: "All Guns Are Machine Guns, Right? by Larry Pratt - The Firearms Forum

WAGCEVP · 07-11-2003, 05:04 PM

: "All Guns Are Machine Guns, Right? by Larry Pratt

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"All Guns Are Machine Guns, Right? by Larry Pratt

http://www.newswithviews.com/Pratt/larry4.htm

ALL GUNS ARE MACHINE GUNS, RIGHT?

By Larry Pratt
July 9, 2003
NewsWithViews.com

Much of the steam that is left in the drive to ban semi-automatic
firearms seems to be fueled by a massive confusion of terms.

The media has at times intentionally tried to mislead, at other
times, the errors may have resulted from ignorance and confusion. The
media takes itself very seriously, yet the best defense for them is
ignorance. No wonder so many of the public are confused.

The Clinton/Feinstein gun ban of 1994 affected guns frequently
referred to as military-style assault weapons. What would peaceful
citizens want with war guns?

First of all, the founders of our country wanted the citizenry to be
armed with the same firearms that every soldier would have. The
Militia Act of 1792 said that every military-eligible male had to own
a military rifle, military ammo, and have it at home. This is a far
cry from the National Guard whose members use government rifles,
government ammo and leave it all with the government when they go
home.

Peaceful citizens should own military, fully automatic assault rifles
because peaceful citizens are part of the constitutional system of
homeland security called the militia.

The 1994 gun ban, however, has nothing to do with fully automatic
military assault rifles. It deals with semi-automatic firearms, which
fire only one bullet for each trigger pull. They are not used by a
single military in the world.

If you watched CNN recently, you would have seen a lie concocted by
John Zarella of CNN and Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne. The Sheriff
fired a fully automatic machine gun and identified it as one of the
weapons banned in 1994. Flat out not true. CNN
subsequently "clarified" its report.

A recent Doonesbury cartoon has the NRA's Wayne LaPierre testifying
thusly: "Freedom means the right to bear automatic weapons! It would
be the height of hypocrisy to deny the Iraqis the same sacred liberty
that Congress is poised to restore to its own citizens."

Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau is wrong on two counts. The gun ban
that is about to expire is a ban on semi-automatics, not machine
guns.

Moreover, contrary to Trudeau's opinion, Iraqis are allowed by the
American administration to own fully automatic machine guns, let
alone, mere semi-automatics.

A better presentation of the situation would have been to have depict
a gun rights advocate asking Congress to repeal the semi-automatic
ban along with all restrictions on real machine guns - for Americans,
and not just Iraqis. Americans should be put on a par with the
Iraqis!

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stated recently that Baghdad is
safer than is Washington DC. Media attention to the ideologically
motivated targeting of American and British troops obscures what is
not reported - the low incidence of murder in Baghdad.

Of course, we have the same problem in he United States. Media
coverage of murder during the last decade rose 500 percent, yet the
murder rate declined almost 50 percent. Many Americans believed that
crime was out of control, when in fact, quite the opposite was the
case.

If we get the ban on semi-automatics lifted, we still have work to
do. Hopefully, one day the citizens of the victorious country will
have as much freedom as the citizens of the defeated country!

© 2003 Larry Pratt - All Rights Reserved

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----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------

Larry Pratt has been Executive Director of Gun Owners of America for
27 years. GOA is a national membership organization of 300,000
Americans dedicated to promoting their second amendment freedom to
keep and bear arms.

GOA lobbies for the pro-gun position in Washington and is involved in
firearm issues in the states. GOA's work includes providing legal
assistance to those involved in lawsuits with the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms, the federal firearms law enforcement agency.

Pratt has appeared on numerous national radio and TV programs such as
NBC's Today Show, CBS' Good Morning America, CNN's Crossfire and
Larry King Live, Fox's Hannity & Colmes, MSNBC's Phil Donahue show
and many others. He has debated Congressmen James Traficant, Jr. (D-
OH), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Senator
Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Vice President Al Gore, among others.
His columns have appeared in newspapers across the country.

He published a book, Armed People Victorious, in 1990 and was editor
of a book, Safeguarding Liberty: The Constitution & Militias, 1995.
His latest book, On the Firing Line: Essays in the Defense of Liberty
was published in 2001.

Pratt has held elective office in the state legislature of Virginia,
serving in the House of Delegates. Pratt directs a number of other
public interest organizations and serves as the Vice-Chairman of the
American Institute for Cancer Research.

The GOA web site is: http://gunowners.org. Pratt's weekly talk show
Live Fire is archived there at: http://gunowners.org/radio.htm E-
Mail:

Shizamus · 07-11-2003, 10:01 PM

That is what these commies do best !

Muddy up the waters with lies, deception and more lies !

BANNING GUNS TO REDUCE CRIME IS
LIKE BANNING SEX TO REDUCE RAPE !

Shizamus · 07-13-2003, 06:36 PM

On second thought :

Of course all guns are machined guns !!!!

SouthernMoss · 07-13-2003, 06:43 PM

GGGRRRROOOOAAAAANNNNN!!!!!

Shiz, you're too much!

Shizamus · 07-13-2003, 10:27 PM

All of MY guns are 'machined guns' !

You betcha, i wouldn't have it any other way !

Cow Caregiver · 07-18-2003, 04:40 PM

Ain't it the Vermont motto with the rattlesnake and "Live free or die?"

