# Kerry. Pro or anti assault rifle? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 24, 2004, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840 "2004-09-24T07:30:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SnakeSpirit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snakespirit/32/7271_2.png) [@SnakeSpirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakeSpirit)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/1 "2004-09-24T07:30:09Z")
From [The Ftree-Lance Star, dated 9-22-04](http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2004/092004/09222004/1510706) This little comment: "Asked if he was a gun owner and, if so, what was his favorite gun, the man from Massachusetts said, “My favorite gun is the M-16 that saved my life and that of my crew in Vietnam. I don’t own one of those now, but one of my reminders of my service is a Communist Chinese assault rifle.” An assault rifle? Egads! So what is Mr. Kerry’s philosophy, exactly? Outlaw guns, so only lawmakers can have them?" This is the same Kerry who: 'charged in a speech on Sept. 10 that “America’s streets will not be safe because of a choice George Bush is making” and that “in the al-Qaida manual on terror, they were telling people to go out and buy assault weapons, to come to America and buy assault weapons.” ’ But Wait a minute?!? George W. said that if the bill crossed his desk, he would sign it! And Kerry has been saying that _Bush_ was stupid? What’s going on??? WTF? Over. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/2 "2004-09-24T07:36:47Z")
Depends on the day and what crowd he’s talking to. ---
**Author:** ![EvilGhandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@EvilGhandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilGhandi)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/3 "2004-09-24T07:58:11Z")
Didn’t he accept as a gift, a few days before the ban expired, a shotgun that violated the law? ---
**Author:** ![Carcosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@Carcosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carcosa)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/4 "2004-09-24T08:43:29Z")
> [@SnakeSpirit](#): > > Kerry. Pro or anti assault rifle? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/5 "2004-09-24T09:01:13Z")
Ok, this is just silly. Isn’t it possible that a reasonable person could approve of assault rifles in the hands of soldiers in a war zone, but disapprove of civilians using them in the inner cities ? I know, it can’t be stated as neatly as “pro assault rifles”. But I’d hoped we weren’t yet at the point where any viewpoint more nuanced than a t-shirt slogan can be brushed off as waffling. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/6 "2004-09-24T09:14:18Z")
> [@Spiny Norman](#): > > Ok, this is just silly. > > Isn’t it possible that a reasonable person could approve of assault rifles in the hands of soldiers in a war zone, but disapprove of civilians using them in the inner cities ? I know, it can’t be stated as neatly as “pro assault rifles”. But I’d hoped we weren’t yet at the point where any viewpoint more nuanced than a t-shirt slogan can be brushed off as waffling. Well, I won’t try to tell you what the OP meant to say, but the AWB was bullshit to begin with since any of my “legal” guns could kill a person just as easily as a “banned” accessory. Whether my M-1 had a bayonet lug, folding stock or flash-supressor is irrelevant to what the actual hollow-point bullet does to a person. The AWB is nothing more than a campaign phrase designed to ignite the passions of the base. It’s certainly not for making a case against some weapons. This has been thoroughly debunked on these very boards. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/7 "2004-09-24T11:06:44Z")
I can’t wait until the election is over… It won’t stop stupid threads, but it may slow them down. ---
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/8 "2004-09-24T11:40:41Z")
Will this talk of flip-flopping never end? With moronic threads like these, by November, we’ll be getting “Kerry. Pro or anti [Twinkie](http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040922/bs_afp/us_company_food_bankrupt_040922151905)?” and “Kerry. Pro or anti [Pogo Pope](http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10864181%5E1702,00.html)?” ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/9 "2004-09-24T13:06:28Z")
> [@EvilGhandi](#): > > Didn’t he accept as a gift, a few days before the ban expired, a shotgun that violated the law? It didn’t violate the 1994 ban, but there was some question about where it would fall under a new bill Kerry co-sponsored, mostly because the new bill is so poorly worded\* that it could be interpreted as a ban on all semi-automatic shotguns. The big problem with it was that under current firearm transfer laws it was illegal for him to accept it as a gift because that would be a private interstate transfer, so he gave it back. \*Specifically, the definition of “pistol grip” is so vague that it could possibly apply to any grip type at all. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/10 "2004-09-24T13:09:54Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t own one of those now, but one of my reminders of my service is a Communist Chinese assault rifle." > > > [@](#): > > > > Isn’t it possible that a reasonable person could approve of assault rifles in the hands of soldiers in a war zone, but disapprove of civilians using them in the inner cities ? Sounds like he may own an AK-47 variant. And if its an Assalt **Rifle** it would be full auto. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/11 "2004-09-24T13:57:23Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Sounds like he may own an AK-47 variant. And if its an Assalt **Rifle** it would be full auto. No, dummy. If it was “full auto”, it would NOT be an assault rifle. Officially, under federal legislation, it would be a “machine gun”. An assault rifle is a semi-automatic rifle, not a “full auto” or select-fire weapon. Christ. Ignorance abounds when guns come into the conversation. Sam ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/12 "2004-09-24T14:16:19Z")
> [@](#): > > No, dummy. If it was “full auto”, it would NOT be an assault rifle. And the ignorance seems to be yours. Assault Rifle = select fire Assault Weapon = semi auto ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/13 "2004-09-24T14:22:39Z")
Don’t forget, politicos frequently abuse the public confusion over the difference between “assault rifles” and “assault weapons” in order to gain votes. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/14 "2004-09-24T17:05:04Z")
If it’s a Chi-Com AK-47, then he probably picked it up in Vietnam. It was legal to bring back souvenirs of this type if the barrel was leaded and the weapon was inoperative. The same applied to grenades that had been defused. This could be the case here. Without ALL the facts, your little tirade is meaningless. Are you a member of the Swift Boat Liars? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/15 "2004-09-24T17:09:50Z")
Who are you addressing ChefGuy? ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/16 "2004-09-24T17:12:52Z")
> [@](#): > > It was legal to bring back souvenirs of this type if the barrel was leaded and the weapon was inoperative. I have an AK just like that, in fact, given to me as a gift by a friend’s father. He had two, both leaded and without pins. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/17 "2004-09-24T17:48:00Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Who are you addressing ChefGuy? Author! Author! ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/18 "2004-09-24T18:16:05Z")
There’s a war in Iraq, a ballooning deficit, and this is what you guys are talking about? Karl Rove, I salute you, you beautiful evil genius you! ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/19 "2004-09-24T18:50:56Z")
> [@Spiny Norman](#): > > Context, people. That’s too complicated for your typical Bush-backin’ conservative. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840/20 "2004-09-24T18:57:29Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > And the ignorance seems to be yours. > > Assault Rifle = select fire > > Assault Weapon = semi auto Wrong again. A select-fire weapon that will go from semi-auto to full auto(my understanding of legal definition of “select fire”), is illegal under the Federal Machine Gun ban. It is not, for all intents and purposes, known as an assault weapon, which are semi-auto or single round only. Sam [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerry-pro-or-anti-assault-rifle/265840.md?page=2)