<p>Dear Craig:</p>
<p>My grandfather taught me how to shoot, and I can assure you that the Bushmaster .223 for civilian use is not the kind of weapon my family has used for hunting deer. The Bushmaster is a assault-style rifle designed to kill human beings, not deer -- the primary market for the military class version of the weapon, sometimes called an M4, is soldiers for use in war to kill other soldiers. Based on the market/purchaser type (civilian, law enforcement, or military), it has different mechanisms for how rapidly it fires and what size of magazines can be used to fire rounds of ammunition as well as other features (like grenade launchers), and different rules for who can possess it.</p>
<p>I understand that the NRA prefers that such weapons be called merely "rifles," and not be called "assault" weapons, and that the federal Assault Weapons Ban referenced specific models of guns along with other rifles, pistols, and shotguns with specified features for the ban -- but manufacturers worked around these rules to provide models that did not fire as many rounds as quickly as weapons subject to the AWB (and were not allowed to use the larger capacity magazines) or the pre-existing ban on fully automatic machine guns. Such weapons are still deadly though less deadly than the more rapid or continuous firing versions. The firing speed for the civilian version of the weapon depends in part on the speed of the shooter's trigger finger.</p>
<p>But, I think most Americans understand that the style of weapon used here to rapidly cause mass casualties at the elementary school in Connecticut is an assault weapon in the most basic sense of the word. Consistent with the style of weapon, as opposed to a six-round pistol for example, the coroner who examined the bodies of several of the dead children said that all of them suffered three to 11 gun shot wounds each. The "feat" of mowing down 26 human beings in short order is more easily accomplished with a Bushmaster .223 style weapon that a six-shooter a person would have to load and reload and reload and reload and reload and reload and reload some more to fire that many shots into that many victims.</p>
<p>The state's chief medical examiner also noted that, as for the ammunition, "the bullets are designed in such a fashion that the energy . . . is deposited in the tissue and so the bullet stays in" the body of the victim. See http://video.msnbc.msn.com/msnbc/50210025#50210025, Interview with Dr. H. Wayne Carver, II (12-15-12). You may quibble about whether that design, or caliber or speed, is intended to maximize damage because you believe the particular bullet used bullet does not "expand"/explode like some banned ammo, but I stand by what the coroner said, even though the location of a wound is one of the biggest factors in its deadliness. Beyond that, there has been no specific public confirmation yet about whether the ammo was hollow point bullets or full metal jacket ones.</p>
<p>Your suggestion that attributing any blame to the weapon is "neurotic at best" is quite frankly callous at the least. Let's reframe that, nuclear bombs don't kill hundreds of thousands of people, people kill people -- except without the capacity for such mass destruction in the span of a few moments fewer people would die by the hand of one man. </p>
<p>Similarly absurd is your suggestion that people expressing concern want emotionally troubled people "rounded up." I think reasonable people simply do not want an emotionally troubled young man to have access to weapons like the Bushmaster. </p>
<p>It is fascinating that you chose Japan as an example of how a murderer can kill without guns as with the terroristic poison gas attack in the subway a few years ago. But, let's look at Japan, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world. In 2008, the U.S. "had over <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_04.pdf">12 thousand</a> firearm-related homicides. All of Japan experienced <a href="http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-%20and-analysis/homicide.html">only 11</a> . . . ," as noted in Max Fisher's piece from earlier this year in The Atlantic magazine. See http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/a-land-without-guns-how-japan-has-virtually-eliminated-shooting-deaths/260189/</p>
<p>Nevertheless, there are a range of factors that affect overall homicide rates in countries as well as cities, including poverty and culture. As Michael Moore pointed out in "Bowling for Columbine," Canada has a similar rate of gun ownership (including lots of hunting rifles) as the U.S. but a much lower homicide rate. </p>
<p>I stand by our article's statement that the ready accessibility of weapons that make it easier to kill more people faster in fact makes it easier to kill more people faster, and that this is a problem. But, it's more than that, it's a series of tragedies waiting to happen, and the massive loss of life in Connecticut is a heart-wrenching example of that.</p>
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Lisa,
first please stand corrected.
Assault rifle, as classified by the US government is a Class 3 device, and quite restricted I can assure you. Capable of Fully automatic fire and Semi automatic fire.
To obtain on of these you will need to undergo Evaluation and investigation from the FBI, ATF, Chief local Law Enforcement and That of your local police.
So I somehow highly doubt that this is "what as you claim was being stockpiled."
Also I can assure you the purpose contrary to your belief's is said weapons and the ammunition is not to inflict the most possible damage, but quite the contrary. this is why said firearms utilize fully Jacketed bullets, and not expanding bullets as these were determined to be inhumane by the Hague convention and later the Geneva convention.
Perhaps you are referring to commercial semi-automatic rifles? Or semi-automatic (Styled after military use) rifles? Which is a different animal than the "assault rifle" as we have established.
If so then please point out in great detail how this can differ from a semiautomatic hunting rifle?
Please next time make sure you understand the differences than parroting the same soundbytes, that the also uniformed news media has parroted for so long.
The fact is you demonize, an inanimate object in the wake of a heinous act. the object has no more control over it's use for good or bad and to attribute this ability is well neurotic at best. At the end of the day it's a tool no more no less.
Do we go forth, and then blame all objects for their misuse. I've sen riots Occur with fatalities, because of broadcasted news reports, so perhaps we need censorship here. I've seen Mass fatalities occur with alcohol and vehicles. Perhaps we should ban and or limit these.
And the real problem with the logic is that the problem is not the tool but lies with the person who at the end of the day is wielding it.
It's obvious, that here we have a person who is troubled, why don't we just say we round them up those that are antisocial, maladjusted and institutionalize them. I mean this way we'd be sure that we wouldn't have them on the street to find different ways to cause harm. I mean if you take away all firearms as Japan has done you'd still have the massacre that occurred in Osaka, Akihabara, Tokyo. And I could go on.
The fact is many places have tried the Gun control, and found that it just trades one form of terminal violence for another and until you address the root of the problem, which is the abuser of the tool you will still have the problem.
We need to fund Mental Health services for the mentaly ill. We need to have resources for the parents and friends that suspect and fear for a mentally ill person if they suspect they might turn violent. Also there ought to be a data base that people can report people who might become violent so that in a background check for gun sale, it will show up and the person will be denied. Another thing is to take action against the gun shows that allow people to purchase guns. In Virginia there is not a limit on the amount of guns you can buy in one day, so people from Maryland and DC come there to purchase their guns. I could go on and on but the only thing that is going to work is to force our elected officals both state and federal to write the bills that will keep guns out of the hands of unstable people. So many groups have worked tirelessly to get recognition of the severity of this problem. Also another thing is to have a federal law overthrowing the Stand Your Ground law in the 24 states that have this law. Floridians have used these laws to kill two unarmed innocent teenagers. We need help, but we need to work on our elected officials shut down their Email system, jam their Facebook and Twitter accounts with our outrage and call for action.
You can name at least 1,000 causes for this incident, but let's look at the simple facts: mother collected guns and trained her children to shoot guns. Result? You just got it. Talk all you want about some obscure drugs. Hitler did not start WWII because a mouse shrieked in Mongolia.
As long as we continue to refer this to exploitation by it's Frank Luntz cute, patriotic phrasing we have ceded part of the battle. We should be referring to this corporate profiteering for what it is 'The Right to Exploit'.
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