# No, you don't need a semiautomatic rifle **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 11, 2021, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705 "2021-02-11T17:51:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/81 "2021-02-12T14:26:02Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > That seems kinda backwards to me. Why would you need more cartridges for a handgun than a long gun? I don’t know, but I would speculate that long-guns tend to be used more frequently in mass shootings. They are more accurate and can be fired at longer range, such as the Las Vegas shootings. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/82 "2021-02-12T14:28:06Z")
I mean assault rifles such as the AR-15. But, again, is there a real need for semiautomatic weapons for hunting or defense against animals? Many moons ago I was in Alaska, in Prince William Sound, for hiking and kayaking. One of the group (of four) had a pump shotgun, which we jokingly called the “nuclear umbrella.” I assume it would have dealt with a dangerous bear, but while we saw a few, none were a threat. And would an AR-15 or similar be much good against a bear? In my layman’s opinion, a bigger cartridge would be better. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/83 "2021-02-12T14:29:47Z")
> [@Brayne\_Ded](#): > > I mean assault rifles such as the AR-15. But you are making an argument against all semi-autos, as I understand it, not against the AR-15. At least, that’s the title of this thread. If you’re arguing against all semi-auto rifles, you can’t use the AR-15 as a stand-in for all semi-autos. You also have to show why the Ruger Mini is not useful to hunters and ranchers. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/84 "2021-02-12T14:29:51Z")
By the way - I’m a radical centrist on this. It pisses me off that the debate is always framed as “THEY WANT TO TAKE AWAY OUR GUNS!” vs. “OMG! A SCHOOL MIGHT GET SHOT UP! THINK OF THE CHILDREN!” (yes, I’m trying to piss off both radical sides by using extreme positions.) I don’t want to take away peoples guns, just have them registered. You have to register your car; you need a drivers license to drive. Why can’t your guns be registered? Why can’t you be required to have a license? There are legitimate reasons to have guns - both handguns and rifles. “Fun” is a legitimate reason. Why do we have to waive the 5-day waiting period for gun shows? Why aren’t private sales tracked? Much of the hew and cry comes from “gang warfare in our cities” - most of those guns are straw sales or “private” sales on web sites. These are not insurmountable problems, but politicians are worried about looking “soft” to their constituents. Yeah, people in the middle of Wisconsin love their hunting, and are fed a bunch of lies by Wayne LaPiere, so they vehemently oppose ANY gun control legislation, and even if the legislator knows better, he’s not going to vote gun control because he wants to get re-elected. There are some legitimate reasons for having semi-automatic; I see no reason for the “unlimited” clip sizes in the US. I see no reason for “unlimited” types of ammunition. I actually don’t have a problem with fully-automatic, but only in licensed ranges. Bump stocks? How the hell is that legal, and why can’t the victims in Las Vegas sue the manufacturer out of existence for creating a product with NO LEGETIMATE PURPOSE OTHER THAN KILLING LOTS OF PEOPLE? Sorry about the rant. I think it is very very few people in the US who want to ban all guns or even all handguns. There are a few reasons for owning semi-automatic; they don’t sound like they are very common, other than “because I want to.” ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/85 "2021-02-12T14:31:53Z")
> [@Brayne\_Ded](#): > > I mean assault rifles such as the AR-15. But, again, is there a real need for semiautomatic weapons for hunting or defense against animals? Many moons ago I was in Alaska, in Prince William Sound, for hiking and kayaking. One of the group (of four) had a pump shotgun, which we jokingly called the “nuclear umbrella.” I assume it would have dealt with a dangerous bear, but while we saw a few, none were a threat. And would an AR-15 or similar be much good against a bear? In my layman’s opinion, a bigger cartridge would be better. Guns if any kind are about 50% effective at preventing injury due to bear attacks (because when you shoot a charging bear it is fairly likely to keep on coming at you). Bear spray is 98% effective at preventing injury. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/86 "2021-02-12T14:34:16Z")
First I did it all on one year. It’s right around 1%. Then under the assumption that the vast, vast majority of the AR-15 rifles sold (not every assault rifle, mind you) sold over the past 10 years (again, they’ve been sold since the 1960s), are still available to be used in a crime, I used that as the denominator. In reality, the total pool of assault rifles in the US is considerably larger than 10 years worth of new sales. So divide the number of rifle deaths (which aren’t all assault rifles either) by some proxy for the total pool of assault rifles that could possibly be used in a crime, and you end up with a tiny number that are actually used in homicides. And that tiny number is actually considerably larger than the actual number is, because I only looked at 10 years worth of sales, not the total pool. Even if they go out of circulation as fast as they’re sold, it still is a tiny number. And that’s the point- all the anti assault rifle push is totally based on irrational fear, not on solid statistics or common sense. At a national or state level, these things are just NOT used in murders in any significant amount. If you look at the graph of murder weapons, more people get beat to death with “personal weapons”, i.e. hands and feet than with rifles of any type. And blunt objects is higher still, as are knives. The vast, vast majority of killings are done with handguns, because they’re cheap, easily concealable, and do the job well enough. Rifles are expensive, large and unconcealable, and hard to handle under most murdering-type situations. They’re great for soldiers and a fine sporting weapon, but they’re not really useful for most home defense scenarios or criminal type scenarios. Think about it this way; is there anything else that kills so few people that gets such a reaction? I mean, more people in the US die in a _week_ in auto accidents than are killed by rifles in an entire year. