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what you can do with full auto that you can't do with another weapon except for just recreational shooting.
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For civilians, full auto is all about recreational shooting! Not hunting, not self defense, and although they would be effective as militlia weapons, we all know that dead horse isn't going to get on its feet any time soon. But recreational shooting. A perfectly legal and valid reason. Not, I admit, one popular with the non shooting public, but valid, nonetheless.
Govt has the authority to regulate full auto (even though to a true libertarian/strict constructionist they
shouldn't), due to their "unusual and dangerous" nature, but they have no reason to deny us them all together. And, given enough time, thats what the Hughes amendment will do.
They were restricted, taxed and regulated under the NFA 34, but not denied. Individual states may deny ownership (as far as I know, there are only two or three that actually do), but that is a matter for the individual states, and their citizens.
There are a huge number of things in our modern world that have little or no "useful" purpose, other than recreation/enertainment. Many of these things can be misused to lethal ends. Most of them are not regulated at all, or very slightly. The govt does not deny them to us. The whole idea of the government denying us such property as we desire to own and use in a safe and legal manner is, to me, contrary to the idea of personal liberty.
Regulate it, tax it (if you must), ensure the owners are stable, law abiding citizens, fine. But do not arbitrarily completely deny ownership. Firearms have an uphill battle to be considered the same as other property, due to the lethal consequences and ease of their misuse, and lack of everyday utility to the average citizen. No one even considers a complete ban on items of common utility, even though their misuse can have as great a consequence. We regulate them instead. Why do you need a license to drive a car on public roads? For public safety. We license full auto owners for the same basic reason.
It is the operators intent that turns an inanimate object from a tool to a weapon. The greatest mass murder of modern times was not done with guns on that September day.