Gun Control Activists

Listening to gun control activists in Congress always gets me steamed, at the same time I get a huge laugh at their complete naivete. For starters, standard military magazine size is 15 rounds, there is no reason to restrict civilian magazine size to anything smaller. In the end, those expanded magazines were created because of restrictions against firearms that used easily changed mags.

That said, there is no reason at all to limit magazine size in the first place. The difference between a loaded and unloaded weapon is about half a second for anyone who actually practices. Given the time the Aurora shooter had prepared for his act, if he had spent a little more time training for quick mag changes the number of casualties would have been the same.

On top of that, they love to say they need more restrictions on illegal weapons. The problem with that is that in order to have a successful overthrow of the government if it becomes necessary (remember the Founders firmly believed that the citizenry should have the power to overthrow the government if it became a tyrannical one like that which they had just left) people need access to a wide range of weapons, they have to be able to effectively fight the State. It's what keeps the government from just making us a police state any time one party or the other gets total control of the government (yes, I really do "trust" both parties that much). Now, I'm not advocating for grenade launchers, tanks, etc for regular citizens, but banning "automatic weapons" is just plain silly.

Saying the cops don't have the same firearms is bull, they DO have automatic weapons, flashbangs, smokebombs, and such, they just restrict them to their SWAT teams. That is the choice of the municipality, guns are generally a one-time cost with minimal maintenance and upkeep if you actually purchase quality gear (not something the government is well-known for I'll grant you). Also, instead of trying to ban more and more weapons for non-military (thus preventing the cops from legally using them) they should open it up to citizens with reasonable background checks to confirm the person is not on medications to prevent stuff like bipolar, multiple personalities, and others that tend to cause instant anger and loss of control (ADD and ADHD do not fall into this category by the way, no matter what a bunch of lazy teachers say) along with ensuring they have no felonies involving domestic abuse, assault, or other crimes that prevent even military members from being issued firearms (there is a standard DOD form that lists all the disqualifiers) and problem solved. No civilian should have to meet more stringent requirements than the military.

In the end, it comes down to one thing; CRIMINALS DO NOT FOLLOW THE LAW. I'll keep repeating myself until people get it.