Assault weapons, gun violence and why you’re an uneducated idiot.
By Alex Owens
Introduction to the article.
This is an article that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, this is going to tackle a hard argument that in all honestly does not have a good solution. My main point of writing this is to have a lot of information in one spot. When people talk about the issue with gun violence you tend to see a lot of miss information spread and in some cases flat out lies. I’m not a smart person, you’ll find plenty of grammar mistakes in this article to confirm that. But the information is out there clear as day and it either is not talked about or when used in an argument only 20% of the info is said. The Gun Violence debate is not something that can be discussed in 15 mins, its not a problem that one party can tackle. Whatever your opinion of Guns are, please read this, I’ll try and have links and screenshots at the end for my scources. I’m also kind of writing this more like a script as well, so I can use this as a reference for future arguments. I hope you enjoy.
By the way, I’ve read this article a few times, Its very condescending. And I’m not sorry about it.
The article. Pre questions.
Before we really get into things. I have a few questions that I want to ask, please write down your answers before you read more. After the entire article is read I will ask the questions again.
1. Do you trust the government?
2. Do you feel safe in your home/neighborhood?
3. Do you think assault weapons should be banned?
4. Do you think all firearms about be banned?
5. What is an assault weapon?
6. Where do you get your information from on gun statistics?
This article is going to jump around a bit. This of it like flashback in movies and TV shows.
The Article. Part 1.
We cannot talk about Guns without the mention of the second amendment. What is it, what does it mean? Let’s discuss.
This is the 2nd amendment as it reads from the constitution
A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Lets break this down. What does this actually mean? Who the fuck even talks like that anymore?
A well-regulated militia. What is a militia?
Definition of militia (defined by Merriam-Webster online)
1a: a part of the organized armed forces of a country liable to call only in emergency The militia was called to quell the riot.
b: a body of citizens organized for military service
2: the whole body of able-bodied male citizens declared by law as being subject to call to military service
3: a private group of armed individuals that operates as a paramilitary force and is typically motivated by a political or religious ideology
So buy that definition, a well regulated militia loosely translate to an organized group of citizens
Next part
being necessary to the security of a free State
this one should be easy but idiots exist so here we go.
Definition of security
1: the quality or state of being secure: such as
a: freedom from danger : SAFETY b: freedom from fear or anxiety
Definition of Free State
: a state of the U.S. in which slavery was prohibited before the Civil War (kind of an ugly definition right?)
So since slavery was abolished in 1865 I think it’s safe to say every state counts for this. So being necessary to the security of a free State. Can loosly translate to Will defend the united states.
The right of the people to keep and bear Arms
Definition of bear arms 1: to carry or possess arms
Definition of arm 1: to furnish or equip with weapons
So The right of the people to keep and bear Arms. Loosly means with permission to carry weapons
And last and most over looked shall not be infringed.
Definition of infringe
transitive verb
1: to encroach upon in a way that violates law or the rights of another
This one is clear as day, it means this should not be changed or altered
So lets put all our highlighted words together
an organized group of citizens, Will defend the united states, with permission to carry weapons, this should not be changed or altered.
Can we agree that this is arguably what the second amendment says?
Part 2, assault weapons
Ban assault weapons. This is a phrase that is said and spoke all the time. But what is an assault weapon??
I already asked you what is but I’m now going to say what it is defined as. And as no surprised to be, there is no clear cut definition. So went on the ATF’s website (or the AFT as our current president keeps calling it) as I’m going to copy every definition of a fire arm that as assault weapon/rifle in the name.
https://www.atf.gov/firearms/firearms-guide-identification-firearms-within-purview-national-firearms-act
AK Assault Rifle
Classification Machinegun
Distinctive Characteristics
Selective fire weapon. May be encountered with or without bayonet, with wooden stock or folding metal stock. Used by Soviet Bloc countries
MP-43, MP-44 and STG-44 Assault Rifles
Classification Machinegun
Distinctive Characteristics
Selector switch on side of frame permits either full or semi-automatic fire.
