That act, which followed an attempt on President Ronald Reagan’s life, requires that background checks be conducted on individuals before they can buy a firearm from a federally licensed dealer, manufacturer or importer, unless an exception applies.
Despite his obvious troubles, Loughner didn’t have a criminal record, so he was easily able to get a gun. And what a gun: He used a Glock 9mm pistol, modified with a high-capacity magazine that fires 33 rounds. These types of high-capacity magazines were outlawed by the 1994 assault-weapons ban. That ban expired in 2004.
THAT ALLOWED HIM to convert his rage from a single shot that might have missed his target into a deadly bloodbath whose victims included a 9-year-old girl.
Again, the assault weapons ban didn’t ban anything. It banned manufacture, and exempted police agencies. I got plenty of 30 round magazines legally during the ban. The Glock 19 is probably one of the most common handguns around today. Certainly it is very common among police agencies. There’s nothing odd or particularly deadly about it that’s not true of most other firearms. Then you have the lawmakers and anti-gun folks:
Robyn Thomas, executive director of Legal Community Against Violence, which was formed after the 101 California St. killings, said such weapons have “absolutely no legitimate sporting purpose or self-defense purpose.”
OK then, so your bill isn’t going to have an exemption for police officers then, right? If this is true, I see no reason for the police to have them either.
If the weapon is responsible for the level of carnage, why weren’t there calls to ban deadly high-powered bolt action, magazine fed, scope equipped rifles after John F. Kennedy was assassinated?
Who needs more than one shot?
Who needs a bullet for sporting use who’s only purpose is to kill without fail?
Who needs an optic that permits a madman to shoot someone in their head and increase the lethality of the weapon?
Such weapons are for the military. Average people don’t need them. Curious why such calls for such common sense gun control weren’t made in the wake of Kennedy’s shooting? Surely it is time to control such deadly weapons.
Of course, the failed, useless AWB didn’t ban these either but since when do facts matter? People will “feel better” knowing such dangerous weapons are not in the hands of the untrained or those they feel worthy of such trust.
Huh.
Who knew that putting a magazine in a gun made to take that sort of magazine was “modifying” it?
(And evidently the author there doesn’t realize that even under the expired AWB you could get 10 round magazines.
There was no law ever passed in the United States that would have restricted Mr. Crazy to a “single shot”.
Even banning handguns would have simply driven him to make a bomb or to… illegally cut down a long gun.)
It’s a good thing that he didn’t build a truck bomb. There’s no stopping the guy by tackling him after he blows up himself and everyone else present with a VBIED.
Would-be mass murderers who are frustrated in their efforts to get a gun can take paths that are much worse. They may become sneaky serial killers and kill hundreds of people.
The real issue isn’t their choice of weapons, but identifying these people and taking action against them before they kill.
Loughner made no attempt to hide the danger of his insanity in Pima County – everyone knew he was dangerous, but he was ignored anyway – by Democrat Sheriff Dupnik.
“Sheriff Clarence Dupnik’s department was well aware of Jared Loughner’s mental instability . . . ”
-The Wall Street Journal
Dupnik knew the guy was nuts and did nothing, but blames Rush Limbaugh!
“THAT ALLOWED HIM to convert his rage from a single shot that might have missed his target into a deadly bloodbath whose victims included a 9-year-old girl.
Are they trying to say that a Glock 19 (in the as bought condition) is a single shot handgun? Where is the editorial oversight?
Why is it everytime there is a shooting people call to banning guns ? This writer has no Idea what your talking about and Iean that , I truly do . You want to debate gun control ? Stop blaming an object that you also have the choice to use but you cry and cry when people are locked in rooms like animals without a way to defend theirselves . I blame this on people who are afraid of guns. You guys think it’s all about hunting and sporting It isn’t . There’s a symbolism behind owning a gun. Were not England or some other so called “gun safe” country . America is supposed to be a country of Men , not broke back hippies. Quit trying to neuter our Rights, or you can leave this Country
@Sebastian, I love seeing people pick at things like mag size or how about the ridiculous laws that ban guns based on looks an NOT FUNCTION ! Yea that’s making a difference . All I know is You will not see anymore of these dumb AWB because people are growing up and realizing that we don’t need stricter gun control . You vaginas already have laws in place that you don’t even enforce that would stop this but you just call for more and more laws instead of taking it like a man .
@Matt, your wrong . I respect others opinion but when you make uneducated stabs at the 2nd Amendment understand that your right it doesn’t say anything about machineguns and assault rifles but where in it does it specify ? From my understanding it was to best arm yourself from future martial law or foreign occupation . People think it’s crazy but let’s look into it, Martial law look at Katrina , there were people untouched from the floods more than ready to live on for another year without help yet we had Police and Federal Officers walking up to your door with there rifle In your face demanding you to leave your home now . They were confiscating ANY citizens firearms and treating them like criminals.
I spoke with my local Police and they prefer us to be armed because people are not as stupid as the media makes them out to be and they can responsibly use firearms to protect themselves from whack jobs , and where I live we have coyotes , black bears and occasionally pissed off raccoons. I won’t lie I’m not much into hunting as I am a firearms enthusiast and A Constitutionalist . This country needs guns because it’s in our roots and it’s part of Fundamental laws that make this country great.