07-11-2003, 05:04 PM	#1
WAGCEVP V.I.P. Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Georgia Posts: 179	: "All Guns Are Machine Guns, Right? by Larry Pratt : "All Guns Are Machine Guns, Right? by Larry Pratt ADVERTISEMENT "All Guns Are Machine Guns, Right? by Larry Pratt http://www.newswithviews.com/Pratt/larry4.htm ALL GUNS ARE MACHINE GUNS, RIGHT? By Larry Pratt July 9, 2003 NewsWithViews.com Much of the steam that is left in the drive to ban semi-automatic firearms seems to be fueled by a massive confusion of terms. The media has at times intentionally tried to mislead, at other times, the errors may have resulted from ignorance and confusion. The media takes itself very seriously, yet the best defense for them is ignorance. No wonder so many of the public are confused. The Clinton/Feinstein gun ban of 1994 affected guns frequently referred to as military-style assault weapons. What would peaceful citizens want with war guns? First of all, the founders of our country wanted the citizenry to be armed with the same firearms that every soldier would have. The Militia Act of 1792 said that every military-eligible male had to own a military rifle, military ammo, and have it at home. This is a far cry from the National Guard whose members use government rifles, government ammo and leave it all with the government when they go home. Peaceful citizens should own military, fully automatic assault rifles because peaceful citizens are part of the constitutional system of homeland security called the militia. The 1994 gun ban, however, has nothing to do with fully automatic military assault rifles. It deals with semi-automatic firearms, which fire only one bullet for each trigger pull. They are not used by a single military in the world. If you watched CNN recently, you would have seen a lie concocted by John Zarella of CNN and Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne. The Sheriff fired a fully automatic machine gun and identified it as one of the weapons banned in 1994. Flat out not true. CNN subsequently "clarified" its report. A recent Doonesbury cartoon has the NRA's Wayne LaPierre testifying thusly: "Freedom means the right to bear automatic weapons! It would be the height of hypocrisy to deny the Iraqis the same sacred liberty that Congress is poised to restore to its own citizens." Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau is wrong on two counts. The gun ban that is about to expire is a ban on semi-automatics, not machine guns. Moreover, contrary to Trudeau's opinion, Iraqis are allowed by the American administration to own fully automatic machine guns, let alone, mere semi-automatics. A better presentation of the situation would have been to have depict a gun rights advocate asking Congress to repeal the semi-automatic ban along with all restrictions on real machine guns - for Americans, and not just Iraqis. Americans should be put on a par with the Iraqis! Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stated recently that Baghdad is safer than is Washington DC. Media attention to the ideologically motivated targeting of American and British troops obscures what is not reported - the low incidence of murder in Baghdad. Of course, we have the same problem in he United States. Media coverage of murder during the last decade rose 500 percent, yet the murder rate declined almost 50 percent. Many Americans believed that crime was out of control, when in fact, quite the opposite was the case. If we get the ban on semi-automatics lifted, we still have work to do. Hopefully, one day the citizens of the victorious country will have as much freedom as the citizens of the defeated country! © 2003 Larry Pratt - All Rights Reserved Sign Up For Free E-Mail Alerts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- Larry Pratt has been Executive Director of Gun Owners of America for 27 years. GOA is a national membership organization of 300,000 Americans dedicated to promoting their second amendment freedom to keep and bear arms. GOA lobbies for the pro-gun position in Washington and is involved in firearm issues in the states. GOA's work includes providing legal assistance to those involved in lawsuits with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the federal firearms law enforcement agency. Pratt has appeared on numerous national radio and TV programs such as NBC's Today Show, CBS' Good Morning America, CNN's Crossfire and Larry King Live, Fox's Hannity & Colmes, MSNBC's Phil Donahue show and many others. He has debated Congressmen James Traficant, Jr. (D- OH), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Vice President Al Gore, among others. His columns have appeared in newspapers across the country. He published a book, Armed People Victorious, in 1990 and was editor of a book, Safeguarding Liberty: The Constitution & Militias, 1995. His latest book, On the Firing Line: Essays in the Defense of Liberty was published in 2001. Pratt has held elective office in the state legislature of Virginia, serving in the House of Delegates. Pratt directs a number of other public interest organizations and serves as the Vice-Chairman of the American Institute for Cancer Research. The GOA web site is: http://gunowners.org. Pratt's weekly talk show Live Fire is archived there at: http://gunowners.org/radio.htm E- Mail: __________________ The Second Amendment IS Homeland Security ! -->

07-13-2003, 10:27 PM	#5
Shizamus Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Vermont Posts: 891	All of MY guns are 'machined guns' ! You betcha, i wouldn't have it any other way ! __________________ “The Matrix is a system, Neo, and that system is our enemy. When you are inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters, the very minds we are trying to save. Until we do, these people are part of that system and that makes them our enemies. You have to understand that most of these people are not ready to be unplugged and many are so hopelessly dependent on the system, they’ll fight to protect it. “The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.” - Morpheus, in the movie, “The Matrix”

07-18-2003, 04:40 PM	#6
Cow Caregiver V.I.P. Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 136	Got a question? Ain't it the Vermont motto with the rattlesnake and "Live free or die?" __________________ Freedom comes dear. Don't let anybody steal yours....

07-11-2003, 10:01 PM	#2
Shizamus Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Vermont Posts: 891	That is what these commies do best ! Muddy up the waters with lies, deception and more lies ! BANNING GUNS TO REDUCE CRIME IS LIKE BANNING SEX TO REDUCE RAPE !

07-13-2003, 06:36 PM	#3
Shizamus Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Vermont Posts: 891	On second thought : Of course all guns are machined guns !!!!

07-13-2003, 06:43 PM	#4
SouthernMoss Admin Tech Staff Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: SW MS Contributor Posts: 10,651	GGGRRRROOOOAAAAANNNNN!!!!! Shiz, you're too much!