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Originally Posted by John Preston http://factcheck.org/article258.html
I recall not too long ago about certain people saying that some assault weapon ban was removed, however here it says that it would never be removed, and even Bush was going to keep it there...if he could.
So..can someone help me out here..? |
An "assualt weapon" and a "machine gun" are not always the same thing. A machine gun is a fully automatic gun, meaning, you pull the trigger, and hold the trigger down, and it will continue to fire.
A semi-automatic weapon will reloads by itself. When the bolt recovers from the blowback of firing, it automatically chambers another bullet, but you have to pull the trigger again to fire the new bullet.
"Assault weapons" can do both, but only if they are configured to fire on automatic, which is, and will always be illegal in the United States. Only liscensed collectors, who undergo a full anal exam background check from the feds are allowed to own a fully automatic weapon, and most of those are museum pieces.
The "assault weapons ban" banned semi-automatic rifles that had a certain cosmetic appearance. Rifles with a pistol grip, flash suppressor (a slotted thing on the end of the barrel), and a bayonet attachment were banned, along with magazines (the thing that holds the bullets) that held more than ten bullets. While the ban was in effect, rifles that performed the same (semi-automatic, high rate of fire) could still be purchased, but they didn't
look like a military rifle.
The ban had a sunset clause that everyone knew was coming up. Bush said he would sign an extension of the ban if it reached his desk, and I believe he would have. The republicans in congress made sure it never reached his desk.
Does that clear it up for you?
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