Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The Assault Rifle Myth


Recently I came across an article on MSN.com about how easy it is to purchase firearms through private sellers (here). I read the article with interest and growing anger as yet another reporter sensationalized firearms to get a good headline. Firearms regulation and second amendment rights are a very controversial topic. Almost everyone has an opinion about what should and should not be allowed concerning firearms. I believe that as a hopeful future law enforcement officer and citizen that I have a vested interest in seeing that second amendment rights are protected. The thing that irritates me the most is when authority figures spout off information about firearms that is flat out wrong in order to bias others against firearms.


            I remember back in my days as a sophomore at Normal Community High School that my history teacher made a comment one day about how stupid it was to use an AR-15/M16 (above) to hunt deer because “there would be nothing left of the deer”, seemed rational to me at the time. However, now I know that the AR-15 family of rifles fires the 5.56mm NATO/.223 Remington cartridge. That .223 refers to the diameter of the bullet, which is the same diameter as the 22 long rifle cartridge, just about the smallest diameter bullet that is available. In fact, recently the use of the M16 and the 5.56mm cartridge by our armed forces has come under fire from the military because the 5.56mm cartridge is often not powerful enough to put down an enemy combatant with one shot. There have been numerous reports of insurgents being shot three or four times and still continuing to fight. So the two images of a common assault rifle do not match up, the civilian history teacher believes it is so powerful that one shot will obliterate its intended target, the military professional that is intimately familiar with the rifle is asker for a more powerful replacement. I would personally trust the guys from the military, since I’m a former marine myself and can attest personally for the crappy performance of the 5.56mm round.

            So where does the history teacher get his inflammatory information about firearms? I would posit that it was probably the result of sensationalized reports on firearms and assault rifles by the national media. The Rossen report above detailed how the author purchased a rifle capable of “taking down a helicopter” and firing “armor piercing” ammunition with absolutely no background check. The problem I have with this reporting is that I’m not sure why he chose to use the example of taking down a helicopter with a rifle. There has not been a single reported incident of a helicopter being downed by rifle fire in the United States, but the author seems to think it’s been happening regularly enough that we should worry about it. He also is very worried about armor piercing ammunition, even though most hunting bullets can be considered “armor piercing” under the definitions of U.S law found here. The author also mentions that he bought a “police grade” pistol. Police grade is not an actual type of firearm. The author used inflammatory and misleading terms to describe firearms in an effort to make his report more sensationalized.

Dr. John Lott is the author of a book called “The Bias Against Guns” that clearly demonstrates that this is not an isolated incident.  The media has constantly portrayed weapons in misleading terms, stirring up negative reactions from the public based on myths. Probably the greatest culmination of this was the useless “assault weapons ban” of 1994. This beautiful piece of legislation banned purely cosmetic features of rifles (such as pistol grips and muzzle brakes) that would make a rifle an “assault weapon” Basically the weapons looked scary, so they banned them. The law did not impact the action of the weapons, I.E. bolt-action, single shot, or semi-automatic. Basically, they had no meaningful impact on the type of weapon a citizen could buy. I do not think that just anyone should be able to buy a weapon. Certain reasonable measures should be taken so that the untrained, criminal, or mentally ill cannot be given access to a firearm. However, I do think that having more trained gun owners in the public would have an impact on crime. Firearms are not the big bad wolf, all I ask is for a little journalistic responsibility where firearms are concerned.

7 comments:

  1. Great article Josh! I could not agree with you more! It really is a shame that uninformed journalists, teachers and citizens can spew such misinformation. It is terrible that school teachers and even college professors target young and impressionable kids to brainwash them with their outright lies in an effort to further their political views. Whenever I hear someone who is a anti gun, I always offer to take them to the shooting range with me in an effort to teach them the real facts about guns. A few have taken me up on the offer and had a much different attitude after we spent a few hours at the range. I am a lifelong hunter and outdoorsman. I started shooting and hunting when I was a child and I hope to pass that on to my children in a few years. If we don't start standing up for our Constitutional rights, our children will have nothing to pass on to future generations. If anyone reading this ever wants to take me up on the gun range offer, please email me. I am a member of the LeRoy Rifle and Pistol Club and we can go most anytime. I have all of the ammo, guns and safety equipment, so you would need nothing. Spending a morning at the gun range is one of the most relaxing ways to spend your time. Again, great article!

