Assault Rifles Have a Mind of Their Own

It irks me that the media cannot get this straight. It drives me mad that they keep saying “assault rifle” when speaking of the Orlando shooting. OMG people! STOP being so IGNORANT!! So hopefully here, I can clear up what the “AR” in AR-15 stands for and why a weapon cannot and will not ever be an assault weapon. Let’s start with definitions.

assault

VERB [WITH OBJECT]
1 Make a physical attack on: he pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer; she was sexually assaulted as a child
1.1 Attack or bombard (someone or the senses) with something undesirable or unpleasant: her right ear was assaulted with a tide of music
1.2 Carry out a military attack or raid on (an enemy position): they left their strong position to assault the hill

NOUN
1 A physical attack: his imprisonment for an assault on the film director
1.1 An act, criminal or tortious, that threatens physical harm to a person, whether or not actual harm is done: he appeared in court charged with assault
1.2 A military attack or raid on an enemy position: troops began an assault on the city
[AS MODIFIER]: an assault boat
1.3 A strong verbal attack: the assault on the party’s tax policies
2 A concerted attempt to do something demanding: a winter assault on Mt. Everest

 

rifle

NOUN
1 A gun, especially one fired from shoulder level, having a long spirally grooved barrel intended to make a bullet spin and thereby have greater accuracy over a long distance.

VERB (rifled)
1 Make spiral grooves in (a gun or its barrel or bore) to make a bullet spin and thereby have greater accuracy over a long distance: a line of replacement rifled barrels
2 Hit, throw, or kick (a ball or puck) hard and straight: he rifled a hard, rising shot from just inside the blue line

Basically, assault is an action, a physical attack. It is something you do, a behavior that is physical or verbal. You can assault a person but the reality is that a firearm, which is an inanimate object, cannot assault anyone or anything. It does not have a mind of its own. The person assaulted the victims with a firearm but the firearm did not behave in a manner that was forceful or demanding. It takes a human with motives, good or bad, to take action.

A History Lesson on the AR-15

The AR-15 is a lightweight rifle with a rotating lock bolt. It has been produced in numerous semi-automatic and selective fire variants. It was first built by ArmaLite as a small arms rifle for the United States military. Because of financial problems, ArmaLite sold the design to Colt in 1959, who offered the AR rifles to various military services and law enforcement around the world. Colt trademarked the “AR” name although many variants of the firearm are independently made, modified and sold under different names and manufacturers. The “AR” in all ArmaLite pattern firearms simply stands for ArmaLite. The term has been used to refer to semiautomatic only versions of the rifle since 1963 although the Colt AR-15 is the accurate use of the AR model name.

Some notable features include the aluminum receiver, the modular design that allows the use of numerous accessories such as sights, vertical forward grips, lighting systems and more. It also features a straight-line stock design, small caliber rounds, adjustable sights, carious magazine capacity and an ergonomic design that makes certain parts of the firearm easy to access.

Many firearm enthusiasts enjoy the ability to modify and accessorize their rifles with sights, scopes, bipods, night vision devices, laser-targeting devices and more. You can adjust your front and rear sights for better accuracy and comfort. The ergonomic design makes the charging handle, selector switch, magazine release and bolt catch assembly easy to access for smoother operation.

Bottom Line

There are some people who still want to call rifles “assault rifles”. There are even some definitions our there as to what an “assault rifle” is (BTW, it is a weapon used in the military. It is not an assault weapon if it is for civilian use.) People are so ignorant and we need to be more educated. This is ridiculous that as an “intelligent” human race that we cannot figure it out. Do a little research before you start throwing words and phrases around without knowing what they mean.

 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AR-15

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com

http://www.ijreview.com/2016/06/627943-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-assault-rifles-and-the-ar-15/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=owned&utm_campaign=ods&utm_term=ijamerica&utm_content=guns

 

Orlando Mass Murder

As most people in the world already know, about 2am this morning, the Pulse night club in Orlando, FL was under fire by a man who shot and killed at least 50 people and left about 50+ people injured. Now, before we go about being pro- or anti-gun, let’s think about this logically.

1. You’ve heard the saying “where there’s a will there’s a way” and when it comes to those who intend to do wrong, there isn’t an exception. Anyone who wants to commit a crime will find a way. Think about the kids who choose to shoplift because they want something and do not have the money or have been told no. What about the college student who wants sex but cannot find a willing partner so he commits rape? What about those who want to murder someone with a knife, a bomb, or a gun?
2. Most of the more recent killings have all been in weapon or gun-free zones with weapons that were acquired illegally. The people who commit these crimes find a way to get their hands on weapons that they cannot otherwise legally own. They find areas with the least amount of armed people like schools, clubs, churches, etc. Today’s tragedy was an exception to the norm considering the man had a right to own a gun as a security guard but he still chose a club as his venue.

Some Facts and Statistics

As the news reaches around the world, it has been said by those in Australia and the U.K. that we should ban all guns. Both those countries have all but banned guns. Yet, they still have a murder rate.

