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

[zipplewrath]

79. For a reason

Revolvers are a different market. Because of semi-autos, there's no real reason to try to speed up a revolver. However, get rid of semi-autos, and you'll be challenging the market to fill it with revolvers. (By the by, there's nothing from stopping the 8 shot revolver).

Focusing on the magazine capacity is the better "first step". For one thing, the "buy back" would be cheaper. But furthermore, it addresses more directly the issue. Large capacity semi-autos create a very large "mass kill" capability. The Orlando/Pulse shooter got off something like 300 rounds in 3 minutes. If he had a limit of 6 - 8 rounds per magazine, he wouldn't have been nearly as successful. (Truth is, the officer on the scene may have stayed engaged longer). Going forward, one could require that new guns have a "lock out" that requires the magazine to be (fully) removed and replaced prior to being able to fire again. So even if someone had/made a larger magazine, the weapon wouldn't be able to take (full) advantage.

This stuff is easier than trying to define a weapon by various specific functional or cosmetic features, only to invite the market to find a way around it.