I Built This AK-47. It's Legal and Totally Untraceable • Hacker News Board

Re: I Built This AK-47. It's Legal and Totally Untraceable

#41

Post by mikeash » Sat, May 25, 2013, 5:34 PM UTC

DanBC wrote: post #36

mikeash wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Say what? What part does my non-homebuilt computer contain that makes it legal, which a DRM-free homebuilt computer would lack, making it illegal?

Read the post I'm replying to. "Homebuilt PC without DRM" [...] pretend it was written in 2023 The implication is that the machine is built to circumvent DRM, not just to avoid using any DRMd media. Obviously avoiding DRMd media is legal. But using something to circumvent DRM is illegal. To directly answer your question: Licensed software and permission from rights holders.

You said "is currently", as in, such a thing is illegal right now.

There's nothing illegal about not having licensed software on your computer.

Re: I Built This AK-47. It's Legal and Totally Untraceable

#42

Post by MChristopherson » Sat, May 25, 2013, 5:34 PM UTC

I scanned through the video included in the link. At the risk of sounding like a militia-bound gun nut, the video got me a bit annoyed: "fully functional AK-47" is tossed about rather often, when in fact the guy simply made a rather heavy hunting rifle.

An AK-47, as used throughout the planet, is a machine gun. A fully-automatic machine gun. You hold down the trigger, and the gun begins firing at a high rate until you remove your finger from the trigger, or run out of ammunition.

He did not build that.

He built a semi-automatic rifle that is functionally equivalent in pretty much every way to a hunting rifle you can buy at your local sporting goods chain store.

This harkens back to the "assault rifle" issue, which sees a type of rifle that is in every way equivalent to a semi-automatic hunting rifle labeled as an "assault rifle" because it looks more bad-ass than grandpa's deer rifle.

--edit--

I'm kind of ruefully laughing at myself here, as after three years of reading Hacker News, this is the topic that got me to angrily dive to my keyboard to make an account and comment. This from a total urbanite who gets nervous at being more than three blocks from a taxi stand and a wet bar, and who would probably need counseling if confronted by any woodland creature larger than a mid-sized rat.

Re: I Built This AK-47. It's Legal and Totally Untraceable

#43

Post by pragone » Sat, May 25, 2013, 5:34 PM UTC

One more reason why guns laws won't do anything without more information on what exactly they hope to achieve by passing them.

I personally enjoy living in a city that bans knives and guns. I find it comforting to know that it's not likely for someone I pass to have a gun. I also can't go a single day without passing a dozen cops. However, there is plenty of data telling us there isn't enough data to make arguments one way or another about gun laws - no consistent, comprehensive studies exist that clearly point to legalizing or banning guns that will make an impact in either direction. I believe in funding studies that can give us an answer to that very problem.

Re: I Built This AK-47. It's Legal and Totally Untraceable

#44

Post by angersock » Sat, May 25, 2013, 5:35 PM UTC

asynchronous13 wrote: post #23

jstalin wrote: post #6

Considering that rifles are used to kill fewer people in the United States than knives, fists, hammers, or bats, Mother Jones' attempt at scaring people about those who build their own guns rings a little hallow. But I get it, AK-47s look scary and so we should all be outraged. https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/...

Here's a summary of the 2011 data from the linked statistics: 8,583 - Homicides by firearms (all types) 323 - Homicides by rifles 1,694 - Homicides by sharp objects (knives, etc) 496 - Homicides by blunt objects (clubs, etc)

The full table for firearms (2011) is:

  Handguns                      6220
  Rifles                         323
  Shotguns                       356
  Other guns                      97
  Firearms, type not stated     1587

So, er, yeah. GP is correct in their statement that rifles (indeed, it would seem, all longarms) are less favored for homicide than sharp and blunt objects.

Re: I Built This AK-47. It's Legal and Totally Untraceable

#45

Post by knowtheory » Sat, May 25, 2013, 5:35 PM UTC

Cushman wrote: post #33

knowtheory wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh? Is it? How would you have preferred to see this reported? Is it just that Mother Jones published it? Is it something he said? Is it the fact that he destroyed the gun afterwards?

