I support the second amendment, but there's no reason for ANY American to carry and own an automatic assault rifle.
we have already been over this many times here, fully automatic weapons are exceedingly hard to get, as well as insanely expensive, often $10,000 or more for some of the lower quality(and limited # available since 1986) weapons that are for sale. you have to go through a lengthy backround check with the BATF, and regardless these weapons are banned in many states, ny and nj included, hardly the avenue a criminal would go down. to expand on that, i believe since 1934 when the sale of fully automatic weapons was highly restricted, that their have only been 2 murders committed with "legal" automatic weapons, and one of them involved a cop, surprisingly.
Oftentimes, the people carrying those weapons for security have them used against them by the very people perpetrating the crime.
i'm sure it does happen, but rarely. like fatherson mentioned, real life is alot different than a james bond movie where a karate chop or a wrist grab will relieve someone of their weapon. also, with many of the tactical holsters available, simply grabbing at the gun isn't going to free it from the holster. have a friend put a water pistol in his pocket, stand across the room from him, and try to take it away from him before you get a wet spot on your shirt
the bottom line is, that if you have a license to carry a concealed handgun, you should never pull it, much less even touch it, unless you are ready and willing to shoot. there is lots of great training out there to help people learn how to make that distinction.
The new gun laws being proposed are meant to prevent mass shootings with high capacity weapons and to help address people with mental health issues getting access to guns.
the new restrictions that were shoved through so alarmingly fast have absolutly nothing to do with preventing a mass shooting, despite what they tell you. its pure political posturing by a governer who is under some weird delusion that he has a shot to be president and that this is one of the platforms that he can spring from, as well as a mayor who believes that he should have the right to tell you how to live almost every aspect of your life. anyone who understands anything about how guns function knows that the law only sounds good on paper to people who have little to no experience with guns.
If you feel that you need to carry a gun to feel safe and "protect" yourself against all the criminals who might target you or your family, then go right ahead. Enjoy.
not only to people who carry protect themselves, they protect others as well. google some examples of ccw holders saving lives, there are so many results that it gets repetitive fast. one of the reason some generally hold guns in such a negative view is that they never hear about the stories of gun owner doing good, but i assure you they are out there for anyone willing to look. there are examples of people injuring others as well, but they are not nearly as widespread. people who misuse their firearms, whether ccw or otherwise, are dealt with very harshly, as they should be.
what i have found on a personal basis is people who carry a concealed weapon don't do it because they are some paranoid right wing nutjob, they do so because above all else it is their right, and its nice to know that you are prepared in the highly unlikely scenario that you need it. it has alot to do with the self sufficient attitude that many americans still posses, and i think its a great trait to have!
Great then the laws we already had were doing fine and we didn't need all those new ones added to boot then did we-
that point makes too much sense, so it should be discounted
seriously though, all forms of violent crime have dramatically dropped nationwide, even in the last 20 years. the stats are listed by the fbi for anyone who's interested. when discussing important issues, such as gun rights in this case, the big picture always needs to be looked at, and that holds true no matter what the issue in discussion is. isolated events, no matter how sad they may be, always need to be looked at in the broader context, no matter how difficult that maybe for some who are only able to act on emotion.
Banning assault weapons is one way to do it.
the facts don't agree with you. look it up on the fbi's own website, "assault weapons", a term coined by the media in the first place, are used in such a small % of violent crime that even if all semi-automatic rifles were banned today, the effect that it would have would almost be too small to measure. please look this up, don't take my word for it. above all else, ask yourself this: as a criminal, would you rather commit a violent crime(assault, robbery, rape, murder) in a city such as chicago with very restrictive firearms laws, or one such as dallas where adults are trusted with dangerous things and allowed to defend themselves with deadly force. the answer seems pretty simple to me.
