I appreciate the time and thought you put into it. I'm afraid I don't follow you in this particular post though. I own multiple weapons on the proposed ban bill. Most of them I inherited from my father. I am not alone at DU, as an owner of various firearms proposed for restriction. I am, of course, not in fear of my firearms being collected. We don't do ex post facto type stuff in the US, I know mine are mine and will remain so. The only issue here is the sales of new ones.
Have you ever used such a rifle? You seem frustrated with the very concept of it. I can't say I'm not biased, I am, I have used them a lot. But I feel they aren't as exotic as your commentary suggests. Particularly on 'no practical purpose'. If that were literally true, I would never bother keeping them. I would sell them, or have them destroyed, because they would then be too much trouble to keep around and store safely. I am not suggesting you have to, but I would ask you consider giving one a try at the range, or sit down and talk to some non-teabagger, wouldn't-heckle-a-man-who-just-lost-his-kid, normal sort of person who owns one and ask them why, and what purpose it serves. They do exist. The NRA behaves like it is the only game in town when it comes to firearms, and that's just not true. They are simply the LOUDEST. I feel genuinely embarrassed to be associated with them at all. Not as a member, I am not. Not as a firearm owner, because I am not ashamed of that in the slightest. But I am deeply embarrassed and concerned about their rhetoric in 'defense' of firearms. (In fact, I feel they are doing gun owners all sorts of damage)
"It's just simple plain, common sense. No need to "speak their language", or get into the technical intricacies and terminology of the various types of guns."
I disagree. The proposed bill would ban new sales of my AR, but allow new sales of my Mini-14. The two rifles work the same*, have the same capacity, fire at the same rate, one has a plastic stock, the other wood. (And the wood one can be replaced with a 'tactical' plastic stock easily and legally enough) It is important that the law be respectable, for people to respect it. If the law is self-contradictory, or doesn't make sense, or seems arbitrary or capricious, it robs it of credibility and support.
(*There are some differences in operation, one is a gas impinged piston bolt, etc, but they fire at the same rate, making them essentially equivalent here)
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