Last week a politician speaking on National Public Radio against gun regulations stated that an assault rifle like the AR-15 is no different than a hunting rifle. “It shoots the same ammunition,” he said.
True, but that’s the wrong comparison. The assault weapon is not based on the rifle — it’s based on the pistol. Semi-automatic, so they aren’t the “machine gun” pistols they used to carry around in violin cases during prohibition (at least in the movies). But they would likely fit the violin case — they have a pistol-styled grip, with a longer barrel than a handgun, and a shoulder brace. They break down pretty neatly.
They also have “clips” to hold multiple rounds of ammunition, to allow sustained, uninterrupted firing. Few hunting rifles use ammunition clips, each bullet being loaded into a built-in chamber with limited capacity.
There is an illegal accessory for the assault weapon that can transform the gun from semi-automatic to automatic very easily. The device is currently seeing a surge in popularity, according to a recent report heard on Oregon Public Broadcasting.
The assault weapon is not your granddad’s hunting rifle.
Unless, of course, you are hunting people. They are very good for that — up close, the high-velocity bullets open a tunnel through flesh, creating “unrecognizable corpses,” according to testimony made before Congress June 8 by those involved in the recent school shooting in Texas.
Run, not hide
I learned last week, during an interview on NPR of former FBI special agent Katherine Schweit, who helped map out “active shooter” response protocols following the Sandy Hook massacre, that the public’s first response to an active shooter should not be “hide,” but “run.”
“‘Run, hide, fight’ teaches us to do the ‘run’ part first,” Schweit explained. “What we’re teaching kids in school is the ‘hide’ part, but we’re not teaching the ‘run’ part. We don’t do that anyplace else in society. We don’t tell kids in a mall, ‘OK, just hide.’ So somehow, when it comes to schools, we missed an opportunity to teach children and teach adults in schools that they need to run. That’s the first thing they need to do. They need to escape.
“Your first priority has to be escape. You can’t be killed if you’re not there,” she said. “If you can’t run,” she added, “the next response is to fight.”
Heightened threat
Trying times for Americans, and Congress is ... well, they aren’t accomplishing much, at least not yet.
And it’s not likely we will see a reduction in mass shootings or domestic terror incidents.
As of June 7, 2022, the United States remains in “a heightened threat environment,” according to a National Terrorism Advisory System advisory:
“In the coming months, we expect the threat environment to become more dynamic as several high-profile events could be exploited to justify acts of violence against a range of possible targets. These targets could include public gatherings, faith-based institutions, schools, racial and religious minorities, government facilities and personnel, U.S. critical infrastructure, the media, and perceived ideological opponents.
“Threat actors have recently mobilized to violence due to factors such as personal grievances, reactions to current events, and adherence to violent extremist ideologies, including racially or ethnically motivated or anti-government/anti-authority violent extremism.
“Foreign adversaries — including terrorist organizations and nation state adversaries — also remain intent on exploiting the threat environment to promote or inspire violence, sow discord, or undermine U.S. democratic institutions.”
Dangerous democracy
One of the “High Profile events” noted above is the November mid-term elections. Why? That is when every American can participate in mapping the future course of our country — and democracy is dangerous for those who would foment violence and discord among us.
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