Judge blocks California's ban on magazines holding more than 10 rounds

[krispos42]

13. It's an arbitrary number

Ten fingers, ten toes, and ten rounds. It's not based on any research or anything. Why not 7? Or 3? Or 12? A revolver usually holds 6. What number is the point at where rights are being taken away? California simply latched onto 10 rounds in 1989 or so, and that because a "reasonable" number. New Jersey and Connecticut followed suit, followed by the Federal ban in 1993. New York tried to impose a 7-round limit after Sandy Hook but I think it was struck down by the courts.

Frankly it doesn't do much except motivate people to vote for Republicans. A lot of issues are abstract and cerebral and hypothetical, but gun owners know their guns. Guns are tangible goods they are familiar with, and that gives them knowledge and motivation and confidence.

I mean, I know many on DU would love to see the right removed outright, which means that these kinds of laws are just one step towards that goal and they give absolutely zero farts about them being legislated into nothing.

My personal reasoning goes something like this:

The odds of me being in a situation where I have to point my gun at somebody are pretty damn small.

Assuming that happens, the odds of me having to actually shoot the gun are fairly small; most defensive gun uses don't actually involve shooting. Presentation is enough to either scare off the attacker or apprehend them.

However, if I beat those combined odds then I'm in a pretty serious situation and I don't want to have to be fumbling with a reload when I'm fighting for my life. Adrenaline, panic, desperate maneuvering, etc., are not conductive to reloading.



Assuming I survive, I expect I will have fired as many rounds as needed to end the situation. Since handguns are not particularly powerful and shot placement can easily go to hell during a crisis, it can take several hits to stop a threat quickly, and several shots to make a hit. Defensive handgunners often train to shoot rapid pairs, so a 10-round magazine really means five attempts to hit a threat.

I can go into further detail, but basically it's fairly common for fear, anger, adrenaline, etc. to enable attackers to keep attacking even after being shot. Only a small part of a person will result in a near-instant incapacitation when shot. A larger area will result in incapacitation in minutes, and the balance of the body in hours.

That's the reality. A really dedicated person that goes to self-defense courses and shoots in defensive competitions frequently? Yeah, he's probably fine. He's got the training and mentality and practice and reflexes. Me? I ain't got the budget to shoot a thousand rounds a month in practice and competition, nor to travel to all those events.

Flame away.