AW bans OK with US supreme court

[jimmy the one]

dec 7, 2015: The U.S. Supreme Court Monday handed a legal victory to advocates of banning firearms commonly known as assault weapons.
By leaving a suburban Chicago gun control law intact, the court gave a boost to efforts aimed at imposing such bans elsewhere, at a time of renewed interest in gun regulation after recent mass shootings.

The court declined to take up a challenge to a 2013 law passed in Highland Park, Illinois that bans the sale, purchase, or possession of semi-automatic weapons that can hold more than ten rounds in a single ammunition clip or magazine. It specifically includes certain rifles, including those resembling the AR-15 and AK-47 assault-style firearms.
Semi-automatic weapons are capable of shooting a single round with each pull of the trigger and, consequently, can fire rapidly. Large capacity magazines reduce the need to reload as often.

A federal district judge upheld the law, and so did a federal appeals court panel by a 2-1 vote. On Monday the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
Antonin Scalia and {his batman}Clarence Thomas said the Supreme Court should have taken the case. Thomas wrote their dissent, said the court should have granted review to prevent the appeals court "from relegating the Second Amendment to a second-class right."

In rejecting a challenge to the law, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, said "assault weapons with large-capacity magazines can fire more shots, faster, and thus can be more dangerous in the aggregate. Why else are they the weapons of choice in mass shootings?"
Lawyers for 24 states urged the Supreme Court to strike the ordinance down. They said the weapons it banned are not only commonly used but also protected by state laws that forbid local communities to restrict them.

Similar bans are in effect in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, and in Chicago and surrounding cities.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/supreme-court-leaves-assault-weapons-ban-intact-n475421

[Doubledee]

1. One annoying little fact

While we certainly need controls on purchases ( background checks and waiting periods seem reasonable) and on magazine capacities as well, one continuing fiction actually harms the case for those reasonable restrictions.

An assault rifle, by definition a military grade weapon designed for and used by our military forces and our police depts. ( not so certain I favor the increasing militarization of our police depts., frankly), has one specific characteristic that makes these definitions of weapons used by these mass murderers false and gives ammunition ( yeah I know) to the NRA and its allies; all such have either a three position selector switch, single shot, three round burst, fully auto, or are fully automatic period.

The use of the term is simply incorrect when speaking of a rifle with only semiautomatic capabilities. These are made to look like military grade weaponry but are no such thing. Trivial you say? I think that gun supporters ridicule every false use of the term and thus the real message is lost among the very folks we must convince.

[jimmy the one]

2. term is not a definition tho

double dee: An assault rifle, by definition a military grade weapon designed for and used by our military forces and our police depts. .. has one specific characteristic that makes these definitions of weapons used by these mass murderers false and gives ammunition to the NRA and its allies; all such have either a three position selector switch, single shot, three round burst, fully auto, or are fully automatic period.
The use of the term is simply incorrect when speaking of a rifle with only semiautomatic capabilities.

The use of the contemporary term 'assault rifle' is different from an actual definition of assault rifle. The use of the 'TERM' assault rifle to include particular semi autos is not incorrect. But to define an assault rifle as a semi auto rifle is indeed incorrect.
The TERM assault rifle has come to include semi auto renditions of rifles which at some point in development are capable of full automatic fire by several of the methods you list above - select fire.
Now, sequitur, some semi auto rifles are termed assault rifles if they can be converted BACK to full auto, by a conversion kit or simple tools (ie a file).
It's just the way the term 'assault rifle' has evolved, devolved, or morphed (pick) and is used by politicians to quickly describe what they're referring to, & is recognized readily by unbiased people.
So let's live with it, & recognize nra propaganda as what it is, simply another cheap trick to muddy up the waters that an 'assault rifle' ban would ban almost all rifles anywhere anytime. No, it won't, it would 'ban' maybe a few percent of all rifles - them being the most lethal rifles which exist today with .223 ammo, with rapid fire capability (ar15) even in semi auto mode, since little recoil (even the 90 lb wife of the san bern shooting had one it is reported, surely due the low recoil - dunno if she shot it tho).

[Doubledee]

3. Groucho was a funny and wise fellow

but your reasoning here is not so much that. No, sorry, but the use of that term is explosive and designed, not to accurately describe the weapon, but to create a mind set in the people reading that term.

[jimmy the one]

5. quickly recognized acronym

doubledee: ....Groucho was a funny and wise fellow but your reasoning here is not so much that.

Wasn't trying to be funny.

DDee: No, sorry, but the use of that term is explosive and designed, not to accurately describe the weapon, but to create a mind set in the people reading that term.

You should be sorry I agree; obviously you didn't comprehend what I even wrote. I clearly said the 'term' assault rifle was not to accurately describe the weapon, but that the term 'assault rifle' has morphed into a quickly recognized acronym (kinda) used to describe the high end of rifle lethality, rifles which were generally designed for mass shooting on battlefields (ie m16 from ar15).
That you propagate far rightwing propaganda that the motivation behind the term is solely to convoke these rifle's lethality for fearmongering, seems to bring you out of the closet as pro gun.
Going out on a fairly strong limb, enjoy your brief stay here, can't say I'll miss you.

[mwrguy]

4. Loretta Lynch is right

This is a "wonderful opportunity and a wonderful moment to really make significant change."

Strike while the iron is hot.