Colt M16, Model 614, 5.56mm Machine Gun
Classification Machinegun
Distinctive Characteristics Selective fire weapon as manufactured by Colt for the U.S. Military, law enforcement, and off shore sales.
Select fire seems to be a pretty common feature with assault weapons. So what is select fire? This is when you have the ability to switch between semi automatic and full automatic. What’s the difference?
Semi auto is when you pull the trigger back and hold it there the gun fires once.
Full auto is when you pull the trigger back and hold it and the gun will fire until it runs out of ammo.
So it sounds like people want to ban guns that go full auto? Is that the goal of banning assault weapons? Well boy do I got news for you. That has been a law since 1986
https://www.congress.gov/amendment/99th-congress/house-amendment/777
Since 1986 is as been Illegal for a civilian to purchase a full automatic (machinegun) The only way to buy one is if you buy one that was made and registered before 1986 (which those sell for over $10,000 on the cheap end, most are closer to $18,000) Or is you become a federal fire arms dealer with special licenses to possess those.
Now, maybe I did not do my due diligent in finding information. But please tell me the last time a pre-1986 machinegun was used in a mass shooting? I’d wait but there is still plenty of this article to get though.
So now that we have clarified that full auto guns are already banned and incredibly hard to get, why are people still complaining about banning them?
We lets talk about magazines. The magazine is a canister that holds ammunition for the gun, magazines can hold anywhere from 4-300 rounds of ammo depending on the style of mag and gun. So anything over 10 rounds is considered high capacity. So people want to ban high capacity mags because the more ammo someone has the more deadly they are? This is actually something I can kind of agree with, If I was a solider going to war, I’d want to carry more ammo on me too. But is limiting the amount of ammo the gun holds really going to fix anything? There is this thing called reloading. And with little practice you can get really good at it.
Go on instagram or youtube and type in the names of these people and see how fast they can reload.
Jerry Michulek, Lena Michulek, Travis Tomasie, Max Michel, ben stogger, Alex Owens (hey that’s me!) All of these people can shoot a firearm just as fast with a 10 round magazine vs a 30 round magazine.
So how does limiting the mount off bullets a magazine can hold save lives. The suspect can just carry more magazines. They don’t weigh much, you can have a back pack full of them if you wanted. Lets look at a chat, people love charts
Link to this chart https://lapdonlinestrgeacc.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/lapdonlinemedia/2022/01/2021_crime_initiatives.pdf
This chart talks about the homicides in major cities.
hom·i·cide NOUN 1. the unlawful killing of one person by another.
So lets looks at the top 5 highest ranking homicides cities on this list. And see what the magazine laws are their.
Lets start with the highest ranking city Chicago. Oh hey, I live just outside of Chicago too!
Illinois does not have magazine restrictions but cook county does, and all of Chicago is in cook county. You cannot have more then 10 rnds per magazine. Yet even with a mag restrstion (and AW restrtistion) Chicago is at the top of the most homicide list beating out the second place holder Philly by more than 200 homicides with a total of almost 800 homicides
Philidelphia is next with just over 550 homicides, Pennsylvania does not have a magazine restriction.
New York City is 3rd and Houston is a close 4th with both just under 500 homiceds. NY has a state wide 10 round magazine restriction and Houston does not have any restrictions
And LA is at the #5 spot with just under 400 homicides with a 10 round magazine restriction.
So 3 of the 5 cities already have 10 round magazine restrictions, with the number 1 slot being much higher then the others and still having a magazine restration.
Doesn’t seem like a magazine restriction does anything.
Part 3
Lets talk about the number. The big scary number that is the number of gun deaths per year. Take a guess what you think it is. Write it down on a piece of paper before you keep reading.
Here are the numbers first. Take a look at the numbers and let me know if the number you wrote down is. If not, see if you can guess which one are Gun deaths. These numbers are from 2020
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm
696,962
602,350
350,831
200,955
160,264
152,657
134,242
102,188
53,544
52,547
So which one is it??? Let me repost that with the answers.
