It's Time to Ban Assault Weapons. Civilians Don't Need Weapons of War

[Hoyt]

78. I hear you. I still believe guns marketed as tactical rifles, etc., are a problem.

Limiting magazines, I like, especially as a short-term solution.

If we are looking for long-term solutions, maybe the marketing of these weapons needs to be controlled like tobacco products. It's difficult to accept sniper rifle ads, ads showing people equipped for urban warfare, etc.

Similarly, there is just no way to justify ads like this --






I'll come back when I have more time. Besides, you are into defending guns that are made and marketed to people who obviously aren't mature enough to own guns, as evidenced by the fact they are attracted to guns with a bunch of combat type features. I don't think you get what I'm saying -- one can't separate the rifle from the people attracted to them.

As to Feinstein, she is trying to write legislation that applies to certain types of rifles. She's dealing with NRA types and gunners who play the nomenclature game in an attempt to obfuscate. We need to just bite the bullet and ban semi-auto rifles period. They do nothing but fuel the gun market and are marketed to immature individuals who are easily misled with ads playing to what are clearly questionable needs.

I agree with limiting magazine capacity as a short-term solution. Longer term, we need to paint people who are into this kind of stuff as a threat to society. There will always be those who use guns to bolster their self-esteem and advance political ideology that should be deemed "terrorism." But, it needs to be limited and parents need to understand raising their kids in the gun culture is not in their best interest.

I'll leave this with excerpts from an article that explains it better than I can:

"Consider the ads that gun manufacturers run to lure their buyers.

"Glock guns give men "confidence to live your life." The Walther PPX handgun is "Tough. Very Tough." The Tavor Semi-Automatic Rifle, gripped menacingly by a faceless man wearing a sniper's jacket and shooting gloves, will restore the "balance of power" to anyone holding the gun.

"Ads often invite men to imagine themselves as warriors in camouflage taking on a hostile world. Buying a Bushmaster semi-automatic "confirms that you are a Man's Man, the last of a dying breed, with all the rights and privileges duly afforded."

"In other words, guns give these men strength, status, power, and respect -- exactly what many white men feel they have been hemorrhaging ever since the 1960s.

http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/154225