Message-ID: 
Newsgroups: AIRGUN.LIST
---Fletcheror  wrote:
>
> By the way, what would you include as, or determine what is,
evidence of
> crimminal intent? Isn't that the argument that gun control people
are using
> against the assault weapons? Guns with no possible legitimate use. 
I have never seen a device with no possible legitimate use.
As far as serious use goes, I seem to recall the assault
weapons ban eliminating a Colt competition gun which had
no competitive substitute in certain events. Unless, of 
course, target competition is not a legitimate use.
Would you say a cheap SKS with armor piercing ammo has
no possible legitimate use? A relative of mine owns such,
and it has provided a lot of legal entertainment, which I
consider legitimate use, you just need a lot of earth for a
backstop, as it will penetrate a 3/8" (10mm) steel target.
Any gun can be used for informal plinking, which certain
anti-gunners don't seem to find legitimate. 
>You don't think that crimes committed with guns should be agressively
>prosecuted.  So, armed robbery is no worst than shoplifting?
>dtf
I think that Jim means that armed robbery with a knife or
baseball bat is no worse than armed robbery with a gun. I
don't believe anybody here is advocating that our legal
system equate theft with robbery. I therefore suggest you
find a more suitable straw-man for this arguement. The only
arguements I can think of favoring harsher punishment for
gun crimes is that it can make a thoughtful criminal use
other weapons, thus altering the gun crime statistics and
making it harder to claim that guns are a problem, and that
it can keep violent predators separated from the public for
longer periods. In Michigan, we have a mandatory 2 year
additional sentence for possession of a firearm during the
commission of a felony. Some prosecuting attorneys with
overcrowded jails have been ignoring this law in order to
cut deals with armed robbers to keep them out of jail. 
BTW, if anybody is getting tired of this discussion, just
dump any message with HCI in the subject line into your 
trash folder, it doesn't show much sign of ending soon.
Mitch.
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