20 Good Reasons to push for Gun Control - Can't be refuted

[spin]

59. Prior to the last ban few gun owners I knew had any real interest in owning a "black rifle."

They were considered to be ugly, inaccurate and unreliable.

All the publicity over the banning of these firearms caused some of my friends to buy one and they were surprised with how accurate and reliable they were. Soon most of the regular shooters at my range had an assault style rifle and several hi-cap magazines for it.

Most people who are not into shooting think that the old assault weapons ban actually banned something. It banned the sale of some semi-auto firearms with certain cosmetic features such as bayonet lug or a flash suppressor. The manufacturers of these weapons merely removed these features and continued selling the basic firearm.

Also "banned" were high capacity magazines over 10 rounds, manufactured after a certain date. Magazine manufacturers ramped up production to 24/7 before that date and sold the magazines during the ban for double or triple the price. Hi-cap magazines were always available.

Yes I do agree that creating a market for these weapons by "banning" them is a bad idea. Few people have any real use for a black rifle but a few honestly do. It somewhat like the craze that resulted for the S&W .44 magnum revolver after the movie "Dirty Harry." All sorts of people who had little knowledge or interest in the shooting sports just had to have one of these handguns which had only been bought by hunters before.

(For some reason many people think that banning items is a great idea. It never seems to work and in fact usually backfires.)

As for myself, I have never owned a "black rifle" or a semi-auto pistol with a magazine greater than 10 rounds. The simple reason is that I see little need for such items for me personally. I don't target shoot rifles, I don't hunt (Yes, "black rifles are used for hunting but usually the size of the magazine is limited to 5 rounds or less.), I don't live in a rural area and I am far too old and my heath is too bad to fight the government if it becomes a tyranny.

Just as I thought a .44 magnum handgun was a dumb choice for a newbie shooter, I think a "black rifle" is an extremely expensive firearm for most people who will have little use for it. (In passing I should note that I have owned several .44 magnum handguns in the 45 years that I have enjoyed shooting. I enjoy shooting a hard recoiling handgun occasionally and it helps me cope with the lesser recoil of handguns like a .357 magnum.)