Armed robberies also occur, and while firearms are sometimes used, the more common weapon utilized is a knife or other cutting implement, which also accounts for 59 percent of murders throughout NSW. Australia has extremely restrictive firearms legislation, which makes the purchase, possession, licensing, and storage of firearms very difficult when compared to U.S. jurisdictions. Most gun-related incidents involved drive-by and targeted shootings, stemming from outlaw motorcycle gang turf wars and drug-related disputes with organized crime gangs. In general, gun-related violence in Sydney has remained stable over 2014 and is remarkably low when compared to major U.S. cities.

https://www.osac.gov/Pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=17811

 

Offences involving firearms³ increased 4% (by 200 offences to 5,122) in the year ending December 2015 compared with the previous year. However, this was largely driven by an 18% increase in offences involving imitation and other weapons such as BB guns and soft air weapons; by contrast, offences involving handguns, shotguns and rifles decreased by 1%.

The number of offences that involved a knife or sharp instrument⁴ also showed an increase (9%) over the past 12 months. This contrasts with the general downward trend in this series over the longer-term, although the latest figures are 14% lower than in the year ending March 2011.

http://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingdecember2015#summary-by-crime-type

The following facts are from 2012 but they do help to prove a theory that murder is not always committed in the US by gun owners.

(stats from 2012. http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/jul/22/gun-homicides-ownership-world-list)

• The US has the highest gun ownership rate in the world – an average of 88 per 100 people. That puts it first in the world for gun ownership – and even the number two country, Yemen, has significantly fewer – 54.8 per 100 people
• But the US does not have the worst firearm murder rate – that prize belongs to Honduras, El Salvador and Jamaica. In fact, the US is number 28, with a rate of 2.97 per 100,000 people
• Puerto Rico tops the world’s table for firearms murders as a percentage of all homicides – 94.8%. It’s followed by Sierra Leone in Africa and Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean

Bath, MI Mass Murder

The Orlando tragedy now ranks as the worst massacre in U.S. history. Before that, the school massacre in Bath, MI ranked number one. In 1927, Andrew Kehoe planned a series of violent attacks that killed 38 elementary school children, six adults and injured 58 other people. He killed his wife and firebombed his farm. Then, he detonated an explosion in the Bath Consolidated School before committing suicide by detonating a device in his truck.

Why? He was angered by the increased taxes and his defeat for township clerk in Spring 1026. It is thought that he planned his “murderous revenge” after that public defeat. He had a reputation for difficulty in personal dealings and on the school board. (He was treasurer.) His was also notified in June 1926 that his home was being foreclosed. A neighbor noticed that he stopped working on his farm and it was thought that Kehoe was possibly planning a suicide. During that time, Kehoe purchased explosives and discreetly planted them on his property and under the school.

Some time between May 16 and the morning of May 18, 1927, Kehoe murdered his wife. Then on the morning of May 18 at about 8:45 a.m., he set off various incendiary devices on his homestead that caused the house and other farm buildings to be destroyed by the explosives’ blasts and their subsequent fires.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster#Coroner.27s_inquest

Almost simultaneously, an explosion devastated the north wind of the school building, killing two teachers and 36 children. Kehoe used a timed detonator to ignite hundreds of pounds of dynamite and incendiary pyrotol that he had secretly planted inside the school during the previous months. He then drove up, stopped, and used a rifle to detonate dynamite inside his shrapnel-filled truck, killing himself and school superintendent along with a few nearby bystanders.

An additional 500 pounds of unexploded dynamite and pyrotol conceded to a timing device were found hidden throughout the basement of the south wing during the rescue and recovery efforts. Kehoe had apparently intended to blow up and destroy the entire school.

My Thoughts

Since I know this is going to become an issue, I’m just going to speak my mind. In my eyes, these are logical arguments against banning guns and the double standard that many political figures seen to stand behind.

1. Had the club not been a gun-free zone/weapon-free zone, there would have been a higher likelihood of the criminal being defeated before he was able to shoot and kill 50 people.
2. In this case, he did have a legal right to carry his gun while working but not into a night club. He was acting as a civilian and, therefore, he should have followed the same rules the rest of the gun-carrying civilians follow when coming to a club. This basically means, he carried his firearm illegally into the club.
3. The president and others want to ban firearms. Yet, they want to be protected by the same firearms they want to ban. The secret service carries firearms. I think if they want to ban them, then they should start with the secret service.
4. There’s a possibility that this is a conspiracy theory (being so close to the elections and all). After all, it does help to perpetuate a few people’s political agenda. If this is so, may God have mercy on those who planned this ordeal. I have no idea how they sleep at night. They must have sold their souls to be just as heinous as the man who committed this mass murder. (I always wonder this when I see politicians and those with money getting away with murder or other illegal activities.)
5. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the idea of bringing a knife to a gun fight. I know I cannot throw a knife as fast as a bullet flies.
6. Criminals are going to find ways and means to get their hands on weapons whether they are banned or not. Period.

Conclusion

Yes, what happened in the wee hours of Jun 12, 2016 in Orlando is nothing shy of a gross tragedy and I’m sure that this will stir up the gun rights fight all over again. But, my point is that if someone wants to commit a crime, they will find a way. They will acquire the weapons illegally. They will find venues where they will have the most opportunity to commit such heinous crimes.

This isn’t a gun problem. It isn’t a knife problem. It isn’t a bomb problem. It is a people problem. It is the lack of medical help for those who are criminally insane. It is a lack of security in places where crimes like these are more likely to be committed. It is a lack of understanding that a law abiding citizen isn’t going to commit a crime like this and that criminals do NOT follow the laws. If they did, then we wouldn’t have crime problems.

My thoughts and prayers are with those who are affected by this tragedy. May God bring the families and friends peace and bring judgement to those involved in the planning of this crime.