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/87 "2021-02-12T14:37:16Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > In a democracy, we also have control over the policies we want to see enacted. Yet every time I vote, the policies I want to see enacted don’t happen. But good for Ontario. The US can do better. That’s what I get paid to bring about. > [@wolfpup](#): > > Your last sentence is also wrong, as evidenced by gun death statistics. It’s the fallacy of believing that your hypothetical gun, hypothetically kept wherever you might keep it, will “obviously” never be used to harm anyone, either by you or by anyone else. The reality says different. The reality says that you cannot make any actual connection between my hypothetical gun ownership and actual harm, but you can for my use of a computer. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/88 "2021-02-12T14:51:12Z")
> [@Brayne\_Ded](#): > > Otherwise, from a European perspective, why do so many people want slightly repurposed military weapons? (Yes, I have heard the usual justifications.) I own an [M-1 Carbine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1_carbine) (Wiki link) produced in 1943 that I inherited from my grandfather. It’s not even a slightly repurposed version of the M-1 it’s just the regular military version. It’s fun to go out and plink at targets but otherwise I don’t really have much use for it. I could use it for deer hunting (we have small deer in Arkansas) but I’ve got another rifle for that. The AR-15 is one of the most popular rifles in the United States and it’s the civilian version of the M-16. I’m not sure when it first became available to the public, I think it was in the late 60s or early 70s, but it became very, very popular in the 1990s. I thought about purchasing one around 1994, but the price shot up to ridiculous amounts and I decided I didn’t really want one. I’m happier with my bolt and level action rifles. But there are some valid reasons why someone might want an AR-15. 1. They’re fun to shoot. 2. They’re safe, accurate, and reliable. 3. They’re lightweight and durable. 4. Its modular design makes it relatively inexpensive to customize the rifle to the shooter’s preferences (stock, scopes, barrels, etc., etc.). 5. Versatility. You can switch out the receiver to accommodate different rounds meaning you can use the same rifle for anything from varmints to some big game. Those are just some of the features that make the AR-15 so successful in the civilian market. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/89 "2021-02-12T14:55:18Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > I do have a question - why is the recoil less with a semi-automatic, and could that same technology be used with a bolt-action rifle? It’s because semi-auto weapons use some of the energy of the round to cycle the action and load the next round. Some do it via siphoning off some of the gas out of the barrel and using that pressure to cycle the action, and others use the recoil of the round itself to cycle the action. Either way, that energy that is used to cycle the action isn’t pushing back against your shoulder. Plus in some of them, there are springs and stuff that don’t really reduce the force, but they do change the impulse by lengthening the duration of the recoil against your shoulder. You can’t really do that with a bolt action rifle for obvious reasons. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/90 "2021-02-12T14:56:33Z")
Yeah, but the thread’s about justifying why you NEED one, as if need has anything to do with why people buy any number of things that might be fun, etc… Ultimately, it’s nobody else’s business unless that affects them. The old “Your liberty to swing your fist ends at my nose” maxim would seem to apply here. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/91 "2021-02-12T15:00:35Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Yeah, but the thread’s about justifying why you NEED one, as if need has anything to do with why people buy any number of things that might be fun, etc… Brayne\_Ded asked why so many people wanted a repurposed military weapon. I think my answer was adequate. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/92 "2021-02-12T15:01:06Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > The reality says that you cannot make any actual connection between my hypothetical gun ownership and actual harm, but you can for my use of a computer. You absolutely _ **can** _ make strong causal inferences based on statistical data, especially when the statistics in question are so overwhelmingly extreme compared to all other countries with similar cultures and wealthy economies. In fact, that’s the only kind of analysis that makes any sense. Otherwise you’re basically just engaged in a battle of anecdotes. Most individual guns don’t lead to harm, but some do. What matters is that it creates a very persuasive statistical pattern … > **[Lethal Passage: The Story of a Gun - Kindle edition by Larson, Erik. Politics...](https://www.amazon.com/Lethal-Passage-Story-Erik-Larson-ebook/dp/B005ACH1KK)** > > Lethal Passage: The Story of a Gun - Kindle edition by Larson, Erik. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Lethal Passage: The Story of a... ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/93 "2021-02-12T15:01:34Z")
