Post by Admin on May 10, 2019 5:07:31 GMT
High Capacity Magazine Bans Are Completely Counterproductive
In the wake of the Aurora movie theater shooting in Colorado, lawmakers in the state swiftly enacted bans on high capacity ammunition magazines. Just as that state’s rush to close the inaccurately named “gunshow loophole” following the Columbine massacre failed to prevent the Aurora shooting, so to will the magazine ban fail to prevent future mass shootings.
Why? For the same reason that gun bans don’t prevent criminals from possessing and using guns: they don’t care about gun laws. A psychopath intent on murdering a roomful of innocent people is not going to care if it’s illegal to possess a 16-round magazine. And there’s a good chance he’s going to bring with him an armory of high capacity magazines loaded to capacity.
That’s not the case for people who obey laws, though. The woman who lawfully carries a concealed weapon to protect herself from would-be rapists is going to follow the law, because she doesn’t want to put herself in jeopardy. Furthermore, the desire to legally carry a concealed weapon already puts a law-abiding citizen at a disadvantage against a murderer who’s armed to the teeth. How? Because the requirement of concealment almost by definition limits the amount of ammunition you can carry. In most cases, that means one magazine in the gun along with one spare magazine.
As the police statistics above showed, a few rounds may not be enough to neutralize multiple attackers. In some cases, you could empty a magazine against an assailant without neutralizing the threat (this is especially true against attackers who may be hopped up on drugs or wearing body armor). Contrary to the movies, merely shooting someone in the chest may not immediately incapacitate the threat. Only a direct shot to the central nervous system can instantly incapacitate an attacker (generally a shot inside the triangle formed by the eyes and nose), and those shots are incredibly difficult, especially against a target that may be moving.
Just like gun bans serve only to prevent law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves, high capacity magazine bans put lawful gun carriers at a distinct disadvantage against well-armed assailants. As a result, it’s really not all surprising that Colorado, which twice voted for Barack Obama, voted to oust the Democratic state Senate president who pushed through that state’s mag ban.
In the wake of the Aurora movie theater shooting in Colorado, lawmakers in the state swiftly enacted bans on high capacity ammunition magazines. Just as that state’s rush to close the inaccurately named “gunshow loophole” following the Columbine massacre failed to prevent the Aurora shooting, so to will the magazine ban fail to prevent future mass shootings.
Why? For the same reason that gun bans don’t prevent criminals from possessing and using guns: they don’t care about gun laws. A psychopath intent on murdering a roomful of innocent people is not going to care if it’s illegal to possess a 16-round magazine. And there’s a good chance he’s going to bring with him an armory of high capacity magazines loaded to capacity.
That’s not the case for people who obey laws, though. The woman who lawfully carries a concealed weapon to protect herself from would-be rapists is going to follow the law, because she doesn’t want to put herself in jeopardy. Furthermore, the desire to legally carry a concealed weapon already puts a law-abiding citizen at a disadvantage against a murderer who’s armed to the teeth. How? Because the requirement of concealment almost by definition limits the amount of ammunition you can carry. In most cases, that means one magazine in the gun along with one spare magazine.
As the police statistics above showed, a few rounds may not be enough to neutralize multiple attackers. In some cases, you could empty a magazine against an assailant without neutralizing the threat (this is especially true against attackers who may be hopped up on drugs or wearing body armor). Contrary to the movies, merely shooting someone in the chest may not immediately incapacitate the threat. Only a direct shot to the central nervous system can instantly incapacitate an attacker (generally a shot inside the triangle formed by the eyes and nose), and those shots are incredibly difficult, especially against a target that may be moving.
Just like gun bans serve only to prevent law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves, high capacity magazine bans put lawful gun carriers at a distinct disadvantage against well-armed assailants. As a result, it’s really not all surprising that Colorado, which twice voted for Barack Obama, voted to oust the Democratic state Senate president who pushed through that state’s mag ban.
