The question is not "Why would a person need a 30-round magazine?". Rather, the true question is "Why would a peaceful, law-abiding citizen not be able to own one?".
Posted on 02/11/2011 4:41:04 AM PST by marktwain
Now obviously I am an outsider when it comes to US gun issues. As a Canadian, I have a different perspective on the firearm debates, and some posters are right when they say that Canada is an over-regulated country-a nanny state with some restrictions on freedom of speech. Consequently some of the fight may have been beaten out of me because of my place of birth in a forgive-him-for he knows not what he-does (or says) kind of way. But the beauty of a Farago site is that even foreigners can enjoy a freedom of expression, as long as they don’t turn into name-calling a***oles. Anyway, the debate about mega-clips caught my attention. The concept of anybody outside of a war zone that actually needs a 30 round clip plumb evades me . . .
Sure I would like to be able to match capacity with a psycho with a big clip and an even bigger mentally unbalanced chip on his shoulder. That is a worst-case scenario that is a no-brainer. At a basic level, we are all survivalists in a fight or flight kind of way.
But the actual need for a giant clip is still a head-scratcher for me. Most of the posters on this site seem to be responsible and insightful gun owners. And I am not saying that simply because you are much better armed than me.
It also seems like most of you are pretty good with your weapons of choice. So why would you need a 30 round clip if your accuracy with a weapon would take out a bad guy in a regulation clip? My assumption is that most situations would not be against a small army of bad guys.
The answer seems to be that any ground given on gun issues is ground lost forever. The second answer seems to come from the Boy Scout mantra: Be prepared. Both answers have a certain degree of validity to them.
But if I saw a guy walking along with a 30 mag addition to his pistol, I would avoid that guy like a plague. That just seems like overkill to me in more than one sense.
I want alot of things that I don’t need. Consequently I have lots of things I don’t need. I’m free to do so, and I intend to stay that way.
And of course, we all know that the bullets at the bottom of the magazine are deadlier.
The author is being perfectly reasonable in that assumption.
Notice that he says, “most situations” and not “never”.
Every crime statistic indicates that you’re more likely to be attacked by a single individual rather than a group, a gang, or an army.
So, actually, it’s NOT “likely to get the author killed some day.”
One of the cardinal rule for survival is “Prepare for the most likely, first.” So, if you’re not prepared for a close-quarters (less than 21 foot) encounter with an individual, you haven’t built a foundation for your hierarchy of presonal defense preparedness.
Once that’s dispensed with, it’s important to look at other situations and, while a 33rnd mag in a Glock 19 is more than a bit unwieldy, dismissing it out of hand may be a mistake. And, as previously stated by other posters, the idea that the government should determine what we “need” is a non-starter.
It’s statistically true for individual crimes. However, the way things are going, I doubt we’ll be able to rely on past norms. Just my opinion.
I would say the Rodney King riots and the experiences of the Korean store owners would lend credibility to your assessment. Never hurts to have more than you think you’ll need.
The question is not "Why would a person need a 30-round magazine?". Rather, the true question is "Why would a peaceful, law-abiding citizen not be able to own one?".
Maybe the Press should be limited to manual printing presses & a capacity of 10 words or less.
Also, there should be a 5 day waiting period before their 10 words can be printed.
Even in a hypothetical, but not unreasonable scenario of a home invasion by three criminals, the victim is at a 3:1 disadvantage from the get go. Add in the fact that the invaders probably have the element of surprise, a 30-rounder might not seem like such a bad idea.
i’ve found the quickest way to shut these guys up is to attack something they own and demonize it, the way they do my guns. like the guy at my bar that was spouting off about hi-cap mags and why do i “need” one.
i looked outside and pointed at his car, asked him, “that’s your ‘vette, right? why do you *need* a car with a 400hp+ engine? why can’t you just have one of those with the same 105hp engine they put in the aveo?”
as far as “need” goes. to be honost, if i need more than the five rounds in my little snubbie, i probably shouldn’t be taking out my gun in the first place. but i don’t want the government telling my i’m not ALLOWED to carry a firearm with a higher capacity if i choose to do so.
I don’t disagree.
I’m just commenting on the likelihood of large-scale scenarios vs mano-a-mano.
You’d be surprised at how many people are un-prepared (un-trained) for the quick, close-in encounter. I run into gun shop patrons all the time who laugh at my .32ACP. When I say, “Show me yours.” they tell me they left their .44mag at home.
Now, I’m tempted to say that I’m my own hyppocrite, since I have a TT MAV loaded with AR mags, Glock 19 mags and tournequets, but I’ve already prepared for the most likely. After that, I’m just hedging my bets ;)
Or, if you happen to be biblically inclined, "the jawbone of an ass". Though the Israelites didn't call it mass murder, I'm sure the recipients of said jawbone did.
Which is why my self-defense weapon is a revolver. Other than that, I agree with every word you wrote.
Send me an inventory of your personal possessions. You don’t “need” a TV set for starters. I’ll bet there’s a whole load of stuff you don’t “need”.
As pointed out by others - The burden is on demonstrating the necessity and importance of banning rather than the necessity and burden of justifying the possession of such. Kinda like the difference between being a subject vs being a citizen.
Because in a gunfight, running out of ammo is a very bad thing.
What part of the expressions "flash mob" and "pack attack" doesn't the author understand.
And we have to store all those bullets somewhere. ;~)
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Who gets to decide what I "need". Since I am a free man, I will, thank you very much. Whether need or want, it is my decision to make. I like it that way. I intend to keep it that way.
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