Rural gun ownership.

[JohnnyRingo]

109. An "assault rifle" is not out of place in Montana.

...or Alaska, North Dakota, or Washington state, where ranchers use them when they're out checking fences or tracking down a stray. Encountering a wild animal like a brown bear with cubs can become a life and death experience at the drop of a Stetson, and a heavy bolt action rifle with five rounds can be slow and relatively ineffective in such a situation where there are no cell towers.

These people may feel they're being treated unfairly by being lumped in with criminals, and they have a legitimate point, but I'm not opposed to common sense regulation like waiting periods and registration. Laws like that won't take away their right to own the tools of the trade, but may stop a nut who came up with a suicide mission on the spur of the moment. I don't even mind restricting extended mags and flash suppressors, because I think those are combat options.

While a high powered semi-auto rifle is a common and useful tool in rural areas, they take on an entirely different context on the streets of a major metropolis. I prefer moderation over an outright ban because despite what many want to believe, these guns are not used only to kill school children. We just never read about people who use one to stop a wild boar or a cougar because it isn't interesting.

Perhaps cities like Chicago or Detroit can pass a local ordinance that prevents having one within the city limits. A fair number of these weapons would be confiscated through traffic stops and taken off the mean streets where gangs use them as intimidation and enforcement of their turf.

Well written and thought out post. K&R and thanx for the long overdue perspective.

BTW... In ten years I never earned an "ignore" from a fellow DUer, but this issue is so heated and divisive I've collected 14 in the past seven days, and I never advocated in a post for LaPierre or the NRA, that I see as an arm of the GOP. I've even had a few posts went unsuccessfully to a jury for not agreeing with a ban of all firearms. It's just that some DUers see all guns as murder machines that must be thrown in the ocean, and while everyone is entitled to an opinion, demanding I unconditionally share theirs is unreasonable. I have no one on my own ignore list.