New NRA Talking Point: Banning Assault Weapons Is Just Like Racial Discrimination

[SecularMotion]

Former National Rifle Association president Marion Hammer compared a proposal by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to ban assault weapons to racial discrimination. According to Hammer, "banning people and things because of the way they look went out a long time ago. But here they are again. The color of a gun. The way it looks. It's just bad politics."

Hammer's comparison came during a discussion on NRA News about Sen. Feinstein's plans to introduce legislation to ban assault weapons during the new Congress. Hammer warned that the United States government could engage in firearm confiscation "in order to control the masses."

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/01/04/new-nra-talking-point-banning-assault-weapons-i/192021

[DetlefK]

1. Actually, that's a month old.

I didn't know assault-rifles were defined by the way they look. I always thought it was about the automatic mechanism inside the rifle that gets a bullet fire-ready. (And of course those semi-automatic rifles that were marketed as assault-rifles to boost sales.) Silly me.

[gejohnston]

3. they are

And of course those semi-automatic rifles that were marketed as assault-rifles to boost sales.

actually, they were not.

[Duckhunter935]

4. nope, not the function

two identical functioning rifles.

one would be banned under the new AWB

]link:

one would be protected to own under the new AWB

]

only difference is stock and one looks scary.

[Eleanors38]

2. Actually, Hammer does misread American culture a bit...

Judging, fearing, loving, buying, making things based on looks is deeply ingrained in our culture and, evidently, our Congress.

With generally crappy results.

[krispos42]

5. Her ban prohibits by name the AR-15 and AK-47 mechanisms.

So, it's okay to be able to buy a new semiautomatic rifle fed from a detachable magazins, as long as the particular firing mechanism isn't AR-15 or AK-47. This is not an NRA talking point; this is what is in her proposal.


It's also okay to buy a new semiautomatic rifle fed from a detachable magazine, as long as it doesn't have secondary features that are not part of the firing mechanism but affect appearance and ergonomics.



It's definitely appearance-based and origin-based. How do I know? Her proposal includes a list a couple of pages long of makes and models specifically exempted from the ban, and to build this list somebody in her office had to thumb through catalogs of gun makers' products, look at the pictures and descriptions, and write down model numbers to put into the legislation.




THIS Mini-14 is okay:




This one isn't, because it has a flash suppressor:




This one isn't because it has a flash suppressor, a protruding pistol grip, and an adjustable stock:




This one isn't, because even though it has the same features as the first, legal, rifle I showed, it's an AR-15:







Feinstein's goal is to outlaw weapons that are optimized for self-defense. The theory being, I would assume, that what is optimized for defense is also necessarily optimized for offense. However, "optimizes" does not mean "significantly more deadly". So she's going for secondary features that does not address the core issue, which is the semi-automatic, detachable-magazine-fed mechanism.

[Duckhunter935]

7. Have to look at the list and yes this

Last edited Mon Feb 18, 2013, 01:23 PM - Edit history (1)

hunting rifle would be banned, based on AR-15 platform.

Remington R-15 VTR Predator 223 Rem Rifle


"We will not ban hunting rifles"
"Who uses an assault weapon to hunt?"

Banned Remington Model R-25 based on AR-10 platform


This new Remington rifle is initially offered in .308 Win., 7mm-08 Rem. and .243 Win. Normal larger game hunting calibers.

[flamin lib]

6. I say just cut to the chase and stop trying to define an "assault weapons". Just ban

all semi-automatic weapons with removable magazines.

[Duckhunter935]

8. that would be the only way to get past looks

That would also be most rifles, pistols and some shotguns made in the last 100 years.

[krispos42]

9. "Bullet button" magazine releases.

Even simpler. Ban all semi-automatics.


But, that kind of moral clarity is not present, it would seem.

[iiibbb]

10. I like this not because I agree, but because it's honest.

[Duckhunter935]

11. correct

I wish our legislatures were that honest. They need to stop pandering and take a stand if they believe it.

[gejohnston]

12. I knew this pic would come in handy