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Old January 2, 2013, 09:59 PM   #20
44 AMP
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Join Date: March 11, 2006
Location: Upper US
Posts: 28,677
Quote:
How effective was the ban on assault weapons and high cap mags during the Clinton era? Just curious.
It was very effective.

It just didn't have any effect on violent crime. ONe has to wonder if it was ever intended to....

One should also look back at what didn't get in the law, but was part of the original proposals.

Allowing confiscation/siezure of assets (money) and property from any one under investigation of a crime.

Hiring Hong Kong police to come to the US and serve as agents of the US Govt to sieze weapons (the idea being foreign police wouldn't balk at order to take guns from US citizens, while US police might).

Funding for "midnight basketball" for inner city youth (apparently the idea being that since they were going to be on the streets anyway, give them something "constructive" to do?)

There are alot of other, even worse proposals that were intended to be included, but (relatively) cooler heads in the anti movement prevailed.

Now, lets look at some of the things that the 94 AWB did do, effectively...

Created artificial market conditions, based solely on the banned features...
Pre-ban guns got rediculously more expensive, as supply was fixed (although large) and demand skyrocketed. (I, personally, sold a $450 AR clone for $900, and still consider it a good deal, for me...)

Made "large capacity" magazines (and for many of them that term is pure hogwash, as for certain firearms, 17rnds or 20, or 30 rnds was the standard capacity magazine) double, then triple, and then go up even more, in price.
(I saw $14.95 Ruger 10/22 "hi cap" mags go for as much as $75 at the peak of the panic)

Another "effect" of the mag capacity restrictions was one the Anti's never even thought of. And that was firearms makers actually following their demands. And the market response. And it went something like this...

"Sorry, the nanny state says you can't buy pistols with anything over a 10 rnd mag. Ok. We'll make 10 rnd mags to fit you existing 13,15,17, etc guns. And, since there is no point in making a gun that can hold 17 in the mag, we won't make many of them. What we will make is a smaller, more easily concealable gun that holds 10rnds....

Prior to the AWB, compact versions of service pistols were a fairly small segment of the market. After, they became dominant, for a while. And one thing the antis hate is more easily concealable weapons, but they passed a law that had the effect of putting millions more of these exact guns "on the street".

And, of course the biggest effect of the 94 AWB was to create a HUGE demand for even the "neutered" legal guns (which in no way were any less effecive or efficient than the pre ban guns with "evil" cosmetic features).

We do lots of stupid things, all on our own, but one thing Americans, as a group, dislike is being dictated to. Even when it's in our best interest. Especially when it's in our best interest only in the eyes of an elite minority!

The 94 AWB was also hugely effective at one other thing. It ticked off a lot of people who had previously not been very involved in the political process. It cost the Democrats their majority in Congress, which they had held for 40 years. The media went to great lengths to claim that this loss was due to the Republican "Contract with America", but the Democrats knew the truth, and in their own private discussions were quite open with each other about how it was their support for gun contol, and the AWB specifically that cost them their power in Congress.

And, they learned the lesson pretty well. Two lessons, actually. First, don't beat the drum for gun control before an election, no matter how much you want to....

And second, NEVER pass a gun control bill the summer before an election. Give the gun owners time to forget....

Some of us don't forget, and will never forgive, either....
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