The Absurdity and Outright Dishonesty of the Pro Gun-Control Lobby

The designation "assault weapon," with respect to the current debate in Washington, is nothing but a propaganda tool, used to scare people who are sufficiently unfamiliar with the subject being discussed so as to be easily lied to and manipulated.  The BATF's own guidelines classify assault rifles as being selective fire weapons, capable of going full-auto; a semi-auto is not an assault rifle, and the only reason they get away with calling them that is because saying it makes all the Sheep bleat in a way that is pleasing to their ears. 

The same is true for so-called "high-powered" ammo that is really a .223 round, commonly referred to by people who actually know what they're talking about as a "varmint round."  This is because they are best-suited and most-widely used for shooting non-native/nuisance wildlife.  Ranchers use them to shoot coyotes, wolves, and feral dogs that menace their herds as well as prairie dogs that make the ground dangerous for horses and cattle.  It is, literally, one step up from the .22LR cartridge used in hunting squirrels and rabbits, and killing rats and other small vermin. 

In ascending order from *LEAST* powerful, it goes vermin (.22LR), then varmint (the dreaded and feared demonic .223 Remington), and then up to the small-game hunting rounds and those used for larger game, such as deer, elk, bear, etc.  The .223 is, literally, less powerful than the rounds best-suited for hunting feral pigs or small deer, such as the .243 Winchester or .270, and are *MUCH* less powerful than other common deer-hunting ammo like the .308 or .30-06.

Photo courtesy of Accurateshooter.com

The .223 is basically the same diameter and slightly shorter than the .22-250 round (just a .22 caliber with more velocity to give it a wider range for shooting rodents without getting close enough to scare them away), and, when both are loaded with 55 grains, the .22-250 actually packs the bigger ballistic wallop of the two -- 1,751 ft:lbf for the .22-250 and only 1,282 ft:lbf  for the .223.  So, the supposedly "high-powered" ammo you keep hearing about is really only a mid- to low-range power round. 

.220 Swift, .22-250, .223 Rem, .22 Hornet, .22 Magnum, .22 LR -- All Low-Powered Rounds

Click to enlarge -- Data courtesy of Ammoguide.com

.223 versus .308 Winchester deer round

Also, they spend half of every news cycle talking about "large-capacity" magazines, when the real truth is that those are actually the standard capacity mags sold for that gun since it was created.  Limiting them to 10 rounds will only necessitate that any potential mass-murderer carry additional cheap magazines to reload, a process that takes a grand total of about 3 seconds for an experienced shooter.  Does that really make you feel any safer?

It's all propaganda; a Boogeyman to scare the sad little Sheep -- you're far more likely to be killed by a drunk driver or your own doctor than any mass-shooter; and Chicago is one of the most violent cities on Earth, despite already having very strict gun control laws.  It is a means by which they are attempting to appeal to the emotions of Americans, rather than their logic, in an effort to shamelessly further a political agenda upon which they have already been soundly defeated in the arena of public opinion among the majority of Americans as well as by rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gun control laws are "feel good laws," meant to fool you into thinking your elected officials are trying to protect you, so you'll keep voting for them.  It's all smoke and mirrors.  If you really want to reduce violent crime, then do something to make mental health assistance easier for average people to access; stop releasing obviously deranged people after only a 72-hour psych hold with no follow-up and nothing to show-up on a background check; and get Congress out of the pockets of Big Pharma, so we can do something about getting the absolutely insane numbers of mind-altering, psychosis-inducing drugs off the market and out of people's medicine chests.

Once upon a time, mass-shootings were much less common, yet Colt has been selling AR-15 rifles on the civilian market since 1963 and the SKS rifle (another one they're about to try to outlaw) has been available since the 1940s.  Guess what we didn't have back then?  Anti-depressants that alter brain-chemistry and list psychosis as one of the possible side-effects being given away like candy (often to children) in competitions where the doctor who writes the most prescriptions gets a free Hawaiian vacation, that's what.

It doesn't take a genius to see the connection; it only requires honesty, which, sadly, those with both knowledge and power seem to lack.  They're too busy cashing campaign contribution checks written by Big Pharma and going through the motions to delude a population of well-meaning, yet grossly misguided, Sheep into believing they're looking out for their best interests.