Heart disease: 696,962
Cancer: 602,350
COVID-19: 350,831
Accidents (unintentional injuries): 200,955
Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 160,264
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 152,657
Alzheimer’s disease: 134,242
Diabetes: 102,188
Influenza and pneumonia: 53,544
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 52,547
Oh wait, gun deaths is not on there!?!?! That can’t be right! Politicians are always talking about Gun violence is the number one threat in America???
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/past-tolls
Total numbers of deaths all caused by guns 43,697
43k is a lot but why does it say all deaths? Oh that’s because of that 43,697 deaths only 19,541 are homicide/murder/unintentional. The Other 24,156 deaths are suicide.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t think 24,156 suicides are a gun problem, sounds like 24,156 people were having some mental health problems and needed someone to talk to.
So 19,541 deaths are really cause my guns ever. Heart disease is over 35 times higher then gun Violence. 35 times. And get this!
For example, our recent research estimated that poor diet causes nearly half of all U.S. deaths due to heart disease, stroke and diabetes. (score below)
Yup, 348,481 americans die per year because they love Mcdonalds and beer too much. That’s 17 times more then gun deaths.
But guns are the problem.
So 43,697, 19,541 minus suicide
Here is another wild fact, 43,697 of that number how much of that do you think was caused my “assaukt Weapons”?? take a guess before you read the answer.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/02/03/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/
3% uses AW in murders in 2020. 3% of 43,697 is 1,328 people…..guess how many of those are from mass shootings?........about 40. Its hard to document mass shootings because 3 or more people getting shot fatally or not counts as a mass shooting. This happens all the time in Chicago.
3%.......but we must ban assault weapons, there are the reasons Murder is so high.
National Safety Council show that as many as 42,060 people are estimated to have died in motor vehicle crashes in 2020.
Deaths related to drunk driving in 2020. 11,654 people
In 2020 there were 3,142 people killed and an esti- mated additional 324,652 people injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers.
14,796 people in 2020 killed from completely preventable accidents. Also wasn’t there a lockdown and shelter in place order for a few months? Wow, imagine if more people were on the road.
But guns are the big problem, not fucking Karen facetiming on her phone while driving or Mike watching Netflix on the highway.
https://www.nsc.org/newsroom/motor-vehicle-deaths-2020-estimated-to-be-highest#:~:text=Itasca%2C%20IL%20%E2%80%93%20For%20the%20first,frequently%20because%20of%20the%20pandemic.
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813309#:~:text=In%202020%20there%20were%203%2C142,vehicle%20crashes%20involving%20distracted%20drivers.&text=Six%20percent%20of%20all%20drivers,the%20time%20of%20the%20crashes.
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813294#:~:text=In%202020%20there%20were%2011%2C654%20people%20killed%20in%20alcohol%2Dimpaired,the%20United%20States%20in%202020.
OK, lets talk about banning guns. Lets say some how some way all gun get banned and all Americans get disarmed. The only people that will have guns are military, Police and people that break that law. I think there is a word for people that break the law, what is it??? Oh yea, Criminals.
Now I know what you are thinking, Alex, we banned guns, they are not allowed, where are the criminals going to get these guns? Well let me ask you this, where are all these drug dealers getting Cocaine & Heroin? I’ll let that one sink in for a minute, moving on.
So all guns are banned, and they only way to defend your self is with knives and blunt objects.
Lets go back to my first question. What did you say when I asked “do you trust your government?” If you said you don’t trust them then this next part of the article is going to make you look bad.
So imagine a situation. You are at home and your significant other, parent, sibling, child, friend w/e in your home it is you and 2 other people, making a total of 3 people.
