— President Obama July 8, 2016
Yet again, President Obama is pushing for gun control laws wouldn’t have stopped the attack that is being used to motivate the new law.
Micah Xavier Johnson, the man who killed 5 police officers and wounded 7 others, used a SKS semi-automatic rifle. The SKS is a gun that was designed 73 years ago. It is essentially a deer hunting rifle in terms of its inside guns and the caliber of its bullets (.30 caliber). This gun wasn’t classified as an assault weapon under the Federal assault weapon ban. The President’s call to renew the ban wouldn’t have affected the gun used in this shooting. Given that this gun is functionally identical to all other .30 caliber semi-automatic rifles, one would have to ban all semi-automatic .30 caliber rifles.
Given all the discussion about magazine sizes, “SKS rifles generally have a 10 round fixed magazine that can be loaded via stripper clips. Larger capacity fixed magazines with questionable reliability are available as well. Some SKS aficionadas can load the gun with stripper clips with the same speed as loading a detachable magazine into an AR-15 or AK-47. It does take practice, however.”
These guns sell for about $400.
Perhaps we should start referring to this President, wannabe Presidents, and other high officials with anti-gun legislation agendas as Nonsequitors, as they invariably spout nonsequitors after egregious events. Not a single time in recent memory has the anti-gun response to tragic events been relevant to dealing with that event.
People need to educate themselves about guns, and gun safety. My family has always been hunters and fisherman and hard workers. We learned early guns are not toys. Treat them with respect, and always assume it’s loaded. And if you don’t want your gun stolen you buy a safe. And if you have children you use the safe andor gun locks. I’m tired of people who have never had their shoulder kicked trying to promote gun bans and gun violence and gun safety. If criminals can always get a gun, regular people should be able to too. How do you defend yourself and your family against an intruder especially against a drugged out one at that where nothing stops them? Or the police if they bust in the wrong home? I mean really this has gone too far. I think this is just a smoke screen for badge violence and it’s an illusion just like the war on drugs or weapons of mass destruction. I call BS.
So it was an SKS after all this – had seen some reports stating AR-15 or similar rifle to the Orlando shooter’s!
I tried getting an answer of what an acceptable rate of fire is from an anti-gunner. No luck. Considering a musket can fire 3rpm and the mad minute record (aimed fire) for the venerable 303 SMLE is 38rpm! The 303 is loaded with 5-round stripper clips and not by detaching its detachable magazine.
All this shows is the exceptional lack of basic firearm knowledge among the media’s talking heads
The latest info looks to be that an Izhmash-Saiga 5.45 mm is apparently the rifle type used in Dallas. It may have started out as a hunting adaptation of the AK-74, but could be and was modified in this case to handle 30 round mags instead of the standard 10 round ones for the hunting version. Imports these rifles and the 5.45×39 mm ammo were banned by an O’B EO in 2014 against Russian actions in Ukraine. The hunting version is still a popular choice for small animal hunting and plinking.