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

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

#211

Post by mikeash »

hga wrote: post #150
gosu wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of those were designed to efficiently kill people like me. The OP's point is that I should be worrying more about handguns, and he's right - but that doesn't mean I can't worry about other things designed to pose a threat to my person too.

As the quarter billion disarmed people killed by their own governments in the 20th century, plus all the combatants killed in two "World Wars" and many many others show, there is no single better instrumentality for "efficiently" killing people than governments. In more than a few cases, and most of the deaths, this is by design (Communists and Nazis).

As the Apollo program, smallpox eradication, and many many others show, there is no single better instrumentality for efficiently carrying out great tasks than governments.

Government is an amplifier, nothing more.

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

#212

Post by Cushman »

mikeash wrote: post #198
Cushman wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you wouldn't consider it to have any relevance to the broader cultural problem of traffic fatalities and vehicle registration? Or you don't think others would? Or you think that any misleading effect is regrettable, but not a reason to alter the tone of the article?

Relevance? Of course it would have relevance, as any facts on the subject would. What misleading effect are you referring to?

I think someone who didn't know a lot about the facts could easily read TFA and come away with the idea that there exists some connection between our gun violence problem and some or all of rifles, military rifles, AK-47s, kit-build rifles, bump-fire stocks, build parties, or armslist.com. But we know no such connection exists. Do you really not find that misleading?

The facts of this report should be a part of our conversation, as a great many facts should be that are not. I only worry that this article seems written to imply the opposite of its facts.

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

#213

Post by sarvinc »

anon1385 wrote: post #119
hysterix wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Extra ordinary claims require extra ordinary proof. Could you provide at least ONE scientifically accurate source actually proving this obviously biased opinion? Can you provide even one? Or is this just the standard liberal, pulling information out of your own ass to further your own viewpoint style of thought so common with your type and others on ycombinator. Also your own words contradict themselves. You open you…

Firstly, please read the commenting guidelines: http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html particularly: Be civil. Don't say things you wouldn't say in a face to face conversation. and When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. Secondly, the supposed contradiction you identified is not a contradiction at all, the first quote was talking about most gun owners the second about a minority o…

I didn't read the article you linked to and I'm not trying to contradict anything you've written. There are a few words in the citation that lead me to believe the article is biased or that they ended up with a particularly bad sample; indulge, hegemonic masculinity and fantasy. Also who fantasises about self-defense? I mean violence I get but how do you fantasies about self-defense?

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

#214

Post by [deleted] »

hga wrote: post #154
jacalata wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The absolute number of guns may well be higher, but the percentage of Americans who own one is presumably far below what it was during colonial times, for instance. It is quite possible that the number of guns is rising but either a) new gun owners are not increasing as fast as the number of people or b) the number of gun owners is not increasing at all but existing owners are collecting more per capita than they use…

Errr, we're wealthier, manufactured items are a lot cheaper, and it's a lot easier to keep a gun in working condition now that we're using smokeless powder and non-corrosive primers. Crime's a lot higher, I gather, so city folk have a greater need to be armed. I don't have figures, and most of academia was delighted to celebrate a fraud who claimed very very few owned guns in colonial times ( http://en.wikipedia.org/…

[deleted]

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

#215

Post by Cushman »

mikeash wrote: post #209
Cushman wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can understand where you're coming from. Unfortunately, I don't think this article is the explainer you're looking for, for a lot of reasons discussed in these comments, but primarily this: he destroyed the gun . He bought it, he built it, he fired forty rounds through it and then he found it so distasteful that he didn't want it in his life, so he destroyed it. Even after mentioning how much it might have sold for…

I think it's interesting how people who will vehemently defend a person's right to own a gun will turn around and criticize him for destroying his own property, harming nobody in the process. Maybe I'm being uncharitable, but it strikes me as an attitude of "freedoms are great as long as the person does things I like". I'm reminded of the recent incident in the US Southwest somewhere (Arizona?) where a city started a…

Heh. It's a bit ironical, but I don't think it's really hypocritical or anything. To go back to my computer example, I can argue for your right to smash it with a hammer and still not be able to understand why you would choose to. Or take a look at the comments on gadget destruction videos some time. Or I wonder if anyone has ever tried to stop a religious institution from burning books they paid for with their own money?