No for some reason your house has been targeted by a gang. Lets say its part of their initiation. So a car load of gang menbers are posted up in front of your house and just sitting there watching your house. You notice them and get kind of scared. You called the police and report a suspicious car in front of your house. Police come, approach the vehicle but the driver has a clean record, maybe not super clean but they are not actively breaking the law. So they leave, the cop comes to your door and says they could not arrest them because they did not break any laws, But for your protection they will watch your house tonight. Fast forward to midnight you and the other 2 people in your house are asleep. There is a cop posted up in front of your house. But he gets a call over the radio, there are reports of a break in and fire a few blocks away, the cop responds and drives away from your house. The second he leave the car full of gang members from early pull up, Damn! How did they know the cop would leave? Oh, its because one of them threw a moltov cocktail into a business down the street and called the cops on a burner phone. So 5 dudes now approach your house, the stopped at home depot for a $70 crowbar, with that they pry into your house in about 10-20 seconds. You hear the break in and instantly wake up. You already know what is happening, you tell your significant other to call 911 and grab a baseball bat you have under your bed. And start walking to the door. You’re debating about going outside or locking your door. But there is a third person in your house that you also want to check on. You open the door and walk into the hallway. By this time your SO has gotten in touch with the police and they say help is on the way, they will be there in 2 minutes or less. Start the clock. 1:59 your SO says police are on the way. 1:50 you walk to the stairs and see 2 people, 1 of them has a gun. They have not noticed you yet, you need to decide what you are going to do. 1:47 you took to long and not they have noticed you. 1:46 the gang banger without the gun charges you. He has a knife. 1:45 you swing at him and get a good hit on him. 1:44 the other dude sees you hit his buddy and shoots at you. 1:44 The guy fires 5 shots at you and one of then hits you. Its not a fatal hit but enough to know you down. 1:38 everyone hears the gunshots and the rest of the gang members come near where they hear the shots. 1:30 shooter tells them to find you and kill you. 1:25 you’ve crawled away back into your bedroom and your SO locks the door. Your bleeding and struggle to stand up. 1:24 gang banger breaks into your room and beats your to death with a crowbar, 1:15 your dead and they see your SO and kill them too. 1:00 the gang members hear the sirens getting closer and start to move though the house trying to escape and the 3 person you had in the house with you manages to get a knife and stabs one of the gang members a few times, but 2 other gang members jump him and beat him nearly to death. 0:45 the gang members are out of your house and running to their car. 0:30 all gang members except for the one that was stabbed are in the car and start to drive away. The police officer and see them escaping and calls over his radio and identifies the car. But at this point your dead, your SO is dead and the 3rd person in your house is barly hanging on to life. All because the Government appointed help was 2 mins away.
By the way, the notninal average police response time to a 911 call is over 6 minutes. In my scenario your whole house was dead in less then 2 mins.
How could an AR-15 with a 30 round magazine changed that night? Lets revisit that night.
5 gang members in your house police are 2 mins away. You grab and AR 15 and a 30 round magazine, 1:59 your SO says police are on the way. 1:50 you walk to the stairs and see 2 people, 1 of them has a gun. They have not noticed you yet. You open Fire on both of them, because you never train with this gun and do not have a light on it you panic and fire 10 shots randomly. Both intruders are hit one is fatally hit, 1:40 the other 3 gang members come to see whats going on and see 2 of their friends covered in blood on the gound. 1:39 you see the other 3 and you start shooting again. The 3 men take fire and start fleeing to the door. One of the men takes a hit but is still able to run away. 1:25 the 3 gang mambers jump in their car and drive away without their friends. You have 1 dead gang member in your house and another critically injured. Your Alive, your shaking up pretty badly but alive, your SO is alive, freaked out but alive. The 3 person staying in your house is Alive, confused and scared but alive.
If someone breaks into my house, its me or them. I hope I never have to use a gun in self defense ever. But I will not be murdered in my own house.
Was that situation too un real for you? Did I write it in a way that made the gun look like a hero? Possibly. But what ever, lets look at another situation that happened in real life.
CNN- Dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, Elisjsha Dicken was shopping with his girlfriend when a gunman opened fire on a food court at a Greenwood, Indiana, mall Sunday evening, killing three people and wounding two others.
While the shooter, 20-year-old Douglas Sapirman, fired 24 rounds from an AR-15-style rifle, Dicken did not hesitate to use the Glock handgun he was legally carrying. Sapirman was “neutralized” within two minutes, police said.
