Another gun control success story!

Discussion in 'Politics Discussion' started by SteakTartare, Dec 5, 2015.

  1. SteakTartare

    SteakTartare Senior Investor

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    As many may already know, California has some of the harshest gun control laws in the country. Many semi-automatics are illegal there, almost all classes of National Firearm Act (NFA) firearms are outright banned, and there is significant regulation of ownership, storage, handling, et al. there. However, according to the report, the equipment bad guy and gal used in San Bernardino violated multiple state and federal laws. Some highlights:


    • AR-15s, in standard configuration are illegal in California. They used ARs.
    • One of the two, apparently, was compliant, but they modified it out of spec so it could use detachable magazines.
    • They had standard capacity magazines, which are illegal in Cali.
    • They converted or attempted to convert the AR-15s to fully automatic, which is illegal everywhere in the US since May 9, 1986. Violation of this law carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in Club Fed for mere ownership of the parts or a completed conversion.
    • The improvised explosives, including 12 pipe bombs, and their components were all illegal and violated both the California Penal Code and Federal Statutes. Violations of these statutes have very stiff penalties.

    Did any of those deter these killers? Of course not. The only people inclined to obey them are the law abiding. But there are plenty claiming yet another law would work. :rolleyes:
     
  2. Corzhens

    Corzhens Senior Investor

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    There is a city here down south of the Philippines called Davao. Over there, gun control is so strict that those who are caught with unlicensed guns including those with no permit to carry are given harsh penalties that sometimes lead to summary killing. With those incidents of killing the violators, people are afraid of carrying guns lest they be mistaken as criminals and be killed by the cops. The mayor there is so popular that he is now leading the survey for presidential candidates. That means people have faith in his style of curbing criminality in his city.
     
  3. Rainman

    Rainman Senior Investor

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    Stricter gun laws can make it harder for law-abiding citizens to get their hands on guns but won't stop someone from buying guns illegally. Criminals and those who intend to buy guns to commit acts of terror will buy guns on the black market or can use some other way to get the guns.
     
  4. L_B

    L_B Well-Known Member

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    Gun control does nothing to stop criminals from getting their hands on guns. Guns are always available on the streets. If you want one bad enough you can find it with no questions asked. Gun control only makes it more difficult for law abiding citizens to have guns. Gun control doesn't work. They tried it around here and it was waste of tax payers money.
     
  5. crimsonghost747

    crimsonghost747 Senior Investor

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  6. SteakTartare

    SteakTartare Senior Investor

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    Sure, from what I've read, the base guns were indeed acquired (at least initially) legally. At least one of them (one of the two ARs) was not legal to be brought into CA, which they did anyway. The CA-legal AR was converted to a non-legal configuration (accept detachable magazines). Converting them to full-auto is totally illegal in any state. The Wall Street Journal has details here and local news here. The explosive devices were made all on their own from parts.

    And the "acquired legally" aspect doesn't matter much; a bad guy could, theoretically, buy all sorts of hardware aboard where it is legal and bring it into the US where it is not. It would be totally illegal here, but it would still be accurate to say "acquired legally". Or put another way, an individual can acquire all sorts of stuff completely legally from the hardware store or agricultural supply and it would still have been "acquired legally", even it was later turned into IEDs.

    In France, for example, essentially all the weapons used in the Paris attacks and Charlie Hebdo shooting were completely illegal under French law, but it didn't stop the baddies. The point being, the bad guys don't care about running afoul of gun laws.
     
  7. Scooby Snack

    Scooby Snack Well-Known Member

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    My cousin lives in California, and is a gun owner, and we both had to talk some sense into this one moron on my Facebook page spewing the same talking points about gun control, and how we need stricter laws. It's funny how the Left dismisses the Right as being anti-science and anti-knowledge; increasingly I'm seeing that much of the Left is anti-logic. It's simple, what good will laws do when criminals are determined to break them?
     
  8. crimsonghost747

    crimsonghost747 Senior Investor

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    Sure it doesn't stop the bad guys if they have enough resources. It does make things harder for them.
    Take this California shooting as an example. Relaxed laws regarding to weapons: Buy it in another state, put it on the back of the car, drive to California. Voila, weapon acquired easily with no illegal arms shipments through customs, no middle hands that require building contacts etc.

    Case of Paris: I don't know where the weapons came from but the most likely scenario is professional arms trade from eastern europe. So organisationally a lot more demanding than simply driving a few hours, buying it and driving back. The fact that the weapons were illegal means one simple thing: they couldn't get their hands on legal ones.

    It's kinda like drugs. People will always find them but the time and money required to get it is more than if you can walk into walmart and buy it. Especially with weapons since they are a lot harder to smuggle than drugs. (in small quantities. Larger quantities it's probably the other way around)
     
  9. JR Ewing

    JR Ewing Super Moderator Staff Member

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    Criminals don't obey laws, and terrorists, mass murderers, and others bent on killing will do so one way or another anyway. We need to look at those who commit most murders and do something about them, rather than trying to blame one weapon they use.
     
  10. Scooby Snack

    Scooby Snack Well-Known Member

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    They will never look at those who commit the most gun murders, because to do so they run the risk of being labeled "racist" merely for addressing the issue: the vast majority of gun violence is perpetrated by Black Americans. I'm Black and other Blacks get FURIOUS when I bring this up.

    It's funny how the media is intent on focusing on "gun violence", as it provides protection from criticism for both Black people and Islam.
     

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