Batman said:
Yes, I own guns. Two hand guns, and a shotgun. I have them for personal protection - target shooting - and the fact that I like them.
You are right. You don't need an 'assault' rifle to hunt. But if you think about it - anything used to harm someone can be an 'assault' weapon. A rock is a rock, until I pick one up and throw it at you and committ "assault." Those types of weapons are better protection against a tyrannical government if one were to come into power.
I have to admit I've never seen a store that sells the "Mass Killings" and "School Shootings" assault rifle though.
A rock doesnt kill people and have 30 shots to it without reloading. Assault rifles carry a lot of bullets. So let me ask you this, what is the point in having so many rounds in a gun? The army uses 30 shots if not more in their weapons. Assault rifles aren't rocks, they are highly powerful guns. I own a german Walther and i find that 6 shots are enough for it.
So you use your guns for protection? So you think that it is safe to have more powerful guns than the police? Don't be so oblivious. These assault rifles that carry so many rounds just invite crime. Tell me, what would you use with a gun with 30 clips? Do you think that the communists are going to come with a small army to your house and try to take over the government? That is like being in Kansas and getting hurricane insurance, theres probably less than a 1% chance that that is going to happen. Now if you could prove statisticly that there are more protection saves by guns than there are accidental shootings, you could probably argue your point. But that isn't true at all.
Here are some statistics:
The United States has by far the highest rate of gun deaths -- murders, suicides and accidents -- among the world's 36 richest nations, a government study found.
The U.S. rate for gun deaths in 1994 was 14.24 per 100,000 people. Of the 88,649 gun deaths reported by all the countries, the United States accounted for 45 percent. The study found that gun-related deaths were five to six times higher in the Americas than in Europe or Australia and New Zealand and 95 times higher than in Asia.
The fact is, when you see that the bad outweights the good, how can you say that protection is a good reason to have a gun?
Let me play a scenario that happens a lot. A kid comes home late, but the parents think that it's a burgular. So they shoot and kill their own kid.
want another? A kid decides to show off their gun to his friend, and thinking the gun isn't loaded, points and shoots his friend.
The United States lead in gun related accidents. I don't see how you could have been so oblivious to not learn anything from Bowling at Columbine.