by Robert M. Traxler

To quote a friend of mine, “No one should be allowed to own an AK-47.” This begs the question, what is an AK-47?

Ask most folks and they will say it is a Russian machine gun. They would be correct, sort of; however, it is a sub-machine gun, meaning it fires a sub-caliber bullet (smaller than a heavy rifle bullet) The weapon as adopted by the Soviet Socialist Republics in 1947 was capable of full automatic fire.

No one can go to a gun store fill out the forms, wait for the background check to clear, and purchase a fully automatic AK-47. Folks can purchase an AK-47 variant, not capable of full automatic fire, as they can purchase any other semiautomatic hunting or target rifle, since semiautos were introduced in the late 1890s.

The truth is that the AK-47 has not been produced by the Russians and other mostly eastern European or African countries since 1974, when an updated model, the AK-74, was introduced. Manufacturers may call a weapon an AK-47 but most likely they are not.

A few things folks may wish to know that are spoken as fact but are just plain false:

1) “You cannot hunt with an AK-47.” Wrong. The 7.62 x 39 round has been used in a large number of rifles that are used every day for hunting and target shooting; they are no more lethal than many other types of ammunition.

2) “The AR-15 can’t be used for hunting.” Wrong. The 5.56/.223 Remington round has been used for hunting for decades. Believe it or not, the rifle does not harm anything, it is the projectile it fires; the AK and AR platforms are in many caliber, not just 5.56×45 or the 7.62×39 calibers.

3) “An AR-15 round that hits a person in the finger will tumble up your arm and rip your arm off, or when it hits a person it will cut them in half.” Wrong. All bullets will “tumble” when hitting an object as the rear of the bullet weighs more than the tip, and as the tip slows the rear will attempt to catch up and tumble. The laws of physics do fully apply to 7.62 and 5.56 rounds, and if either impact with a finger they will punch a hole in the finger and go through before the bullet can tumble once; they will not tumble up your arm. Take a second and think about it and you will realize just how impossible the physics are for it to rip your arm off or cut a person in half.

I fully realize this untruth is the holy grail of the anti-gun folks, but it is impossible; the laws of physics are absolute.

The truth is a pesky thing as it gets in the way of feelings. I will be called heartless and to quote a well-meaning open-minded liberal “I would tell you to take your misinterpreted 2nd amendment and (bleep) it up your (bleep).” Got to love the articulate and tolerant left.

Let’s ask a logical question. If you wish to ban assault weapons, please define what an assault weapon is. Again, asking will draw vile criticism, heartless (bleep) that I am, it is a good question. What makes a weapon an assault weapon? Fully automatic, semi-automatic, bolt action, polymer stock, wood stock, pistol grip, black/green/tan/pink or camouflage color, multi-shot magazine, large clip, bayonet stud, placement of the magazine well, gas or blow back/recoil operating system, a flash suppressor, a silencer, all the above? The 7.62×39 chamber and 5.56×45 chamber are in literally hundreds of rifles and pistols with thousands of variants that may or may not be called “assault rifles.” Do we ban military optics/sights? Military slings or magazine loaders? Military songs, books, poems, clothing, hats (covers to my Marine friends), movies, time, boots? It would be nice if the people advocating new gun laws understood the products they are trying to legislate about.

So, go ahead and say, “I would tell you to take your misinterpreted 2nd amendment and (bleep) it up your (bleep).” But before we start banning things lets know what we are banning and why, and let’s follow the Constitution. Banning “assault rifles,” AK-47s, AR15s or ‘military type weapons” sounds nice, but it is so general a term it means nothing and displays an ignorance (lack of knowledge) of the subject. It is like banning “offensive speech” or “hateful protests,” jailing people for being “mean spirited” or saying no one has any individual rights when they may impact others.

Pointing that out will start a (blank) storm from the left, well so be it. Banning broad categories of weapons is blame shifting from criminals to lawful gun owners.