It’s in the link I posted.
Some people that understand the difference between a true assault rifle and the assault weapons banned in the now expired ban are pretty insistant on using precise terminology. When people call a semi auto civilian AR an assault rifle I just let it slide because I’m lazy.
When I said most guns above I meant hand guns.
God, I just can’t follow. So no automatic or semi-automatic guns are banned at this moment, right? Are any bans on any guns pending?
Magazine sizes limited now? Pending?
I want to point out that once you go over 30 rounds in an AR magazine they get more prone to jamming. I think the Aurora shooter went in with a 100 round drum which jammed on him. I believe military and police stick with the more reliable 30 rounders but I’m open to correction on that.
Pending in the sense that many, many citizens favor banning them and many politicians would like to oblige them.
But nothing is up for a vote. Why all the doublespeak? Isn’t that why we demand “transparency” in government? Why do it here in GQ?
At the Federal level the only thing that is outright banned are automatic weapons produced after 1986. Automatic weapons produced prior to 1986 can generally be bought by civilians, under Federal law, but there is a licensing requirement under the National Firearms Act.
I didn’t expect this thread to go in this direction, but basically:
Automatic weapon means a weapon where you hold down the trigger by depressing it once and continuing to keep it depressed, and the weapon continues to fire until it is out of ammunition or the barrel overheats.
Semiautomatic weapon means a weapon where each time you depress the trigger, a round is fired until you are out of ammunition. But nothing happens (aside from an initial round being fired) if you pull the trigger and keep it depressed.
In common military terminology, assault rifle is a term that’s been around for about 50 years to refer to the “main battle rifles” adopted by most military forces in the 1960s and onward. These weapons are rifles that are selective fire. Selective fire means a switch can choose to fire it as an automatic weapon, or a semiautomatic weapon. They also have a detachable magazine. That is the primary definition of assault rifle: selective fire between automatic and semiautomatic, and it has a detachable magazine.
Most gun manufacturers who produce assault rifles manufacture “civilian variants.” They look essentially identical to the military assault rifle, but they do not have selective fire. They only fire semiautomatic, and thus are not considered assault rifles. Some individuals choose to label these and other weapons “assault weapons” based on the fact they look like military assault rifles.
Under the NFA, no weapons were banned but you had to get a special license to buy an automatic weapon.
Under a 1986 law, the NFA was modified so that you could only buy automatic weapons under the NFA that were manufactured prior to 1986. The Hughes Amendment essentially banned the manufacture of new automatic weapons for the civilian market.
Many State laws are more restrictive than the Federal laws I’ve outlined. New York, New Jersey, and California in particular have much more restrictive State laws and do outright ban a larger range of weapons than I just mentioned.
Adding:
Federally there is no limit on magazine sizes at present.
Federally, there was a law in effect for 10 years starting in 1994 called the “Assault Weapons Ban” prohibited manufacture for the civilian market of weapons that met a certain set of criteria. These criteria essentially tried to make it so weapons that “looked like” assault rifles could not be legally manufactured for the civilian market. However superficial alterations to the design of these weapons allowed them to continue being sold in spite of the 1994 law. Additionally, the 1994 law prohibited manufacture for the civilian market magazines with a capacity over 10 rounds. Note that this was a manufacturing prohibition only. It did not ban any weapons, prohibit purchase or sale of any weapons that already existed. There was a very, very large number of weapons produced prior to the ban such that large magazines > 10 and rifles that would run afoul of the “criterias” laid out in the AWB were still widely available for all ten years the law was in force. The law expired during the Bush Presidency and was not renewed, and is not in force now. So there is no magazine size limit at present nor is there likely to be.
Look up Diane Fienstein’s assault weapons ban that she proposed. That proposal did not even make it to a vote. But it is a blueprint of what many people would like to see passed and there are people that will continue to work towards that. Just like people continue to work to overturn Rv.W or whatever. So no, to my knowledge there is no pending Federal legislation waiting for a vote now that would limit magazine size or ban assault style weapons. But there are many people out there that will keep pushing for exactly that.
States on the other hand ARE banning guns and mags. I believe Co. and Ct. just did it.
Is it just in the SE? An acquaintance in Wisconsin was commenting on ammo supply/cost.
I’m on a tablet, so copying links is a little more trouble, but luckily Google still works. I did a search for “Assault Weapons Ban 2013” and the very first hit was
http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/assault-weapons
I just posted a magazine size law that was enacted in NY. Surely you understand the angst gun owners experience every time a politician says their law is not meant to go any further. Look at cigarets. It was just one law after another. Look at amnesty for immigrants. We already gave a one time amnesty to illegal immigrants. When you start adding up all the one-time laws regarding anything then it starts to add up. The only way to stop this on a realistic level is to draw a line in the sand and say this is where the regulations stop or we will object strenuously. I’m not a gun owner but I understand the NRA’s position based on the past examples of laws passed.
For those who varmint hunt in NY, is this a problem? Are feral hogs and coyotes a nuisance there? Or does this ruling disappoint hobbyists?
I have a Ruger Ranch Rifle in .223. It takes the same ammo as an AR-15 and will take high capacity mags just like the AR. It will perform exactly like an AR in all ways. It’s not on DF’s list.
Why? It doesn’t look as scary.
So not favored by gang members and considered non-threatening, or the novice legislator finds the general appearance non-threatening?
Who are the gun-control advocates in power? Are they as ignorant and optimistic as I am, or do they research the stats and capabilities of the weapons they find troublesome?
The thing about high cap mags is that there are millions of them out there with no way to track who has them. Those that have them will not turn them in if they are banned. They will leave them in the gun safe and use compliant mags to hunt and shoot. The people bent on carnage will be the only ones that will take them out because they are planning on going out in a blaze of glory anyway. IMHO.
this ruling disappoints hunters, target shooters and those who keep a gun for personal protection.
Google search for Tax On Ammunition
I’m unaware of any rifle being favored by gang members. Pulled from wikipedia " In 2010 there were 358 murders involving rifles. Murders involving the use of handguns in the US that same year totaled 6,009, with another 1,939 murders with the firearm type unreported. "
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/tables/table-20
A link to 2012 crime statistics. The rifle category is pretty bare. That includes all rifles, not just “assault rifles”.
Going out, but will check back and read up. Thanks to all who provided facts, links, and insight. Really appreciate you.
ISTM the runs on ammo had already started before Sandy Hook, and just got greatly intensified afterward when after some years of not wanting to touch the subject with a 10-foot pole the big-name politicians decided that this case justified bringing gun control proposals back to the table. There had been prior spikes in the sales of guns and ammo immediately after both Obama elections and after both inaugurations, even though he did not run on the issue; plus as mentioned there’s the irrational reaction to the large DHS purchase (which BTW a lot of that buy is actually options, in order to lock in a good price – and it stands to reason that the security agencies would want to make sure they get first dibs on what the plants can put out).
As to how come shelves are also cleaned out of .22LR cartridges or birdshot shells, well the “Ammo Panic” is partly premised on that at some point there will be an attempt to establish a high tax, and/or a single purchase amount cap, and/or to require taggants on reload powder, and/or some other hindrance to buying any and all ammo you may want that would be highly burdensome and apply to ALL ammunition. That this has about zip chance of nationwide enactment in the near future does not appease the Ammo Panic people.