> How would you have preferred to see this reported? What "this"? That somebody built a rifle from a kit is not exactly newsworthy.

How many people on Hacker News (or hell, in the US in general) do you think have built a rifle from a kit?

How many of them do you think understand what a receiver is, or what the difference is between an automatic and semi-automatic?

If you genuinely think this is information that more people should not know then say so explicitly.

There is a debate about guns going on in the US, whether you like it or not. The question is whether you want people to make informed decisions or not.

Re: I Built This AK-47. It's Legal and Totally Untraceable

#46

Post by reader5000 » Sat, May 25, 2013, 5:37 PM UTC

jaxb wrote: post #34

ricardobeat wrote: post #17

Thankfully this is illegal and will remain so in most of the rest of the world. 3% means there are more than 9.4 million assault rifles in US homes. Are they expecting an invasion?

They expect their government to fail them.

No, most gun ownership is motivated by sexual signalling. Especially as blue collar niches are ravaged by automization, immigration, and outsourcing, it is increasingly difficult to for blue collar males to establish a sense of manhood. A small minority turn to gun culture as a means of reestablishing that sense.

Re: I Built This AK-47. It's Legal and Totally Untraceable

#47

Post by Retric » Sat, May 25, 2013, 5:37 PM UTC

kunai wrote: post #20

theorique wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disgusting. If these Obama-worshippers would pause for a moment in the adoration of their "Saint", they might see that he and his administration (DoJ) are responsible for the largest power grab and human rights violation in the history of this country. The Second Amendment is not a "suggestion" or "subject to interpretation" (aside from a constitutional amendment). It is part of the bedrock of this nation that was fo…

Your point stands, but name-calling and sarcasm is just low. Really low. And the Second Amendment was founded for two purposes -- so that this nation would be able to defend itself against an outside force that sought to destroy the U.S.'s independence, and so that this nation would be able to defend itself against an inside force that sought to destroy the U.S.'s independence, i.e. the government. I'm constantly ama…

The second amendment was not about peoples ability to overthrow government it was about states ability to overthrow the federal government. Now days people don't think much about states as independent actors but back they where giving up on soverenty and wanted some protection.

Re: I Built This AK-47. It's Legal and Totally Untraceable

#48

Post by venomsnake » Sat, May 25, 2013, 5:38 PM UTC

theorique wrote: post #15

at-fates-hands wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Completely agree. Mother Jones is a known Liberal magazine and despite the approach to not insert the authors opinion, you can clearly see the point of the article is we need to have the ability to register guns with the government. I'm constantly shocked at how uninformed gun control advocates are.

Disgusting. If these Obama-worshippers would pause for a moment in the adoration of their "Saint", they might see that he and his administration (DoJ) are responsible for the largest power grab and human rights violation in the history of this country. The Second Amendment is not a "suggestion" or "subject to interpretation" (aside from a constitutional amendment). It is part of the bedrock of this nation that was fo…

I would recommend you to read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_American_internment to know what real government power grab is.

Re: I Built This AK-47. It's Legal and Totally Untraceable

#49

Post by blankenship » Sat, May 25, 2013, 5:39 PM UTC

Cushman wrote: post #33

knowtheory wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh? Is it? How would you have preferred to see this reported? Is it just that Mother Jones published it? Is it something he said? Is it the fact that he destroyed the gun afterwards?

> How would you have preferred to see this reported? What "this"? That somebody built a rifle from a kit is not exactly newsworthy.

“This” was news to me. Newsworthiness is a matter of individual context.

Re: I Built This AK-47. It's Legal and Totally Untraceable

#50

Post by overgard » Sat, May 25, 2013, 5:40 PM UTC

jstalin wrote: post #6

Considering that rifles are used to kill fewer people in the United States than knives, fists, hammers, or bats, Mother Jones' attempt at scaring people about those who build their own guns rings a little hallow. But I get it, AK-47s look scary and so we should all be outraged. https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/...

That makes a lot of sense -- rifles are very hard to conceal compared to handguns. I imagine if you wanted to kill someone, you'd want a weapon that's easy to conceal, easy to dispose of, and quiet. Rifles are none of those things.