Chuck Harmon is a fucking idiot. I have a feeling he's ok with his employees carrying AR-15's, just not those he feels he is superior to.
So why are they so easily available? Maybe because they are legal.
You say that like it's a bad thing!
These military-style assault weapons are the kind that police say killed 8-year-old Paris Whitehead-Hamilton after more than 50 bullets pierced her Bartlett Park home early Sunday.
Military style assault weapons. If we were playing bullshit bingo, I'd have 3 cards filled up with that one sentence. However, I am surprised that the MSAW itself killed a child. Normally inanimate objects don't just jump up on their own volition and decide to commit murder and mayhem. I'll need to keep closer tabs on mine to make sure it doesn't decide to do something without my consent.
Bartlett Park home early Sunday. These guns have no practical use for hunting, but they are highly efficient tools to dispatch enemies of a rival gang, which is apparently why Whitehead-Hamilton's home was targeted.
I don't get it. If the goal of hunting is to be able to kill an animal for food / fur / sexual inadequacies caused by an uncaring father and a distant and unattached mother, then why wouldn't this rifle be perfect for the job? If I can 'spray and pray' and kill even through walls, wouldn't that take down most deer and other game?
The semiautomatic AR-15 is considered the hot weapon of choice for intimidation, murder and mayhem by drug gangs.
Too bad the US Department of Justice data doesn't back that statement up. Most gang crime is done with handguns. It's hard to walk up to someone with an AR poking out of your pocket and not raise suspicions.
Drug gangs use them. Legitimate hunters don't. So why are they legal?
Well, if the only reason to use a gun was hunting, you'd still be off kilter. The .223 makes an excellent varmint round. My 6.8SPC is quite effective on hogs and deer. So, instead of buying two firearms – one for hunting and one for self defense – I can save money and just have one. Man, must suck to have your argument pulled out from under you like that.
Ask members of Congress — if you can find them while they are cowering from the National Rifle Association.
How about you ask yourself why the NRA has such clout? Maybe it's the 4,000,000+ members who PAY THE NRA to be their voice. The NRA isn't perfect, but it truly is a grassroots organization that requires membership to stay afloat. The gun industry cannot afford to pay the NRA millions upon millions of dollars to keep it afloat.
AR-15 rifles and similar semiautomatic assault weapons should be illegal. They were as recently as five years ago. Federal law barred the manufacture and sale of these assault weapons along with 18 other types and magazines holding more than 10 cartridges. In 2004, the 10-year-old ban automatically expired and Congress failed to re-enact it.
Lie, lie, another lie…umm… more lies… Wow, that's a lot of lies!
First, they were never illegal. Certain features could no longer be manufactured but the existing ones (including magazines) were still perfectly ok to hold, caress, and make sweet, sweet love to. You could still purchase 30 round magazines, you could still use 30 round magazines.
And the last lie – congress didn't fail at anything. That's definitely a tick in the 'WIN!' column.
The blame back then was on the Republican-controlled Congress and President George W. Bush. Lawmakers refused to advance an extension of the ban and Bush, who claimed to be willing to sign it, never urged Congress to enact one. Now also blame the Democrats, many of whom have worked to appease the NRA. Their strategy has been only marginally successful; gun shops report an increase in sales as conservative broadcasters spout baseless claims that President Barack Obama wants to take away all legally owned guns.
Strawman beware! Nobody is claiming Obama is going to take away anything. What his administration has repeatedly said (you can check their website, it's in pixels there) is that they are in favor of expanding the definition of an assault weapon then banning them, raising the costs of gun ownership, and raising the number of hoops and pony shows one has to go through to legally own practically anything. This isn't 'taking away' guns, this is an attempt to make gun ownership impossible for the vast majority of the populace.
As a candidate, Obama said he would seek to renew the ban on assault weapons. New Attorney General Eric Holder has repeated that promise.
Oh, I get it – It's baseless to say Obama wants to ban guns but here's Obama wanting to ban guns. Or something. I get confused easily I guess.
In the meantime, more of these guns flood into marketplace. Some are flowing across the border into Mexico, assisting in the militarization of the drug cartels.
US GUNS FLOWING TO MEXICO CANARD!!!! Everybody DRINK!
Too bad that's a lie too. But, being that lies are all this guy has, let's continue
Some are sold legally through gun shops or at gun shows where purchasers don't necessarily undergo background checks.
Playing "hide the truth between a lie" huh? If a gun store sells a firearm, they do necessarily undergo a background check. If you purchase a firearm at a gun show from a licensed dealer, you undergo a background check. If you buy it from an individual, be it at a gun show, parking lot, or someone's house, you don't get a background check. If gun show purchases weren't used in less than 1% of all crimes, maybe that'd be a good hook to hang your hat on. But guess what, they ain't. Check out that USDOJ sheet and see that most firearms are (drumroll please) STOLEN!
And some are finding their way into the hands of U.S. drug dealers and gangs after they are stolen from homes and pawn shops.
See? I knew you could figure that out.
I know! Let's make theft illegal!!!! Even better, we can force law abiding citizens to report stolen firearms within 24 hours because that will cause the criminals to stop stealing things!
It's true that the 10-year ban didn't eliminate the scourge of semiautomatic weapons. Manufacturers got around it by making small design modifications or incorporating pre-ban materials into their weapons. But the newer legislative versions of the ban would address some of these tricks.
It didn't work, so do it again, only HARDER!!!!
Federal officials are tracing the histories of the AR-15s police say were aimed at Paris' home. Gun advocates argue it is not the gun but the person who fires it that is the issue.
You say that like it's untrue.
And there remain legitimate questions about whether police could have known about these gun stashes in the Bartlett Park neighborhood sooner and moved more aggressively to enforce the laws on these streets before an 8-year-old was killed.
Well, I'm willing to bet that the perpetrators who perpetrated this perpetration were well known to the police. It's not like the vast majority of crime is committed by a very, very, very small subset of the population. If the judicial system would keep these thugs off the street, you wouldn't have to worry about shitting all over everyone's rights.
But one thing is clear: Without these semiautomatic rifles, far fewer bullets would have been fired into that house on Preston Avenue S last Sunday morning. And a little girl would have had a better chance of staying alive.
Actually, without cheap transportation, these thugs wouldn't have been able to drive there. Without clothing, they'd have been naked and probably stayed home. Without food, they'd have starved to death before committing the crime. And a gallon of gasoline and a match would have been just as effective. But don't let that stop you from blaming the tool.
This isn't even fun any more… Jeesh.