Would you mind if I rephrased it for you:

It's still way too easy for the average moron to get a handgun in this country.

That too.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but NOT their own facts.
It is just awful when stuff runs counter to preconceived notions of how it must be.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

An assault rifle IS a machine gun. Only in popular culture has the name "assault rifle" been subverted to mean how it looks and not how it functions.

This is hair splitting.

All assault rifles, machine guns, submachine guns are all capable by design of operating in fully automatic mode.

The difference in name comes from two sources: foreign manufacturers translations, followed by individual government definitions OVER the years.

For those who are unaware:

Heavy machine gun (tripod)

Machine gun/machine rifle/ Maschinengewehr/ Ruchnoi pulemyot/

Light machine gun/ automatic rifle (as in BAR)

Assault rifle/Fusil automatique leger/LAR-light auto rifle

subachine guns/

Machine pistol/full auto pistol/Schnellfeuer

and these categories are not hard and fast. For example, the Communist East german Army called the AK47 (Rus: Avtomat Kalashnikova) the MPK or MaschinenPistoleKalaschnikow
-----------------

But all Swiss M-57 rifles fire a .30 caliber cartridge in single shot or automatic mode, so it is an automatic rifle used for armed/military assault .

There are NO assault rifles that fire ONLY one round per trigger pull. All are also full auto mode-equipped.


Hopefully this gets us from the use of loaded words and recirects the conversation.

I can make any semi-auto pistol except the Luger fire on full auto, but I was an armorer and knew what to look for. Besides, that's illegal and experimenters usually kill themselves. So don't try this at home.

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Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
1951 Citroen 11BN
1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
1953 220a project
1959 180D
1960 190D
1960 Borgward Isabella TS 2dr
1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

I don't know that it is hair-splitting, and if it is, it's splitting the definition where it deserves to be split.

People call a US civilian model AR15 an "assault rifle" which it is not. It is capable of semiautomatic fire only. This is directly on point to the discussion.

The assault weapon is capable of "select fire," which may or may not mean fully automatic in nature. Some of them use a three-round burst, but that is still a machine gun (actually, the BATFE term is "machinegun") because it can shoot more than one round with one pull of the trigger.

But as you state, select fire is not the only defining characteristic of an assault weapon. A .50 BMG certainly does not qualify.

Isn't it true that the AK 47s and M 16s sold as semi automatics can fairly easily be converted to full automatic?

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I have no idea about the AK, but the M15 (civilian designation) takes a few parts to convert it to select fire. Some civilian parts must be replaced, like the bolt carrier, hammer, trigger, sear and safety lever, and a few must be added.

While this may be possible, having any machine-gun-specific parts in your possession is the same as owning the machine gun itself. That's legal under some circumstances, but if you don't jump through all the hoops, it's something like 10 years in jail.

Supposedly there's a way to "shave" a component in the firing mechanism that will allow the ejection/insertion mechanism to "bypass" a tag/catch and allow the immediate firing of the next round without the operator having to release the trigger, then pull same again to fire off the next round...

But then, I wouldn't be able to remember, exactly, where I heard that...

__________________

M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
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....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
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“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

Correct, when Hitler named the Sturmgewehr. It was a weapon that fired an intermediate round, and because of this was capable of controled full auto fire.



Later on came the battle rifle, IE the M14, G3, FN Fal.

I prefer just to make fun of all the limp wristed anti gun liberals and call them evil black rifles. Since thats the weapon that gets their panties all twisted.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

You know, the Brown Bess, and the Kentucky long rifle, at the time of the writing of the Constitution were military-grade weapons. There were no other kind. Think about that.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

This is an interesting point. But they also had many different sizes of cannon from which they shot anything from solid balls to grape shot.

Repeating rifles and pistols were not even a glimmer in some arm mfgr's eye...well maybe a glimmer.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

From my international gun nut BBS

"We discussed about a thread about gun laws in the different countries represented by the members here, so I think we could start here. I will make a presentation about the laws in Switzerland, and after that you can add your local laws as well.

So first of all, a little History part about gun laws in Switzerland :

Switzerland is divided into 26 "states", it is a confederation, the those states joined it during the History. That's why it takes us some time when we need to make a decision which concerns everybody : there are states which speaks German, others French, Italian, and Romanche. More than the languages, the mentality is quite different from a place to an other.

So, before 1999, each state was making its own "cooking" : there was no federal law about weapons, each states was making its own. That means, depending the state you were living in, you could buy full-auto weapons, silencers, lasers, grenade launchers, etc... without problem. Same thing about semi-auto weapons, depending the state you needed a permit or not.

Then in 1999 it became a federal law with the following :

- To buy a weapon, you must be over 18 and had no criminal record. That was for semi-auto weapons. You asked the police dept for a buy-permit, and they made it for 50$ ( you could buy 3 weapons at the same time, at the same place with one permit ).
- For full-auto weapons, silencers and lasers you needed a "special buy-permit" which was obtained quite easily, depending on the police chief you were talking to. It was more easy at the beginning that in the end when the new law was coming, they became more restrictive on those special permits. Strange stuff, some weapons such as grenade launchers were defined as "a weapon with a single bore that must be reloaded one cartridge at a time" so it was free to buy without permit...
- You could also buy weapons from other civilians. You didn't need a permit from the police for that. The seller just needed to be sure you could legally own a weapon ( over 18, citizen, no criminal records, or foreigner with a live-in-the-country permit ). Then you just made a selling contract between you and the seller, and you could go home with your gun. This contract needed to be kept for 10 years.

