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Firearms aren't weapons unless they're used to hurt people. My guns have never hurt anybody. They're not weapons.
Confusing? Try this: A ballpoint pen isn't a weapon until someone gouges it into another person's eyeball.
Better terminology would be item specific: rifle, pistol, shotgun, etc.
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Other language issues: Assault is a human behavior, not an adjective as seen in "assault rifle."
/NRA-style politically correct pro-gun yuppie-feed
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Turns out gun companies want a little gun control, too... as long as they can jack up prices and blame the government for it. Conflict breeds opportunity. Market would be okay with 1920s-esque gun freedoms... but I figure it's better now, at least financially, because guns are "on the verge of being banned as you read this!" If the maker of those Beta-C magazines didn't have the "high capacity mag ban is in the works" angle... they'd have a hard time selling their poopy products for the inflated several hundred dollars. Companies that sell ARs are having a great time right now. They can't get enough the paranoia. They're gonna sell you a M4 look-alike for a grand plus when it's worth maybe $750. Should a similar Clinton ban pass? They'll sell you one with a fake sliding stock and muzzle brake for the same grand. Ballistics and application-wise, the guns are the same damn thing... but the "pre-ban" one is cooler.
I feel that, for the most part, guns are a luxury commodity in the United States... a business designed to make money and no different than golf clubs, cigars, skimpy lingerie and pricey booze. They might be good quality (fancy pants 1911 guys) or craptacular (Llama or Phoenix Arms) but they're all out to sell you something because at the end of the day (if you live in the city) you can't eat guns... and they certainly can't put braces on your brat and push 'em through college (legally) in any of the 50 nifty United States. Whether it's a 13-month calendar featuring thong-clad bikini models posing awkwardly with Brand X assault rifles or the "Next Uber Epic Attack On Your 2nd Amendment Rights!" line, it's all about the Benjamins. To assume gun manufacturers are virtuous freedoms advocates is to assume General Motors cares about your long term investment in one of their vehicles. No, they just wanna sell you "The Pistol Favored by Special Operations Forces for OBLITERATING TERRORISTS" or whatever lunchbox gimmick of the year is on top of the pile.
Don't get me wrong... I love guns. They're a great, rewarding hobby and I'll continue to study, use, and buy them... I just don't have any illusions about them as magical badges. They're no different than kitchen appliances or car parts. They don't "make freedom" anymore than baseball bats or Molotov cocktails, they don't provide anything that doesn't already rest in the hands of a determined individual, and they don't really do a whole lot except propel metallic projectiles on command.
All this inflated "Rambotalk" (TM) about revolution and The Man and such... hogwash. People were having revolutions long before black powder was invented and they'll continue to do such when we're blasting each other with phased plasma rifles in 40 watt range. Guns might make us more equal in the method by which we kill each other (e.g. versus a sword or longbow), but they don't change IQs.
Weapons change... people stay the same.
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If you really wanna revolt against The Man... stop paying your taxes.
Last edited by Plan9; 01-12-2009 at 05:07 AM..
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