Guns are mechanical devices, more common in America than cars. [Cars = 249 million https://hedgescompany.com/automotive-market-research-statistics/auto-mailing-lists-and-marketing Guns = 357 million https://www.bustle.com/p/how-many-guns-are-there-in-america-the-statistics-are-staggering-2746615 ]
The good news? As with all mechanical things, guns can be manufactured – or modified – to change their characteristics.
Now, let’s leave discussions about the hypocrisy of blaming mental health and law enforcement system flaws for mass shootings for later. Today let’s concentrate on a few simple, doable changes to weapons to make them less capable of mass murder.
Start with ammunition capacity. The west was won (per John Wayne and Clint Eastwood) with well-engineered six-guns, so named because they held six rounds of ammo. The U.S. Army got through two World Wars, Korea and Vietnam with the Colt 1911 automatic pistol which held seven rounds. The M1 Grand rifle (highly praised by General George Patton [ http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/12/16/pattons-garand-quotes-legitimate-approval-hype/ ])held nine rounds.
So, if you can win wars and conquer half a continent with weapons holding fewer than ten rounds, why do you need 30 or 50 or more rounds in civilian weapons?
Back during Bill Clinton’s administration high capacity magazines were banned. Note that the world didn’t come to an end. Restoring the ban on magazines with more than 10 rounds of ammo for civilians would reduce the ability of mass murderers to shoot as many people as quickly.
Let’s go a step further: after two years all current high capacity semi-automatic pistol and rifle magazines must be destroyed or traded-in for new, lower capacity magazines. Yes, the National Rifle Association will grumble and in bunkers in Idaho they’ll probably bury big buckets of outlawed magazines. All gun manufacturers and retailers will follow the law and so will most American (even NRA members tolerated the Clinton-era restrictions).
Next, let’s get rid of the quick-reload feature on civilian firearms.
I own a classic Ruger .22 target pistol. To change the ammo clip you must push-back on a lock at the bottom of the grip, then, usually with the other hand, pull the empty clip out of the gun. Most semi-auto pistols and virtually all rifles firing military 9 mm, .223 or .308 caliber ammo have quick-release systems where, with a touch of thumb pressure on a button by the trigger, the empty clip falls free of the gun and the shooter can slam a new, full clip into place in about a second.
Fast reloads don’t make a gun any more accurate. They do make them capable of killing people faster.
The government can ban the manufacture and sale of pistols with one-button/one-hand reloading. Requiring a mechanism which takes two hands – and a few seconds – to reload slows down mass murderers.
For semi-autmoatic rifles, require new ones to require a two-hand, slower reload routine. Since military-look rifles in military calibers are so common in mass shootings, let’s go a step further: after this year no one may sell or transfer a military caliber weapon unless it has been modified to require a two-hand magazine change. Yes, that will take a bit of gunsmithing and cost, I’m guessing $50 to $100 a weapon. Yet, many of these rifles cost $1,000 or more. I doubt if the extra expense will scare off true collectors.
Speaking of transfers, yes, I think every gun changing hands ought to go through the federal background check – including inheritance, such as the .22 target revolver I inherited from my dad.
These changes won’t prevent horrible days. They can reduce the damage done in that time between the start of an attack and the law enforcement response. We can’t save everyone but we can reduce the body count.
Oh yes, if we do nothing?
Below is one of the 12 best new guns of 2018, per the Washington Times. [ https://www.washingtontimes.com/multimedia/collection/best-new-handguns-2018/?page=4 ] It fires the 30 caliber carbine round developed for World War II, and, as noted will accept military style magazines – which hold up to 30 rounds. The ‘thread protector’ mentioned is to prevent damage where a silencer can be screwed onto the pistol.
Let’s hope we don’t see this gun in the news after the next horrible day.
Submitted by Glenn Koenen, WCD Member
Inland Manufacturing M30-IMP (Inland Motor Patrol) pistol is a compact version of its popular full-size .30 Carbine firearms. A 7 1/2″ barrel threaded (1/2×28 tpi) with a thread protector. Each gun comes with one 10-round magazine but the magazine catch fits higher-capacity military and civilian magazines.