During this period, the silencers, lasers and full-autos previously bought ( before 99 ) were tolerated.

Then came the new european-friendly law on the 12nd of December 2008 :

- Same criteria for the buy-permit from the police, plus now they make an investigation on you when you request your first permit, or they try to discourage you from buying a weapon ( ex : a guy asked for a permit, they told him 3 guns were enough when you are 23. He asked for a written statement about that, they didn't provide it because they new they will lose in front of law court. 3 weeks later he received his permit... )
- Same for the special-buy permit, except they don't give them easily now.
- About all the stuff never registered officially, like the weapons before 1999, silencers, lasers, bolt-action rifles which could be bought without permit before 2008, etc... You had a period of time to register those items with the police, they were supposed to provide you special authorizations for the forbidden stuff you already had. They also modified all the laws that permitted us to buy grenade launchers without permit...
- Buying from a private person is still possible, but now you need an official buy-permit from the police, you can't do the contracts anymore.

So here are in the great lines the laws concerning gun acquisition and ownership in Switzerland. If you are interested I can provide you the link to our federal gun law, but it's only available in German, French or Italian, you need to translate it by yourself if you want it :
http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/514_54/index.html

__________________
"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad

From Wikipedia
" Army issued arms

The Swiss army has long been a militia trained and structured to rapidly respond against foreign aggression. Swiss males grow up expecting to undergo basic military training, usually at age 20 in the Rekrutenschule (German for "recruit school"), the initial boot camp, after which Swiss men remain part of the "militia" in reserve capacity until age 30 (age 34 for officers). Each such individual is required to keep his army-issued personal weapon (the 5.56x45mm Sig 550 rifle for enlisted personnel or the SIG 510 rifle and/or the 9mm SIG-Sauer P220 semi-automatic pistol for officers, medical and postal personnel) at home with a specified personal retention quantity of government-issued personal ammunition (50 rounds 5.56 mm / 48 rounds 9mm), which is sealed and inspected regularly to ensure that no unauthorized use takes place.[2] The ammunition are intended for use while traveling to the army barracks in case of invasion. The issuing of ammunition was however abolished after a family shooting, in which the victim was a former ski champion.[citation needed]


A "shooting society" somewhere in Switzerland; people come to such ranges to complete mandatory training with service arms, or to shoot for sport and competition.


When their period of service has ended, militiamen have the choice of keeping their personal weapon and other selected items of their equipment. In this case of retention, the rifle is sent to the weapons factory where the fully automatic function is removed; the rifle is then returned to the discharged owner. The rifle is then a semi-automatic or self-loading rifle.
The government sponsors training with rifles and shooting in competitions for interested adolescents, both male and female.
The sale of ammunition – including Gw Pat.90 rounds for army-issue assault rifles – is subsidized by the Swiss government and made available at the many shooting ranges patronized by both private citizens and members of the militia. There is a regulatory requirement that ammunition sold at ranges must be used there. However, pro-gun advocates David Kopel and Stephen D'Andrilli claim "the rule is barely known and almost never obeyed".[2] Indeed, while the sale of non-hunting ammunition is registered at the dealer if purchased at a private store, ammunition purchased at a shooting range is not. Non-military ammunition for long-gun hunting and .22 Long Rifle (LR) ammo is not subsidized, but is not subject to sales controls.[2]
The Swiss Army maintains tight adherence to high standards of lawful military conduct. In 2005, for example, the Swiss prosecuted recruits who had reenacted the torture scenes of Abu Ghraib, one of the charges was improper use of service weapons.[3]
In 2001 Swiss citizen Friedrich Leibacher entered a regional Swiss parliament building and used an assault rifle to kill 14 people before killing himself.[4] Strangely enough, this wasn't his personal army issue weapon, but a private version of the army issue rifle. He committed suicide with a pistol and used an improvised explosive device.[5]
It is claimed that approximately 300 deaths per year involve the use of Swiss army guns, mostly suicides and family murders.[6] As a result of this and similar media reports, gun control advocates are trying to halt the practice of military weapons issuance and storage in the private homes of Swiss Army members. Gun supporters question the statistics and the practice has become a political issue. As of October 2007, the issuing of personal ammunition after boot camp has been discontinued and a majority of the already issued packs will be withdrawn within 2008.[7]
[edit] Number of guns in circulation

In some 2001 statistics, it is noted that there are about 420,000 assault rifles stored at private homes, mostly SIG 550 types. Additionally, there are some 320,000 assault rifles and military pistols exempted from military service in private possession, all selective-fire weapons having been converted to semi-automatic operation only. In addition, there are several hundred thousand other semi-automatic small arms classified as carbines. The total number of firearms in private homes is estimated minimally at 1.2 million to 3 million."


How does this relate to the OP about right wing nuts?

__________________
"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad

You can't stop person-to-person violence.
England has maybe the toughest anti-gun laws of anywhere. Have they ended violence? Of course not--the new weapon of choice is knives. Now they are having a knifing epidemic. People are getting sliced and diced.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags