Days and weeks around the IHOP AK-47 shooting

[MyrnaLoy]

"A supervisor arrived and went to check out the minivan. As he approached the vehicle, one of the two men still in the minivan “was attempting to grab the shoulder strap of an AK-47 assault rifle,” Jones said." http://www.ajc.com/news/3-arrested-in-drive-1153360.html

"Police say that a suspect who sprayed a liquor store parking lot with an AK-47 and hit a paramedic's truck" http://oldnortheast.patch.com/articles/shooting-suspect-eludes-police

"APD Chief Ray Schultz said Michael Marquez, 31, was carrying a stolen AK-47 assault rifle and a 30-round magazine clip and determined to go out in a blaze of glory." http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/APD-Michael-Marquez-was-heavily-armed-dr

"A man accused of firing an AK-47 at an Economy police officer was in court on Friday." http://www.wpxi.com/news/29066011/detail.html

"Police said Sunday that at least one AK-47 was used in the shooting based on what witnesses told investigators and evidence collected at the scene. " http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/article/210133/8/Police-at-least-1-assault-rifle-used-in-club-shooting

"Police arrested the three after they crashed their car along a rural Colorado highway. Police say they were shooting at officers with an AK-47 during a chase at speeds up to 120 mph." http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/08/22/colorado.fugitive.siblings/

"When Jackson got out of his car, Lee stood on his balcony and fired at him with an AK-47 assault rifle, hitting him twice, according to prosecutors." http://www.ktvu.com/news/28911262/detail.html

That was a 4 minute search. Now the gunners here will tell you very few people are killed with long guns. Are they as willing to discuss Ak-47s used in crimes? I don't care what the press calls them, sensible people understand what they are, More and more have been used in crimes recently. Just go to Google, News, then search AK47. You will be amazed at what you see.

[LAGC]

1. None of those guns were outlawed by the Assault Weapon Ban, FYI.

Truth is they aren't "assault weapons" at all, just semi-auto knock-offs of them.

I asked in your other thread and I'll ask you again: what policy changes would you recommend we implement to avert these acts of violence in the future?

[Doctor_J]

15. Then why is the AWB considered the gravest threat to freedom in modern times?

There is a great deal of hyperbole about how the AWB is the first step on a very short road to prohibition. Yet every time there's a shooting rampage, we're told that the AWB didn't prohibit the tool of mass murder. Those don't jibe.

[We_Have_A_Problem]

16. Simply put

because it was a fucking retarded law. It criminalized certain firearms based entirely upon cosmetic features - not unlike making it illegal to own a red sports car with a spoiler, but it would be OK to own a blue one with a spoiler.

[X_Digger]

17. The precedent it tried to set..

The concept of 'nibbling away' at 'acceptable' guns based on appearance instead of function- that's the precedent that got it's ass smacked with the expiration of the AWB.

Never again.

"In fact, the assault weapons ban will have no significant effect either on the crime rate or on personal security. Nonetheless, it is a good idea . . . . Its only real justification is not to reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation." --Charles Krauthammer

[DrDan]

2. K&R

[GreenStormCloud]

3. 3% is not 0%.

The FBI says that about 3% of shootings are with long guns. So with some minor googling you we easily able to find some of those 3%. You are trying to make it sound like 3% is actually 99%.

[Atypical Liberal]

4. Exactly. Yes, rifles are used in crime.

Yes, rifles are used in crime. According to the FBI UCR, about 300 people every year are killed with rifles. This compares to about 600 every year killed with hands and feet.

I have little doubt that this pattern follows in crimes that do not end in an actual homicide, also.

Anecdotes are startling, but the data tells a different story. But this should not be surprising. Rifles are not easily concealable. Since most criminals are interested in getting away with their crime, stealth is important. This makes rifles inherently unsuitable for most kinds of crime.

[Atypical Liberal]

5. Here is some FBI data for you

http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/GUIC.PDF

I am not aware of any report like this of a more current date. This one is from the early 1990s.

[krispos42]

6. One two three four five six seven.

Seven! Seven AK-47 stories! In seven days!




Ah ah ah ah ah!





So you're getting one per calender day.


Well, that's definitely indicative of the need to ban a certain kind of weapon.


Because after all, it's okay if people are exchanging shots with the police, as long as it's not with an AK-47-looking rifle.









*sigh* AK-47-ish rifles are (relatively) common in the news because they are commonly owned. It's that simple.

The US murder rate was far higher in the 80's, BEFORE the US was flooded with post-Communist-collapse demilitarized Kalashnikovs.


Correlation FAIL.

[AtheistCrusader]

7. Are you trying to trump yearly government statistics, with emotional anecdotes?

An AK-47 (semi-auto clone) is a long gun. Homicides comitted with them are a tiny percentage of total homicides committed with firearms.

That 3% number is inclusive of AR's, AK's, SKS's, and hundreds of other rifle designs.


by the way, you posted 7 links, one death certainly tied to an AK-47, two more possibly tied to an AK-47.

[X_Digger]

8. Oh look, it's policy by google news!

Can we say.. "Summer of the Shark"?

[ileus]

9. Buy one....or three while you still can. Oh and

load up on 30 round mags...you can make a killing if history repeats itself in a few years.

[benEzra]

10. Ah, but those pesky facts intrude yet again...

From the FBI Uniform Crime Reports 2009, Table 20, Murder by State and Type of Weapon:

http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/data/table_20.html

Total murders...........................13,636.....100.00%
Handguns.................................6,452......47.32%
Firearms (type unknown)..................1,928......14.14%
Other weapons (non-firearm, non-edged)...1,864......13.67%
Edged weapons............................1,825......13.38%
Hands, feet, etc...........................801.......5.87%
Shotguns...................................418.......3.07%
Rifles.....................................348.......2.55%

And need I remind you that this figure is for all rifles *combined*, not just rifles with handgrips or magazines that stick out. Rifles are even less misused than shotguns most years, never mind clubs, blades, and bare hands.

The 5-year trend for rifle homicide 2005-2009, for those interested in such things, again per the FBI Uniform Crime Reports:

2005: 442
2006: 436
2007: 450
2008: 375
2009: 348

[gravity556]

18. But I thought there were 30k plus gun deaths a year!

The FBI barely counts half that. I wonder whose numbers are correct-the FBI or the VPC...

[rl6214]

11. Move along folks, just another drive-by news story

nothing to see here.

[DissedByBush]

12. Funny thing is, it's not even close to being a powerful rifle

It fires a 7.62×39mm round, which delivers less energy than a low-end deer rifle round such as a .243 Winchester, and doesn't come close to its velocity, accuracy or range.

It just looks scary I guess.

[SteveM]

13. MSM believes its: "All AK-47 All The Time!"

You do know that less than 3% of all murders with guns are attributed to rifles? And so-called "assault weapons" are just one category within that less than 3%.

I enjoyed this opportunity to clear up your post!

P.S.: the times may be changing

http://www.saysuncle.com/2011/01/14/press-goes-from-all-ak47-all-the-time-to-all-glock-all-the-time/

[AtheistCrusader]

14. Good to see you are still immune to facts.