Fresh off the razor thin victory (50.45% to 49.55%) of Question 1 – universal background checks for firearms in Nevada, the anti-gun forces are ready to start the new year with their next gun control push, banning so-called ‘high-capacity’ magazines.
It’s worth noting Question 1 was sponsored by the national anti-gun / anti-rights groups at the cost of over $20 million. It was passed by one county and one county only, Clark County; the home of Las Vegas. Like so many areas around the country, a densely populated urban area has claimed the moral high ground for senseless laws.
What exactly is a ‘high-capacity’ or ‘large capacity’ magazine? According to the anti-gun elite, it’s any magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds. Why 10? There really doesn’t seem to be any logical rational behind it. They point to the revolvers that typically held six rounds and say semi-automatic firearms are just a new deadly phenomenon.
Of the states that currently have bans on ‘high-capacity’ magazines, most have the limit set at 10, a couple at 15. New York, in a late night knee-jerk reactionary legislative session, set theirs to seven. You can still purchase and possess a 10 round magazine in New York, but you can only put seven rounds in it – unless you are at a shooting range.
What the fringe call ‘high-capacity’ magazines, the rest of the world knows as standard capacity. Standard magazine capacity has increased over the years as technology has improved. An original standard capacity Colt 1911 magazine holds seven .45 ACP rounds. Today a standard capacity Glock 17 magazine holds 17 9 mm rounds. Standard capacity for rifles and shotguns ranges from as little as three to 30, or more. Standard capacity depends on the size of the ammunition and the firearm it is made for. Just as technology has advanced cars, telephones, printing and every other aspect of our lives, firearm technology has advanced too. Capacity increased a whopping six times from the single shot muzzleloader to a six shot revolver. Today, semi automatic, magazine fed firearms are by far the most popular firearm for sport and self-defense.
Back in Nevada, the anti-gun elitists, emboldened by their victory in November are queuing up their next Second Amendment rights infringement. Clark County, Nevada’s Sheriff Joe Lombardo is now leading the fight to ban ‘high-capacity’ magazines in the state. Commenting: “I’m a very avid hunter, I was in the military myself, and there’s no need to have a high-capacity magazine for any practical reason,” He also came up with a new gun control fallacy: “It’s also not uncommon for guns to jam during magazine change-outs.”
It is very unfortunate that a veteran law enforcement officer and former US Army Lieutenant would take a stand like this. Instead of working to protect the rights and security of the residents of his state, he is working to make life safer for criminals. But as we are seeing more often these days, many chief law enforcement officials are politicians first, law enforcement officers last.
The photo that accompanies this article is from a Fremont CA home invasion burglary on August 28, 2016. It shows five armed men coming into the house, one carrying a handgun with a magazine extending below the pistol grip. Fortunately, the residents were not home at the time. Even if the resident was armed with a California 10 round magazine, he would most certainly have been killed in this encounter. In this burglary the homeowner was able to call the police while watching the burglary on the home cameras. Unfortunately they left before the police arrived and were not caught.
Burglaries and robberies with multiple armed attackers are far more common than ever. Yet the anti-gunners say you have no need to have a ‘high-capacity’ magazine. Apparently you have no need to stay alive either.
So exactly how will a ban on law-abiding firearms owners having standard capacity magazines make everyone safer? It won’t. Shockingly, criminals get the tools of their trade by criminal means. If it’s not available here, it’s available from somewhere else in the world. Everything from drugs, watches, handbags, cars and people are smuggled into this country every single day. Yes, guns are smuggled into this country too.
Limiting the ability of law-abiding citizens to effectively defend themselves under the guise of making everyone safer implies everyone who buys a firearm with a standard capacity magazine is the next mass shooter in waiting. The vast, Vast VAST majority of the 350 plus million personally owned firearms in this country are owned and utilized lawfully. They prevent crime and defend their owners an estimated one to two million times per year in the United States, with defensive uses of firearms outweighing felonious uses by 30-80 to one.
Nevada has only to look at what has happened in California to see their future. A ban on ‘high-capacity’ magazines with a grandfathered clause for currently owned ones will only be the first step. Then, a little time in the future, a new law will outlaw those grandfathered magazines as well. It will be just one in a long series of ‘common sense’ gun control measures which will do nothing to stop or prevent any crime, just systematically eliminate firearms from the law-abiding community.
Despite the ongoing optimism of the few remaining patriots in the state, California may be a lost cause. But Nevada doesn’t have to be. It’s still early in the game and if the Second Amendment supporters there get their act together now, they may be able to save their rights from being flushed down the toilet.
Bob
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