> [@Brayne\_Ded](#): > > I mean assault rifles such as the AR-15. There’s also the point that an AR-15 is not an assault rifle. The [definition of an assault rifle used by the US military](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_rifle#Characteristics) is that it must be capable of selective fire: full auto, burst shoots, or single shots. An AR-15 is only capable of single-shot fire, as explained in the [wiki article on the AR-15](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AR-15_style_rifle#Comparison_to_military_versions): > [@](#): > > The semi-automatic civilian AR-15 was introduced by Colt in 1963. The primary distinction between civilian semi-automatic rifles and military assault rifles is [select fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Select_fire). Military models were produced with firing modes, [semi-automatic fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-automatic_firearm) and either fully [automatic fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_firearm) mode or [burst fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burst_mode_(weapons)) mode, in which the rifle fires several rounds in succession when the trigger is depressed. Most components are interchangeable between semi-auto and select fire rifles including magazines, sights, upper receiver, barrels and accessories.[[51]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AR-15_style_rifle#cite_note-Bartocci1-51)[[52]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AR-15_style_rifle#cite_note-52) The military [M4 carbine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M4_carbine) typically uses a 14.5-inch (37 cm) barrel. Civilian rifles commonly have 16-inch (41 cm) or longer barrels to comply with the [National Firearms Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Firearms_Act).[[53]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AR-15_style_rifle#cite_note-53) > > To prevent a civilian semi-automatic AR-15 from being readily converted for use with the select fire components, several features were changed. This is not a mere technical difference. An assault rifle is capable of full auto fire; an AR-15, being semi-automatic, is not. Single shots only. Since this thread is about possession of semi-automatic rifles, discussing full auto rifles, and confusing a semi-auto with a full auto, does not contribute to the discussion, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/94 "2021-02-12T15:18:30Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Yeah, but the thread’s about justifying why you NEED one, as if need has anything to do with why people buy any number of things that might be fun, etc… Let’s flip it around: what is inherently bad about semi-automatic fire? Because that seems to be your implicit assumption. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/95 "2021-02-12T15:50:47Z")
Historically the salient point was as much about the intermediate cartridge as it was the selective fire and box magazine. You’re right in that the confusion in the civilian world comes in with the fact that semi auto versions of the same rifles are sold to civilians and function 99% the same as the selective fire military versions. So to many, it seems like a trivial distinction that the military ones allow you to hold the trigger down and it’ll fire until the magazine is empty, versus the civilian one requires you to pull the trigger once per shot. Especially when you consider that most infantry training does not emphasize fully automatic fire these days. Fully auto weaponry has been highly restricted for a long time- it requires special licensing that is quite expensive, and since no new-production weapons have been allowed for sale in decades, the prices are eye-wateringly high for full-auto weapons in the US. Legal ones just aren’t used in crimes. But ultimately there’s very little difference between a [Ruger 10/22](https://www.ruger.com/products/1022/overview.html?r=y) and an [AR-15 “assault rifle”](https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperstore.com/prodimages/15433-DEFAULT-l.jpg) except for the amount of powder in the cartridge and about a 10x price difference. One is apparently terrifying because it’s black and military, and the other isn’t, because it has a wood stock and fires a lighter bullet out of a less powerful cartridge. Same bore diameter, interestingly enough. And that’s what makes this absurd; nobody’s getting bent out of shape over 10/22s, or even large-bore rifles like [Browning BAR ShortTracs](https://www.outdoorlife.com/resizer/lNJ_UCKw8mSfssAzVK51gm9H5-Q=/800x157/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-bonnier.s3.amazonaws.com/public/CW7ZNO6A2QL4HTBV767YBKRW7Y.jpg), or [Benelli R1s](https://www.outdoorlife.com/resizer/KTHl-UXZsud1-jeyqonTUCT3Wa4=/800x171/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-bonnier.s3.amazonaws.com/public/73QRS7ZWEY63BC4QINFCHGHOTI.jpg) , even though they’re all semi-automatic and the latter two fire bigger, deadlier bullets than the AR-15. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/96 "2021-02-12T16:00:21Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Let’s flip it around: what is inherently bad about semi-automatic fire? > **[Semi-Automatic Rifles Really Are More Deadly, New Study Clearly Shows](https://www.sciencealert.com/first-of-its-kind-study-calculates-deadly-semi-automatic-rifles-gun-control-violence-firearms)** > > The US government defines an active shooter as an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area. Also, from Wikipedia on gun control in Canada: “In the wake of the 2020 Nova Scotia attacks, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced On May 1, 2020 that 1,500 models of “assault-style” weapons, largely semi-automatic guns, would be classified as prohibited effective immediately.” The fact that some try to justify semi-automatics on the basis of being somehow more “useful” for some purposes does not in itself justify the increased risk to the public. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/97 "2021-02-12T16:50:28Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > This sounds to me like a reasonable reason for using a semi-automatic. > > I do have a question - why is the recoil less with a semi-automatic, and could that same technology be used with a bolt-action rifle? Not really. The energy from recoil is used to chamber the next round rather than being directed into the shooter. There are other tricks that can be done to minimize recoil. Which is why I shoot 20 gauge rather than 12 gauge to minimize recoil. > [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > Yeah, you answered yourself. The ecosystem is so broken that you can’t restore it, especially if you want to continue with people living in the same area. We are actually introducing wolves to Colorado, of course simultaneously we’ve discovered that they’ve come back on their own. This “nature perseveres” ability is one of the biggest flaws in: > [@Babale](#): > > (despite huge efforts to cull coyotes their populations and range are both rapidly growing) are not in question. The majority of Coyotes have moved into urban areas and out of the rural areas. We’ve seen massive population decreases in rural coyotes and more coyote attacks on people and pets. Of course where they live now hunting isn’t possible. > [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > When there’s 30 targets in a small area, then shoot-reload-cock-shoot is inefficient. Now the question is - how often are you in a situation where there are 30 targets in a small area? Rarely. It’s actually very common in the three types of hunting I mentioned above. [Hogs](https://www.hogmanoutdoors.com/blog/diy-hog-hunting-bait-tips-and-tricks-for-taking-feral-hogs) and [coyotes](https://www.outdoorlife.com/articles/hunting/predators-small-game/predator-techniques/2011/01/predators-hunt-hunters/) are both typically bated so you can get large populations together. It’s also not uncommon even for calling coyotes to get serval in at the same time. Obviously prairie dogs live with hundreds to thousands together at a time. > [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > That seems kinda backwards to me. Why would you need more cartridges for a handgun than a long gun? This gets us more into protection rather than hunting but there are tons of incidents showing how inaccurate people are in high stress situations and the general theory is that more rounds make it more likely to hit something. While with hunting we try to remove the spray and pray mentality in self defence sometimes that is all that is possible. So a duck hunting shotgun will be limited to 3 rounds while a [defensive shotgun can have something crazy like 16](https://www.cheaperthandirt.com/standard-manufacturing-dp-12-12-gauge-double-barrel-pump-action-shotgun-18.875-barrels-16-rounds-black/FC-869481000103.html?utm_source=blog.cheaperthandirt&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=top-5-high-capacity-shotguns). Note that that shotgun is not a semi auto but a pump. So even the conversation focusing on semi-auto is a bit inane. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/98 "2021-02-12T17:33:25Z")
To get back to directly answering the OP: the events of the past year have made me, as a centrist Democrat, very uncomfortable with the idea of relinquishing any further freedoms to bear arms. Why might someone need a semiautomatic rifle? To fight off a mob of people, is why. It’s not exactly the average red-state Trump supporting people that scare me. It’s the Q bullshit. That scares the _hell_ out of me. They’ve shown that they’re willing to carry out mob violence. And they’ve shown that they’re willing to do so _while spreading deadly diseases._ It’s almost a real life “zombie” scenario. And the police _could not even protect the Capitol Building_ from these people. They’re not going to protect _my_ ass. Do I, right now, feel that I’m personally in danger of being pursued by a mob of these people? No, not _right now_, although it would be a different story if I weren’t a white guy. But EVERYONE would be in danger from them if the country were ever plunged into true hardship conditions. While we’re still a ways off from that, COVID and the political unrest gave us a glimpse into that abyss, and I don’t ever want to see it again, but there’s a nonzero chance. I’ll keep my semiautomatic rifle. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/99 "2021-02-12T17:36:48Z")
The proportion of Q nutjobs who own guns is far higher than the proportion of sane people who do. That seems like a fantastic argument to disarm America, not to arm up. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705/100 "2021-02-12T17:37:26Z")
Well, you didn’t ask “should we disarm America or not”. You asked why someone might need a semiautomatic rifle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-a-semiautomatic-rifle/932705.md?page=6)