“Many more people would have died last night if not for a responsible armed citizen that took action very quickly within the first two minutes of the shooting,” Greenwood Police Chief James Ison said at a news conference Monday.
This happened July 2022
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/19/us/eli-dicken-indiana-mall-shooting-bystander/index.html
Why did I black out the shooters name? because that worthless sack of shit does not deserve to be remembered.
Unfortunately 3 people were killed in this incident, but that number could have easily been higher if not for Elijiah, a good guy with a gun.
Here is another one
Oct. 15, 1999. More from the Independence Institute on school attacks and armed resistance.
Vice Principal Joel Myrick held his Colt .45 point blank to the high school boy's head. Last week, he told me what it was like. "I said 'why are you shooting my kids?' He said it was because nobody liked him and everything seemed hopeless," Myrick said. "Then I asked him his name. He said 'you know me, Mr. Myrick. Remember? I gave you a discount on your pizza delivery last week."
The shooter was Luke Woodham. On that day in 1997, Woodham slit his mother's throat then grabbed a .30-30 lever action deer rifle. He packed the pockets of his trench coat with ammo and headed off to Pearl High School, in Pearl, Miss.
The moment Myrick heard shots, he ran to his truck. He unlocked the door, removed his gun from its case, removed a round of bullets from another case, loaded the gun and went looking for the killer. "I've always kept a gun in the truck just in case something like this ever happened," said Myrick, who has since become Principal of Corinth High School, Corinth, Miss.
Woodham knew cops would arrive before too long, so he was all business, no play. No talk of Jesus, just shooting and reloading, shooting and reloading. He shot until he heard sirens, and then ran to his car. His plan, authorities subsequently learned, was to drive to nearby Pearl Junior High School and shoot more kids before police could show up.
But Myrick foiled that plan. He saw the killer fleeing the campus and positioned himself to point a gun at the windshield. Woodham, seeing the gun pointed at his head, crashed the car. Myrick approached the killer and confronted him. "Here was this monster killing kids in my school, and the minute I put a gun to his head he was a kid again," Myrick said.
https://davekopel.org/2A/OthWr/principal&gun.htm
I just want to point something out on that one, the kid used a .30-30 lever action deer rifle. They fail to mention the exact model of the firearm but lever action guns in 30-30 were first introduced in the late 1800s. yes at the time of the shooting the monster kid was using a 100+ year old design firearms. Also lever action do not have magazines, they hold bullets in a tube, those tubes hold anywhere from 4-8 rounds total.
This is a good time for me to elaborate on guns used in these mass shootings.
This kid in Mississippi used an old cowboy gun.
Colombine. One of the most famous mass shootings to ever happen. During colenbine there was the Clinton assault weapons ban, you could not get a AW. But the Colombine shooters did not use AW, Shooter 1 had a 9mm carbine rifle that used 10 round magazines and a pump action shotgun that held 5 rounds in its magazine tube. Shooter 2 have a double barrel shotgun that could only hold 2 rounds at a time and a tec-9 9mm pistol, magazine size of 32 rounds. Here is a fact about that tec-9 they used
The paramilitary-esque TEC-DC9, which uses 9 mm ammo and has a 32-round magazine, was one of 19 listed on the 1994 federal assault weapons ban, which sunset in 2004. However, it was legal to own and sell pre-existing weapons during that time. The underage Columbine killers secured their TEC-DC9 handgun illegally, for $500, from a friend who had purchased it legally at the Tanner Gun Show in Adams County.
Huh, crazy. They could not get that gun legally, so they go it illegally. Who would have thought someone willing to commit mass murder would break the law to get their weapon. I didn’t even talk about the home made bombs they had.
