WorthyNews:Two Maine Mass Shootings Kill 22 (Update)

[FJK]

7 hours ago, Marathoner said:

Actually, that wasn't the case. AR-15s didn't become widely accessible until 2010, so it's been a little over 10 years. Before that time, they weren't accessible to most from 1994-2004 because of the Federal Assault Weapons ban. 

You might want to do a bit of research, I used to own guns of this nature and as far back as the very early 70's I owned several "assault rifles" such as a BM59 and M1A, M1 Garand and M1 carbine. The AR's were available then (they were originally a civilian rifle after the military rejected it for the M14 (the original Military version of the civilian M1A)).  The original civilian AR was a Colt model with a few Armalite's around and was available in the 60's but wasn't used much except for varminting, or just to have one for sporting stuff, because of its small caliber and low power.  By the later part of the 70's there were a number of manufacturers making it and its popularity began slowly increasing.  The first civilian AK's I saw were in the late 80's or early 90's and kind of undesirable since ammo for it was hard to find at that time due to lack of demand (Fully automatic military models were readily available to collectors but expensive).  Anti gun news publicity and highly vocal political opposition by various politicians on all levels glamorized and drove their popularity up and they started becoming more popular during that period.

That 94 - 04 ban didn't stop anyone that wanted one from getting one and just meant that the stock an muzzle flash hider and a few other features such as bayonet lugs that didn't affect the function weren't available on new guns and didn't affect guns that were already manufactured (it just made them more expensive, but maybe that bayonet lug thing worked since I don't recall any mass bayoneting happening during that period).  It also made them more attractive to miscreants.  FWIW, much of this was after publicity and demonizing of things like those junky MAC's and Tec-9's and Uzi's that you never seem to hear about anymore after that ban expired and people realized they weren't really very desirable guns the way they were during the ban.

One thing that ban did do in a positive manner for hand guns, an unintended consequence, was spur the development of small easily concealable high powered hand guns since the trend before that was toward large higher capacity hand guns that were really difficult to carry with you unless on a side holster (why develop large guns if they weren't going to be carrying more shots than smaller guns were allowed to carry).  AS large numbers of these little guns became available and their sales grew rapidly people found concealed carry for personal protection much more convenient and desirable and the demand for laws allowing it has resulted in its widespread adoption with huge numbers of CCW permits around now in almost every State. (That doesn't include me, I don't like carrying a gun or living where I feel a need to so I don't see a need to to get a permit for something I have no intention of ever doing.)

The guns are not the problem, every time some political action is taken against them the problem gets worse.  It would be far more productive to ask why so many people today are mentally unfit to own and use them than to try to prevent everyone from having them which only keeps the people who are law abiding and decent from having them while letting their possession by criminals and mentally defective people go unchecked.

But we won't be doing that, now will we?