Georgians own more than 22,000 machine guns (insurance, to buy, movie theater)

[DentalFloss]

Originally Posted by workaholics

But how on earth can you say that for sure?? Many of these crazed gunmen used expensive weapons that they or their family obtained legally.

Well, since 1934 only 2 people have been killed by a legally owned automatic weapon, and one of them was killed by a police officer with a department weapon.

Seems like it's not something we need to spend a lot of time worrying about.

[DentalFloss]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I don't know guns so I don't know if this is true, but I have heard that some legal semi-automatic weapons are relatively easy to modify into fully automatic weapons by someone with just a little know how. I have no idea how common this is or if the ar-15 models are among the easily modified firearms.

I won't say it has never happened, because it has, but it's exceedingly rare. One police officer I saw on some youtube clip said that over the course of his career, some 50,000 weapons had been seized and of them, not a single one was an illegally converted automatic.

My understanding is that a gunsmith of sufficient talent could hypothetically do it, but the prices if you get caught are very steep. A decade in prison and a $250,000 fine.

I have no idea how to do it, and wouldn't even if I did, though I'd like at some point in my life to have enough disposable income to own one legally.

[topchief1]

There's no need for widescale gun bans, but I do believe that there should be a database for those who receive psychiatric evaluations, and those people should have much stricter restictions on what and how much they can own. You cannot stop mass shootings, people are simply too unpredictable. But you CAN do things to make them less deadly.

[DaBurgh]

there are hundreds of thousands of registered vehicles

[DentalFloss]

Nationwide, there are roughly 120,000 fully automatic assault rifles legally in civilian hands. Unfortunately, that number will probably shrink over time, as nothing manufactured since 1986 can be legally owned by a civilian, but perhaps we'll see that change given only 1 legally owned civilian automatic rifle has been used in a crime since 1934.

[Columbuskidd92]

My grandma had a Saturday Night Special,and it scared the **** out of me.

[AcidSnake]

I own a simple shotgun; a 12-gauge in fact.

I like shotguns because they are simple, versatile, and there is non-lethal ammo available for those like myself who are particularly squeamish about taking a life.

I say this because I can't for the life of me see how a person can convince him or herself that an assault/military style weapon like an AR-15 or AK-47 is for anything other than for killing multiple human beings almost instantaneously. And the damage that a typical round from such weapon would cause to human flesh is severe and irreversible.

Georgia is a very paranoid state. The American south in general is paranoid.

Far too many people here seem to have apocalyptic "Red Dawn"-styled wet dreams in which they can mow down as many "undesirables" as possible.

Yikes.

[AcidSnake]

The NRA and the gun manufacturers won't even allow that much.

It's insane how Corporatism has our nation by the cojones.

Originally Posted by topchief1

There's no need for widescale gun bans, but I do believe that there should be a database for those who receive psychiatric evaluations, and those people should have much stricter restictions on what and how much they can own. You cannot stop mass shootings, people are simply too unpredictable. But you CAN do things to make them less deadly.

[southgeorgia]

Originally Posted by AcidSnake

I say this because I can't for the life of me see how a person can convince him or herself that an assault/military style weapon like an AR-15 or AK-47 is for anything other than for killing multiple human beings almost instantaneously.

Plain and simple, they're fun to shoot.



I've never shot a human being with any of mine, and i never intend to, yet I still like having them.



The only living thing i've shot with an AR-15 is hogs; they cause massive damage to crops, and need to be dealt with swiftly. They travel in packs, so you need the ability to unload on them quickly with as much lead on target as possible.


But anyway, I really like mine, and I'm not giving them up because of a few crazy people out there. A gun ban will not stop guns crimes; in fact statistics in some areas that have banned guns show that gun crimes, murders, and home invasions have risen.

The problem with taking away guns is that the criminals no longer have to be worried that the person they are about to rob may have the ability to shoot and kill them.



A gun ban would stop guns just about as well as a drug ban has stopped methamphetamines.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by southgeorgia

Plain and simple, they're fun to shoot.



I've never shot a human being with any of mine, and i never intend to, yet I still like having them.



The only living thing i've shot with an AR-15 is hogs; they cause massive damage to crops, and need to be dealt with swiftly. They travel in packs, so you need the ability to unload on them quickly with as much lead on target as possible.


But anyway, I really like mine, and I'm not giving them up because of a few crazy people out there. A gun ban will not stop guns crimes; in fact statistics in some areas that have banned guns show that gun crimes, murders, and home invasions have risen.

The problem with taking away guns is that the criminals no longer have to be worried that the person they are about to rob may have the ability to shoot and kill them.



A gun ban would stop guns just about as well as a drug ban has stopped methamphetamines.

Assault weapons are not used for defensive purposes in everyday life - they are used for mass killings. They have no place anywhere in a civilized society. I'm sorry. I'm betting you'll change your mind when someone shows up with one at your mall, school, or movie theater.

I'm pretty sure you can shoot hogs with a regular rifle can't you?