Need has really nothing to do with it. I collect most examples of John M. Browning’s firearms designs, as a gunsmith and as a matter of engineering, technological, and historical interest.
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I believe the genius and industry of John M. Browning is to be admired. 128 firearms patents. The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) has been instrumental in winning wars in the capable hands of the US Army and USMC.
As I understand the Oregon Initiative, a collector of firearms who lawfully obtained a BAR prior to 1/1/2019 would be able to register it with the State of Oregon (subject to a criminal background check), or to sell it to a registered firearms dealer. Some aspects of registration may be comedic. But the registered owner of a BAR would still be able to fire-away on a rifle range or his/her own private property.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtx12dzs5n8
Earlier in this space I had quoted lyrics of a song that was recorded in the early 70s. It spoke of violent fantasies involving a BAR in an urban setting. I decided to delete it because it contained offensive language, and it does not pertain directly to the present topic, which is the aftermath of the Parkland FL shooting incident.
you are precisely the kind of person that these laws will hurt and not protect anyone. Our population is 325million in the US and there are approx 17,000 murders, so the very large majority of people mean no harm unless attacked. But for some reason making everyone pay is often a feel good solution.
My bags are searched and I go through a metal detector before i I go on a plane, into the senate office building and so on. However I have no means or intent to harm anyone. 3% of planned parenthood procedures are abortion, yet the call to shut them down and the huge amount of STD testing and treatment, birth control, cancer screenings and so on are not duplicated elsewhere. What is fair and reasonable in circumstances like this?
I think the last time a BAR was used in criminal activity by non-state-actors was Bonnie and Clyde, which led directly to the Gun Control Act of 1934, commonly referred to as the "National Firearms Act", which the NRA sponsored, which established the regulatory framework for machine guns and other such things.
I have sitting in front of me right now a cloth belt for a Browning M1919 machine gun, used to feed ammunition into the firearm. It is a simple cotton strap, with loops sewn into it. It holds 250 rounds of ammunition. You can cut and trim it to whatever smaller size you want.
So, if I drive into California with a cotton strap with 10 loops, all is good. If it has 11 loops sewn into it, I'm committing a felony in California. (I don't go to California much these days...)
But it did tell a fictional story of a violent person with a fictional BAR threatening innocents and dreaming of violence and war in all its glory, and at least 60 of us had the opportunity to visualize its setting and message before it was removed for "offensive language", so, well done.
At Santa Fe High School, 36 miles southeast of Houston TX, another school shooting has occurred. The suspect, who is a student, is in custody. Early accounts on the live TV coverage said the shooting began in an art class between 7:30 and 7:45. A teacher pulled a fire alarm. Some students ran for the nearest exits, while others hid in classrooms. The high school has a capacity of 1,400 students. At least 3 students were fatalities and one law enforcement officer was injured. The shooter was reportedly armed with a shotgun.
The students who ran out of the school were rounded up by law enforcement, searched, and transported in school buses to a gymnasium. Parents were directed to the gymnasium to pick up their children and "sign them out".
Likewise, students who remained sheltered in classrooms were escorted out to waiting buses by law enforcement.
Later reports were that one suspect was arrested and a second was in custody... the death toll was 10 (and could rise to 13) including students and staff of the Santa Fe High School. The shooter reportedly was armed with shotgun, pistol, an AR-15 style rifle and pipe bombs.
The schools need a separate alarm for a shooter. This is all so disgusting and intolerable.