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To: Steel Wolf

It seems to me that under what appeared to be their intent, they'd be more open for the banning of handguns (as they are more useful in crime than in warfare)



So why are troops issued pistols?


420 posted on 03/09/2007 12:42:27 PM PST by Atlas Sneezed (Your FRiendly FReeper Patent Attorney)
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To: Beelzebubba
So why are troops issued pistols?

I could get into the details of why it's nice to have a pistol in CQB, having been a troop who was formally trained and issued handguns as backups. Handguns are useful secondary tools for a soldier, when your primary weapon fails, but nothing remotely as useful as a long gun. For a thief or criminal, on the other hand, your primary platform would be a concealable weapon. A soldier would only rarely need to conceal a weapon, and only doing very specific functions.

In other words, the military uses sidearms because they fulfill a useful niche, in certain cases. For criminals, it's pretty much an essential part of their arsenal. When you're looking for someone to mug, it's hard to sneak around with a rifle without attracting attention.

Anyway, my above statement was pure speculation. I don't know for a fact how the Founding Fathers would feel. I'm just imagining what arguments they may have found persuasive, given their reasoning for the 2nd. That it all, and I certainly could be wrong.

I personally enjoy owning my H&K USP .45. She's a beaut. Still, I'd probably be willing to part with her, if the 2nd Amendment were interpreted to mean protection for military grade arms, like machine guns, assault rifles and no restrictions. I can do just fine defending my house with a Mossberg 590 instead. Or a M240G. ;-)

463 posted on 03/09/2007 1:23:43 PM PST by Steel Wolf (If every Republican is a RINO, then no Republican is a RINO.)
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