The term “a semi-automatic assault gun (or whatever)” has no definition.
The term “assault weapon” is a legal term, and the rifles described in the federal law that defines it are all centerfire rifles. .22 is a rimfire caliber, so there are no .22 assault weapons.
The term “assault rifle” is a technical term for a type of fully automatic military rifle, and AFAIK there never were any made in .22 caliber. Why would there be? They’d be useless militarily.
And don’t try to tell me that .223 is the same as .22, because it’s not, it’s a VERY different cartridge even if the diameter is similar. No one refers to an AR-15 as a .22.
“Douchetard”?..me likes. Filed away for future use. With due attribution of course.
Only thing I taught my son about guns was to stay the hell away from them – and/or any branch of the military. Twenty years down the line advice still seems to be working just fine, gun-control advocate that he is.
Classes in school – I dunno, I went to school with a LOT of people I wouldn’t trust with a glue gun, let alone a weapon*.
Seriously, it sounds like a good idea – but I can’t see it ever being brought into practice. At least not as an elective or opt-out in a high school. Can you imagine the firestorm it would ignite? Oh noes, they’re bringing GUNS into our SCHOOLS!!!
And yet we have drug education. I’ve heard that some DARE instructors would bring in real drugs to show the kids.
Are parents allowed to keep their kids out of drug education programs? I’m sure some parents might not want their kids to learn anything about drugs lest they become tempted to try them.
Did I say we SHOULDN’T have gun safety classes? No. I said that I can’t see it happening because too many people would be screaming their heads off – “oh noes, u iz bringing teh gunz in2 r skoolz!!!” Let’s face it – the subject of guns is controversial. People can get pretty irrational. Once again – look at how people are reacting here. “Oh those stupid gun nuts are here again!!!” Ignoring people like Airman and Una, who are quite rational and sensible.
Once again, I’M not against the idea. But I’m also pretty cynical.
And as for D.A.R.E., that’s a terrible analogy. I wouldn’t want MY kids to be in the program – because D.A.R.E. is known to be full of shit.
Well actually, the M249 (known in Canada as the C9 and by numerous names elsewhere) can be loaded with same magazine as the M16, but it’s not recommended. It also has its own collapsible bipod.
It’s a “light” machine gun, though. Possibly not “real” enough for manly men.
As a minor note, I used to pick up cats and tuck them under my arm, hold both their front legs in one hand and “strafe” my sister.
Neither she nor the cats were ever amused.
You say that like there’s no such thing as a .22 caliber center-fire, which is inaccurate. To the federal definition of an assault weapon, as far as I am aware center-fire vs. rim-fire never entered into it. Maybe you’re right and all the weapons they actually named in the ban happened to be center-fire but they didn’t specifically name every single weapon that wound up being covered by the ban; instead they had a list of criteria and if any semi-automatic weapon met X number, it was termed an “assault weapon”. It was a long time ago, I could be totally misremembering but, on the off-chance that I’m not, here’s a nice photo of a .22 caliber assault weapon: http://www.tactical-life.com/online/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/swrifle-large.gif
Semi-automatic with detachable magazine? Check. Collapsible stock? Check. Pistol grip? Check. Hmm… thought there were five or six. A magazine holding more than 10 rounds? I don’t know. Anyway, they only had to meet like two of the criteria or something. If it wasn’t already after 1am and I didn’t have the earliest morning appointment possible, I might look it up.
All of this is totally taking away from my point anyway, as I was more concerned with what looked like an assumption on Ivory’s part that .22 caliber rifles cannot be semi-automatic and are somehow less dangerous than those scary assault guns.
Please, point to where I referred to an AR-15 as a .22 or said that a .223 and a .22 are the same. I didn’t. I only said that, as far as risk goes, there is no difference and should be no distinction between the .22 from this article and any other firearm (the .223 being a mere example). The risk (a kid inadvertently shooting his kid brother in the neck, for example) doesn’t go up or down depending on caliber. Of course the level of HARM will change but that isn’t what I was talking about now, is it?
I don’t own a gun. I have never owned a gun. I have no plans to ever own a gun. My parents don’t own guns. My grandparents don’t own guns. None of my in-person friends own guns. None of my family or in-person friends hunt.
I also recognize that guns exist, and they aren’t going to magically disappear anytime soon. And because of that, I think that its our duty to educate children about what to do if they come across a gun. And, like we don’t need to pair the kids up to fuck in sex ed class (or watch a couple of teachers having sex at the front of the classroom), there’s no reason that gun education has to involve the kids ever handling a gun or even seeing a real one instead of a model.
So tell me, RedFury, why do you want teeny tiny pwecious babies to shoot each other in the face?
I was the one who brought up D.A.R.E., I think, and I didn’t *analogize *it–I just offered it as an example of a part of the curriculum we already have (or had) where gun safety could be incorporated.
