Gun Control - circa 1782

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qlajlu

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Thanks to our very own LawDog I was led to the Blog Spot What Would John Wayne Do? Ahab, the owner of this blog, posted the following yesterday and I gained his permission to post it here. It amazed me at the way legal firearms ownership and use has been the target of harsh control BEGINNING with Colonial times. It also demonstrates the reason it must FOUGHT every step of the way and never be allowed to come to fruition.

Source: http://churchoftheduke.blogspot.com/2007/03/gun-control-circa-1782.html

"So, I was going through some of my great-great grandfather's things, and I found this press release that was disseminated to all "Citizens of the Crown in the Colonies" back in the 1700's. Needless to say, I was quite surprised to find the Violence Policy Center (back then it was the "Victory Policy Centre) involved. Enjoy!


Fifty calibre long rifles are an ideal tool for insurrectionists. They are a real and present danger to our forces in the colonies, yet are easily found even in the possession of farmers and other peasants. Fifty calibre long rifles are specifically designed to engage small targets with precise accuracy at ranges unheard of on the battlefield. These precision weapons combine long range and tremendous accuracy to create a weapon that has a range beyond anything that our infantrymen carry. Officers, messengers, cannon crews, even our daring cavalry are vulnerable to accurate fire from these deadly rifles at ranges exceeding 200 yards! The entire infrastructure of the colonies is threatened by these weapons, as they give the insurrectionist the ability to strike individual targets at distances normally reserved for cannon fire. A Citizen of the Crown would be shocked to learn that these "rifles" are so common amongst the colonials, that even small children are well versed in their use. These rifles are specifically designed for great accuracy against fast moving targets at extreme ranges beyond the reach of musket fire. They are “purpose-designed” and “purpose-built” weapons. This terminology is used in colonial literature to describe weapons that are made for a specific, narrow purpose, in this case for long range shooting—highly accurate firing at a target from a significant distance. Musket fire and civilized warfare is conducted at ranges of 50 yards, even our boys fine Brown Bess Musket does not fire accurately beyond that range. 50 yards is less than the distance across Trafalgar Square. These .50 calibre long rifles are accurate at ranges of up to 100 yards, and in the hands of an expert marksman, even 300! At 300 yards, a Colonial marksman could easily pick off our officers, leading to a wholly uncivilized engagement of infantry just "having it out" on the battlefield. 50 calibre rounds are one of the smaller and lighter bullets available, which allows the Colonial marksmen to carry more rounds and powder than one of our boys for the same amount of weight. The potential for these rifles to be abused by the insurrectionists in a manner inconsistent with civilized warfare is difficult to overstate. It is a known fact that the criminal known as The Swamp Fox has hundreds of these "long rifles" in his possession, and his men are well trained in their use. As recently noted at the Battle of Mingo Creek, our brave forces were barraged from all sides by fire from these deadly weapons, and their foe did not even have the courage to face them on an open field. England is in the midst of a Colonial Insurrection. The Colonial forces are arming themselves to the very teeth with these incredibly destructive weapons of war. It is time to regulate 50 calibre long rifles by bringing them under the control of the Crown, so that our soldiers can confiscate them from these Colonial criminals masquerading as soldiers. By so doing, we will be able to bring a rapid end to this bloody insurrection that has divided the North American Colonies from their Sovereign.

"So, needless to say, I was really surprised to read that, especially in the light of the modern incarnation of the VPC trying to ban 50 caliber rifles today. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same."

Thank you, Ahab, for your permission to post this "entertaining" information. Long live the sniper rifle! - qlajlu
 
I love that this is written in the typical alarmist fashion.

First they are accurate to 200 yards, then 100 yards, and then 300 yards. The author couldn't keep that number straight? Then they complain about the equivalant of today's hicapacity magazines, being able to carry more ball and powder. And finally they explain that even a child could use it.

This is great. I mean it really helps to see that in over 200 years the gun grabbers haven't changed their arguements.

Thanks for posting this.
 
I smell Dan Rather style revisionism.

I haven't read a ton of genuine colonial text, but enough to know that this doesn't read like something actually written in 1782.
 
:D So that answers the question to what George Washington would do. Its sad, Americans are so lazy most sit and let people take their freedoms away. There is no fight left inside of anyone.:(
 
Aw hell...would somebody kindly take this hook outa my mouth?

Biker
 
Okay, I'm officially calling BS

infrastructure Look up infrastructure at Dictionary.com
1927, from Fr. (1875), from infra- (q.v.) + structure. The installations that form the basis for any operation or system. Originally in a military sense.


Main Entry:
in·fra·struc·ture Listen to the pronunciation of infrastructure
Pronunciation:
\ˈin-frə-ˌstrək-chər, -(ˌ)frä-\
Function:
noun
Date:
1927

1: the underlying foundation or basic framework (as of a system or organization)2: the permanent installations required for military purposes3: the system of public works of a country, state, or region; also : the resources (as personnel, buildings, or equipment) required for an activity
— in·fra·struc·tur·al Listen to the pronunciation of infrastructural Listen to the pronunciation of infrastructural \-ˌstrək-chə-rəl, -ˌstrək-shrəl\ adjective


The entire infrastructure of the colonies
 
Hello all.

I'm Ahab, the owner/operator of the blog this was original posted on, What Would John Wayne Do?

Just to clear up any confusion, this was written to be a purely satirical piece; the inspiration was an actual VPC press release on .50 cal rifles. The goal was two-fold, first off to provide some laughs for not only myself; but also readers of my blog. Secondly, I wanted to hopefully expound on the ludicrous nature of a lot of the gun-grabber's efforts to ban firearms, by taking what is one of the most innocuous firearms (a .50 cal muzzleloader) and writing a hysterical piece about how dangerous they are.

I do sincerely apologize if anyone was mislead by the piece, my intention was purely to be satirical of the anti-gunners.
 
Snicker...snicker. :D Watch some fool anti pick that up an evidence that firearms were never intended for American possession...blah, blah, blah. :evil:
 
Exquisite!

Yes, it was clearly "modern construction" by the time I got to the end, and a number of others beat me to it.

"Infrastructure" and "purpose-built" gave it away.

Well written, though, and a plausible scenario, except that the Crown went to come lengths to completely disarm the colonies as things heated up, if memory serves, without regard to calibre.

It's also consistent with the Crown's objection to our refusal to engage in "civilized warfare" in accordance with generations of tradition.

Thanks for the chuckle.
 
geez Ahab, I left you a post on your site asking you to take a jpg or pdf.

Mongo was bamboozled. Too late in the day. Guns put away, suds out.

Ah well. First bamboozle this decade, I think.... :eek:
 
Well that explains why it was such an easy read and why it paralleled the modern arguements.

Now that I've reread it...I think the author has watch the patriot one too many times.

Second line is a giveaway IMHO;
They are a real and present danger to our forces in the colonies, yet are easily found even in the possession of farmers and other peasants.

It would have read; a real present danger to His Majesty's forces...
 
Actually, one of the lines was cribbed directly from the Patriot (which had been on a few nights ago).

The line about armies just "having it out" on the battlefield is one of Cornwallis' better lines in response to Mel's character shooting officers at the beginning of engagements.
 
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