Luna Tick
DP Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2010
- Messages
- 2,148
- Reaction score
- 867
- Location
- Nebraska
- Gender
- Female
- Political Leaning
- Undisclosed
I researched this a little and was surprised to learn it wasn't President Clinton's 1994 assault weapons ban (expired in '04) that banned automatic weapons. It was a law from 1986 that's still in effect. In short, you can own a so-called assault rifle like an AR-15 or an AK-47, but it has to be semi-automatic. You can still own an automatic one if you can find a grandfathered pre 1986 one, but it will be extremely expensive. In other words, if you're rich, there's no problem in owning a fully automatic assault rifle. If you're poor, you can either settle for semi-automatic or get a conversion kit to convert it to automatic (illegally in almost all cases) and risk getting in big trouble.
I'm wondering if it would just make more sense to allow law-abiding citizens to own fully automatic rifles like the AR-15. Seems like the same people who own a semi auto one without committing murder will be just as responsible with a fully automatic one. Then again, I'm not a gun owner myself and have just started to research this. In any event, vote your opinion. Should the 2nd Amendment give you the right to own a fully automatic assault rifle? Are you for overturning the 1986 ban?
I'm wondering if it would just make more sense to allow law-abiding citizens to own fully automatic rifles like the AR-15. Seems like the same people who own a semi auto one without committing murder will be just as responsible with a fully automatic one. Then again, I'm not a gun owner myself and have just started to research this. In any event, vote your opinion. Should the 2nd Amendment give you the right to own a fully automatic assault rifle? Are you for overturning the 1986 ban?