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  2. This was absolutely a great read! I feel the same way about firearms and that the media completely overstates the use and need for the weapons. I am a gun owner as well and want more of them, people do not seem to understand that it is our right to own a weapon and I will exercise that right. My brother owns an AR-15 assault rifle and I have shot it many times the bullet is very small and the military is in the process of selecting a new basic weapon for the armed forces because of the stopping power of the rifle. People just need to relax when it comes to the subject of firearms and ownership. I completely agree with you that people with a record and that are mentally ill should not be able to purchase firearms. Anytime that I bring up the fact that I own a gun most people down here at school seem to cringe and look at me like I am a murderer. This is just media over exposure because all they ever hear about is people being killed or hurt by gun violence. This is definitely a case of the fact that 5% of people ruin everything for the rest of us, and everyone is put into the same category.

    Andrew Serena

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  3. Josh great article. I agree with you completely. As the world gets more dangerous and technology keeps getting better, I believe that our 2nd amendment rights should constantly come up for people to remember. Just like the conceal and carry laws that keep getting shut down in Illinois, I believe that because the world keeps getting more dangerous we have to be able to protect ourselves in any way we can (what I mean here is being able to carry handguns, etc.). The guy who wrote that article is the same type of loser who agrees that firearms should be banned in every state. People who do not know squat about firearms need to stay out of the argument; especially those who write for a career. I agree on everything you said.

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  4. This was a absolutely great article that kept me wanting to read on. First off all I agree that that the media tends to be misleading with their reporting on firearms. As a person that has a basic proficiency of guns I find it almost laughable when I read articles such as the Rossen Report which you mentioned. It is amazing how these authors make it appear that aspects like" armor piercing rounds" or "police grade" pistols are actually of great importance to the overall argument of second amendment rights and guns. Like you mentioned, how many people are going to be shooting down helicopters and how can a author report on something that does not exist such as police grade pistols.? I have not personally read the book " The Bias Against Guns" but after reading this article it is definitely something I plan to do in the near future.

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  5. Yet another example of our society blindly following the media. The increasingly restricting laws applied to firearms are scary and need to be taken seriously. As a hunter and recreational shooter, I am educated on shooting and hunting safety and this article is spot on. Movies and television paint a picture of weapons violence that is simply not true. This, coupled with misleading statistics about firearms violence in the United States, makes for a nation fearful of any kind of firearm. Laws and regulations are quick to outlaw automatic weapons and silencers when the reality is that a large amount of shootings occur with a .22, which is a very small round. This goes to show how misinformed some may be about the issue.

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  6. I really like this article, it just goes to show you that reportes will be paid for anything they write about that is controversial to the public, other good one are abortion, same sex marriage, and euthanasia. All of this topice and more are always going to strike the public as interesting to read and if a reporter or writer is able to skew the public's oppinion then they have done their job. I say that this is garbage (I am being nice). This is just another reason that you have to read and make your own oppinion about what is said or written in the news today.

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  7. I liked this article for a few reasons, one of which being that there is in fact a fear of guns by a large section of society. I have shot guns before and, along with that, have gathered that, while guns are dangerous, they are just a tool. Just like a table saw can be dangerous when used by a careless or inexperienced operator, guns can also be misused which creates a lot of the panic. I have also heard the "deer hunting with an assault rifle" myth, but I did not know the info that you used to debunk it which interested me. I think that your argument is very well put together, it's true that people should learn more about things before they condemn them. I understand why people fear guns, not only are they powerful, but humans naturally fear the unknown.

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