To be honest, it's exactly the point I think the article missed so closely. It's different when you're an enthusiast. You see a mass-produced object worth what it will cost to haul away; I see a unique work of art, low born perhaps but with a history and a soul, with countless beautiful features and imperfections. (Mind, this isn't guns for me personally.) Yes it's yours, but it shouldn't be destroyed, that's disgraceful!

All that being said, it is unfortunate that so many of the most vocal gun advocates seem to have so little respect for people who don't like guns.

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

#216

Post by sarvinc »

ricardobeat wrote: post #187
MChristopherson wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you personally define "assault rifle" ?

A rifle with a detachable magazine. Are you intent on arguing that the most used assault rifle in the world is not an assault rifle? I'm not really into this kind of word play.

I think the argument is that assault rifle has become a politically charged label that is meaningless. A rifle with a detachable magazine is just a rifle.

Generally I agree that using this sort of thing to get a 'gotcha' moment out of it is a waste of time. The problem is that context doesn't help me understand what a person means when they say assualt rifle. I've had someone describe an assault rifle as anything that's specifically made to kill people.

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

#217

Post by sarvinc »

Pinckney wrote: post #190
fein wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ammunition is still made of metal. A gun is kind of useless without the stuff that goes boom.

Are metal detectors we care about calibrated to detect ammunition and ammunition alone?

I really have no idea but I've had them pick-up my belt buckle and keys before.

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

#218

Post by bifrost »

salgernon wrote: post #149
bifrost wrote: post #86

So the part that makes this guy a derp - he built what could have been a fully legal weapon, except that he didn't install the magazine lock correctly. What is a magazine lock? Its a device that lets politicians pretend that they're "doing something" when in reality it just makes them look stupid. Mag locks serve no purpose in crime prevention because they don't have some sort of magic anti-criminal switch, they just…

I think they're probably more intended to keep the five year olds from shooting their sisters.

Maglocks do exactly zero to prevent this. There are two things that prevent kids from shooting things/people they didn't intend to: 1. Parents 2. Training

Ignoring the issue is just bad, we figured that out a long time ago with sex education, not teaching your kids about the things you may or may not have in your house is dangerous.

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

#219

Post by mikeash »

Cushman wrote: post #215
mikeash wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's interesting how people who will vehemently defend a person's right to own a gun will turn around and criticize him for destroying his own property, harming nobody in the process. Maybe I'm being uncharitable, but it strikes me as an attitude of "freedoms are great as long as the person does things I like". I'm reminded of the recent incident in the US Southwest somewhere (Arizona?) where a city started a…

Heh. It's a bit ironical, but I don't think it's really hypocritical or anything. To go back to my computer example, I can argue for your right to smash it with a hammer and still not be able to understand why you would choose to. Or take a look at the comments on gadget destruction videos some time. Or I wonder if anyone has ever tried to stop a religious institution from burning books they paid for with their own m…

It was posted elsewhere that the gun, while legal to manufacture and possess, is illegal to transfer to another person in any way. Given that, destroying it is perfectly reasonable if he didn't feel like owning a homemade AK-47 forever.

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

#220

Post by mikeash »

Cushman wrote: post #212
mikeash wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Relevance? Of course it would have relevance, as any facts on the subject would. What misleading effect are you referring to?

I think someone who didn't know a lot about the facts could easily read TFA and come away with the idea that there exists some connection between our gun violence problem and some or all of rifles, military rifles, AK-47s, kit-build rifles, bump-fire stocks, build parties, or armslist.com. But we know no such connection exists. Do you really not find that misleading? The facts of this report should be a part of our c…

I went back to double-check the article to make sure I hadn't missed some important piece, because I didn't recall any such implication that any of this was related to gun violence. I still couldn't find anything that implied such. So no, I don't find it misleading.

I personally find the article to be very narrow and factual. It seems to go out of its way to refrain from implying much of anything, and just tells the story.

It's odd that gun advocates are coming out of the woodwork to criticize it despite that. One gets the impression that gun advocates find straight facts to be problematic.

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