Florida: Man shot dead at Edison Mall

[aikoaiko]

4. So many questions....

...but they all have answers.

You wrote: Do you think we are likely to see more of these types of shootings as more "high-powered rifles" enter private hands?
My response: Not really as rifles are not the preferred weapon of criminals.

You wrote: Do you think the "Federal Assault Weapons Ban" makes a difference in reducing the supply of these firearms to criminals?
My response: No, there just wasn't that much of a reduction in the use of rifles overall when the so-called ban was in place. Some rifles like the Ruger Mini-14 or Mini-30 weren't even covered in the ban, but they could take 30round magazines shoot the some ammunition as AR15s and kalashnikov styles rifles.

You wrote: If not, where do you think criminals such as these would obtain this amount of firepower?
My response: From the same places they are now. AR15s and semi-auto Kalashnikov style rifles were still available during the ban only they weren't sold with bayonet lugs, flash suppressors, or come new with 30 round magazines. 30 round magazines, however, were still available.

You wrote: Do you generally think the majority of these types of firearms used in crimes such as this are smuggled into the country or are obtained from inside the United States?
My response: Not now, but if a true ban and confiscation were successful you would create a black market easily filled by organized crime (similar to alcohol prohibition). In fact, you may open a pipeline of fully-automatic weapons from other counties into ours as a unintended consequence of feel good legislation in the US.