From The Rearview Mirror: AK 47

Friday, December 07, 2007

AK 47

The picture to your left is an AK-47 assault rifle. Its purpose is to kill people. Now, before you think I am going to get on some "left wing" harping about taking all the guns away, I'm not. I grew up on a farm and was quite the marksman. I could nail a quail from a fine distance and rarely missed. The guns I used, however, were of the 30.06 and .22 caliber. There were times that if I didn't kill it, we wouldn't have any meat. My mother made a great rabbit stew. Here is my point. How in the world did the kid from Omaha get access to a gun like this? He stole it from his step father. Why in the world would someone have this just lying around in their house? I keep hearing that "guns don't kill people, people do". But if guns are in the range of people who are out to do mass carnage, then we have a whole different subject. I understand if you want to have a gun around for protection, or for hunting, but for the life of me, I can't understand why this gun(or any assault rifle) is legal. Would you take this gun hunting? Only if you are hunting terrorists. I do not advocate the confiscating of anyone's right to protect themselves with a gun but the quicker we get this junk off the streets, the safer we'll be.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...: More importantly, if you had a step child that had the history this kid had, why in the hell would you leave a gun like this in a place where he could access it? I keep a 20 gauge shotgun in my bedroom for protection, however, it is not loaded. I keep shells within easy (and well hidden) reach and practice regularly so I can load it quickly. I understand the argument of keeping it loaded for times' sake, but don't want to surprise a burglar some night who has found my loaded gun. That's why dogs are a great alarm system. They'll tell you someone is there before they have a chance to break the door down. My two cents' worth ...; 1:58 PM
William Fink said...: An assault rifle, by definition, is one which will automatically fire rounds in succession. The AK-47 you have identified above is considered an assault rifle if it is configured to be fully automatic. It is illegal for anyone to own an AK-47, unless you have a license for a fully automatic rifle. I do not know what kind of gun that kid had, but if it was a true AK-47, then there can’t be any more laws than what is already around which could have prevented this tragedy.

I’m not knocking on you, just pointing out something the media frequently errors on. All assault rifles are illegal because fully automatic rifles are already illegal. If it is a simi-automatic rifle, then it is not an assault rifle. It may look like one, but that is it.

If the kid had a true AK-47 assault rifle, then maybe the media needs to start knocking on doors to explain how this kid got his hands on it. If it was from a family member, then start knocking on doors to find out how they got their hands on it – then arrest the guy for illegal position of a machine (assault) gun – and keep knocking on door until we find out how a Russian-made weapon ended up in the hands of an American Teenager.; 2:19 PM
Anonymous said...: Update: it appears the kids' mother was no longer married to the step-father, she was just watching his house while he was on vacation overseas. Apparently she took the kid with her to check on the house and he nabbed the gun while she was out of the room, so it appears this "ex-father" was not as irresponsible as I first thought - although I still say a gun such as this should not only be stored unloaded, but in a locked secure place where only the owner carries the keys.; 2:09 PM
William Fink said...: If the gun was a genuine AK-47, then I would like to know why/how the father was in possession of an illegal machine gun.; 6:01 AM