On Thu, 02 Jun 2005 01:15:33 GMT, Doug Miller wrote:
In article , says...

Guns don't kill people. Bullets kill people.

That's nonsense. *People* kill people. The gun, or the bullet if you
prefer, is simply a tool, the implement by which the intent to kill is
made a reality.

Right. If guns (and bullets) are for killing, I must be using all of
mine wrong. Anyone have a cite on how many rounds of ammo are produced
in the US in a year, vs. the number of murders using a gun?

I propose a compromise gun control. Everyone can have as
many as they want. But each must be a) taller than the person
carrying it

Which obviously renders it useless.

Well, that's not the biggest problem - it comes down to the fact that
the criminals are already doing something illegal, and will just add a
possession crime to the other things they're doing wrong. Criminals, by
definition, _ignore laws_. That's why/because they're criminals, y'see.

and b) be limited to a single shot. If you can't
disable an assailant with one shot you probably shouldn't
have a firearm anyway.

Easy for you to say - but it's obvious you've never been in a situation
where you felt threatened enough to need to draw a gun. When the
adrenaline gets pumping, it's tough to aim carefully, especially when
there's very little time to do so.

Not to mention the above problem about criminals and laws.

Now will someone please explain why a private citizen
should be able to , and perhaps use, armor piercing
bullets?

Defense against
a) criminals wearing body armor
b) invading foreign troops
c) our own government, should it prove a greater threat to liberty than
the hypothetical foreign invaders in b) above
and also in target practice, to prepare for any of the above cases.

Well, OK, but that's not the only reason. Another reason is that you
can define "armor piercing" as pretty much any rifle bullet, and many
handgun bullets. Then, you just have to outlaw "expanding, flesh
ripping bullets", and you've got everything banned.

If a criminal wants to commit a crime, they won't be dissuaded from
doing so by the fact that they're using a bullet that is or isn't of any
particular variety. Last I checked, not a lot of them are into the
intricacies of ballistics.