Bottom line, define assault weapon!!!

That's just it, they aren't going to define it. They've known for 20+ years that there is no such thing as an "assault weapon," but yet they continue to use the term. Why?

Because it doesn't HAVE a definition, so it can many ANYTHING they want it to mean. Your hunting rifle could be an assault weapon. Your BB gun. And as you so astutely observe, your bow or crossbow.

So when they propose legislation to ban all "assault weapons," I hope legislators - or God-forbid - voters, read the fine print very closely.

Hi there. And are you gonna be safe yourself?

@Naomi - a little less safe. I prefer it when criminals are concerned for their own lives when perpetrating illegal activity. Guns are estimated at preventing close to 7,000 criminal acts daily here in the states. When women are armed, attempted rapes plummet by a factor of 10.

Interesting. You often make me aware of the other side of the coin, and I appreciate it.

Hi there. And if it passes, is it going to affect your daily life in any way?

@Naomi, I can't know yet; it depends on how it turns out. What does"assault weapon" mean? Or "ban?" What is a "high capacity magazine?" Do they intend to restrict transfers, making some of my firearms worth less? Do they force a "buy back" program and make me a criminal for declining to "sell?"

If something is passed I'll know better what impact it has on me, personally. It might force me to carry openly a .45 with spare magazines, rather than a concealed .380 with 15 rounds. We'll see only when/if something passes.

@Naomi
If the police are militarized, I guess it would put an authoritarian government at an advantage

@BubbaLouie If citizens have "assault weapons", why would we care what the police/government has???? That is why OUR Fore Fathers put the Second Amendment into the Constitution!!!!

You certainly lose a great deal of the aurora of legitimacy.

@wolfhnd I am in Australia. They took everyone's automatics and now we are having our rights abused

@Poncho69

The question was how does it effect you personally not what is the remedy for authoritarian regimes. I'm arguing that it is symbolic reality not the physical reality of potential armed conflict that matters up to the point where civil war breaks out. Private militias such as those provided for in U.S. constitution give governments symbolic legitimacy. It is type of moral authority that cannot be acquired in any other way. That moral authority in turn prevents chaos in our personal lives.

One of the reasons democratic socialism doesn't work is that the moral authority comes from the ideology not the agency and dignity of the people. It strips people of the agency that makes them act responsibly. Agency is fragile and is constructed in the individual through responsibility. Private gun ownership becomes not just a right but a responsibility that builds character.

@wolfhnd all governments fail eventually

@Poncho69

Yes and no, there is a genetic link between Athens and today. That genetic line could be extinguished by a Chinese one but otherwise it will continue in some form. It has had it's ups and downs but it keeps recreating itself periodically.

@wolfhnd well Australia of today is completely different to before WW2 but same government system. But which one is correct? The old the new or the current

@Poncho69

It's never perfect but it's definitely going down hill, incompetence and corruption.

@wolfhnd big government run by big business

A real shame it was.

@sobieskirocks All those magazines too oh why did i choose to go fish shooting on that faithful day?

@MikeHunt Live and learn my friend. Or buy a more stable boat.

@sobieskirocks Oh, I've learned