1. http://www.acolumbinesite.com/weapon.php
2. https://columbine.5280.com/evolving-arsenals/
So I just talked about two mass shootings that both did not use AW. Lets look a Virginia tech. The VT shooting has the highest deaths counted then any other mass shooting. 32 people dead and 17 wounded. The shooter used 2 handguns. a 9mm glock and a walther p-22 22lr pistol. Let me just say one thing. The caliber 22 LR is one of the smallest, low power calibers you can buy, this is a common round used for plinking and hunting small game like rabbits or gophers. So the shooter used 2 hand guns, one of them being one of the weakest hand guns your can own. Oh and here is more information on VT shooter
Cho had previously been diagnosed with selective mutism and severe depression. During much of his middle school and high school years, he received therapy and special education support. After graduating from high school, Cho enrolled at Virginia Tech. Because of federal privacy laws, the university was unaware of Cho's previous diagnoses or the accommodations he had been granted at school. In 2005, Cho was accused of stalking two female students.[13] After an investigation, a Virginia special justice declared Cho mentally ill and ordered him to attend treatment. Because he was not institutionalized, he was allowed to purchase guns.
Huh, more mental issues and more undocumented trauma that didn’t show up on a background check.
I can find stories and articles about shootings that took place where the person should not have had a gun, should not have passed a background check all day, And I’ll link a few at the bottom of this article too. But lets move one.
Lets go back to that to that America where people don’t have guns. Hell, lets disarm the gang members and criminals too, in this world NO one has guns, not even the Cops, they have batons and whistles just like real world british police do.
So guns are gone! All mass murder events cannot happen!
April 19 1995, Oklahoma city bombing, 168 people dead 680 injured. No guns used
April 13 2015, Boston marathon bombing. killing three people and injuring hundreds of others, including 17 who lost limbs. No guns used
On November 21, 2021, Darrell E. Brooks drove a sport utility vehicle (SUV) through the annual Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States, killing six people and injuring sixty-two others
14 July 2016, a 19-tonne cargo truck was deliberately driven into crowds of people celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, resulting in the deaths of 86 people and the injury of 458 others Ahhh, I cheated, I threw a incident from France into this article. Well is a good thing we don’t have box trucks on our roadways….oh wait…..btw a 19-tonne cargo truck is about the size of a UPS or Amazon truck. Imagine if someone used a semi-truck
Oh yea and September 11, 2011….planes were hi-jacked with box cutters, a $4 knife. 2,996 people died and not a single firearm in sight.
So why did I even name these events? Because evil people will still find a way to do evil things. You taking away a gun is not going to stop violence.
You think the world only became Violent when guns came around? Ever hear of the Romans? Spartans? Genghis Khan? Vlad the implaier??? Non of those people had guns.
Ok actually Vlad kind had these makeshift handheld mini canons, but they were wildly inaccurate, tbh that be a cool thing to write and article about.
Sources
https://theconversation.com/want-to-fix-americas-health-care-first-focus-on-food-81307#:~:text=Heart%20disease%2C%20stroke%2C%20obesity%2C%20Type%202%20diabetes%2C%20cancers%2C,1%2C000%20deaths%20from%20these%20causes%20alone%2C%20every%20day.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/crime-rate-by-state
Stats…..just stats. Most of the ones from up above
Heart disease: 696,962
Cancer: 602,350
COVID-19: 350,831
Accidents (unintentional injuries): 200,955
Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 160,264
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 152,657
Alzheimer’s disease: 134,242
Diabetes: 102,188
Influenza and pneumonia: 53,544
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 52,547
43,697 deaths in 2020 of those 19,541 are homicide/murder/unintentional. The Other 24,156 deaths are suicide.
60,000 + incidents per year where self defence with a gun saved lives (unfortunately as of December 2022 the CDC removed that stat because the Biden administration did not want that effecting their gun control pushes.
Year To Date Chicago 2022
Shot & Killed: 655
Shot & Wounded: 2876
Total Shot: 3531
Total Homicides: 720
Police involved shootings Year 2022 Killed 2 Wounded 21
Race Victim Assailant
Black 525 68
Hispanic 118 23
White/Other 31 5
In 2016 75% of Murdered Are Black, 71% of Murderers Are Black
https://intellectualtakeout.org/2016/07/chicago-75-of-murdered-are-black-71-of-murderers-are-black/
assault weapons are banned in chiacgo, So are high capacity mags.
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