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Originally Posted by Newbie
I just can't understand why would they allow the selling of machine guns??
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This is a common confusion among folks who don't shoot and don't own guns. A few folks jumped on you here for the misunderstanding, but don't feel bad. I see non-gun owners confuse "automatics" and "semi-automatics" and "machine guns" all the time.
Here's something I wrote recently on my Facebook page earlier today in the hope that it might help clarify the issues a little bit for folks who don't shoot. It oversimplifies a few minor points in the interest of brevity, but I think it's a good starting point to make sure people aren't getting confused because they're talking about the wrong things.
No matter where you stand on the gun issue, it's best to understand the facts first:
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Okay: gun lesson for the folks I know who don't shoot, but who are concerned about the recent mass shooting.
This shooting didn't involve "automatic weapons" or "assault rifles." It did involve a semi-automatic handgun, probably with a high-capacity magazine, though I haven't heard that confirmed anywhere.
An "automatic weapon" is what most laypeople would call a "machine gun." You hold down the trigger, and it keeps firing until you're out of bullets. Automatic weapons have been illegal since the 1930s. You almost NEVER see crimes committed with automatic weapons because they are very difficult for the average person to get. (This might say something about the argument that criminals would still easily get other guns if they were illegal, but I'll leave the editorializing to others).
A "semi-automatic weapon" is NOT an automatic. It is also NOT even remotely anything like a machine gun. A semi-auto just means that the cartridge is ejected after you pull the trigger without having to cock or reload the gun, and a new round is chambered. Lots of sporting arms are semi-auto. The shotgun I use to shoot skeet and pheasant hunt is semi-auto. The sidearm your local police officer uses is probably semi-auto. Semi-automatic guns are very commonplace and hunters use them all the time.
An "assault weapon" is a term that was in a law from the 1990s that was subsequently repealed. It's not a machine gun, nor is it an automatic weapon. People, even gun owners, get really confused about this. Under the statute, there were a "laundry list" of features that a "military-style" rifle might have: semi-auto, flash suppressor, high-capacity magazine, folding stock, etc. A rifle was considered an "assault rifle" if it had three or more features off the list. The statute was a little arbitrary but was aimed at distinguishing regular sporting arms from weapons with enough military-style features to make them more efficient for combat and less desirable for hunting.
You'll probably hear someone on the news talk about "automatic weapons" and their role in gun crimes. That person is confusing the issue because of inadequate knowledge about the topic.
You may hear someone talk about banning "assault weapons." This is probably an easy target since it has been done before, and politicians know what it would look like and how it would work. But remember that assault weapons are very rarely involved in mass shooting incidents. Most of them involve handguns.
The last thing you may hear in the discussion is a "high capacity magazine." Basically, the magazine is the part on a gun that holds the bullets. A high capacity magazine might hold 20 or 30 bullets or more. This basically dictates how many times the shooter can fire his gun without stopping to reload. An example might help to illustrate: my shotgun I mentioned above is semi-automatic, but the magazine only holds five shells. After I shoot five times, I have to stop to reload. If I am duck hunting, the law requires me to put a plug in my gun that limits me further to three shots. Some say high capacity magazines are a problem in mass shooting incidents, because a shooter can fire 20 to 30 times or more without stopping to reload or giving someone an opportunity to take the shooter down. High-capacity magazines have no place in hunting, though some target shooters like the convenience of being able to shoot a long time without reloading.
Hopefully this will help clarify some of the terms that are going to be thrown around a lot in the coming days. Feel free to share this if you think it's helpful. If we're going to have a conversation about the role guns ought to play in our society, it will help for everyone to be on the same page about what the terminology means.
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Hope this is helpful to some people out there.
bd