# Hey US Gov't Isn't About Time You Gave Us Our Automatic Weapons Back?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-us-govt-isnt-about-time-you-gave-us-our-automatic-weapons-back/88224>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [October 18, 2001, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-us-govt-isnt-about-time-you-gave-us-our-automatic-weapons-back/88224 "2001-10-18T15:36:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\
**Post date:** [October 19, 2001, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-us-govt-isnt-about-time-you-gave-us-our-automatic-weapons-back/88224/61 "2001-10-19T04:07:08Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by andros \*  
> \*\*
> 
> > [@](#):
> >
> > Lancelot Link was merely a TV character
> 
> **Ben** , you bastard. \*\*

What- did I beat you to a joke, or did I make you feel disillusioned about a hero of your youth?

-Ben

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**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\
**Post date:** [October 19, 2001, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-us-govt-isnt-about-time-you-gave-us-our-automatic-weapons-back/88224/62 "2001-10-19T15:16:30Z")

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The latter, of course. Next you’ll tell me that Clyde didn’t really “scrap the Caddy.”

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**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\
**Post date:** [October 19, 2001, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-us-govt-isnt-about-time-you-gave-us-our-automatic-weapons-back/88224/63 "2001-10-19T21:49:46Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Infidel \*  
> \*\*I’ll bet 99% of the people responding to this thread have no idea what an assault weapon truly is. Nope, its not what the mainstream media has tried to convince you what it is.
> 
> Having said that, I dont believe full automatic weapons should be generally available to the public. The system that is in place now, where one has to undergo a background investigation and pay a 200 dollar tax in order to get an automatic weapon, is prudent, in my opinion. \*\*

It’s not too hard to (legally) purchase a Class 3 weapon; thousands of people do it (again, legally) every year. (I was just in a gun store on Tuesday that sells them, in fact.) Of course, they’re _very_ expensive, and you have to go through a lot of red tape (back ground check, fingerprinting, sign-off from local police chief or sheriff, $200, etc.)

To be honest with you I really don’t see why anyone would _want_ one. They can be very difficult to control, and you go through a sh\*t load of ammo. As Clint Smith of thunder Ranch says, “They only turn money into noise.”

Remember, the effectiveness of a weapon is measured in _rounds per hit_, and the lower the number the better. Using this measure, fully automatic weapons _rank last_, while bolt action rifles in competent hands _rank first_.

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