Posted by
VAgunner, in response to "Do all that, and if you use any other gun for self defense you'll go to jail. There's a thread about that around here somewhere".
I hope that you are joking.
I'm sure he is not, but he does overstate the likely outcome--slightly. You
may go to jail.
If you are referring to the recent discussion here the BHP which became and issue was only an issue because the owner accidentally shot someone with their 1911 and the BHP happened to be on the scene and the shooter allowed the Police to search his car and they found it in the glove box.
"Only an issue"? Here's the scoop: the shooter contended that it was an accident, but he was
charged with
criminal negligence--manslaughter.
It was a
big issue, because the firearm had been modified.
And it had been modified by a previous owner.
You are completely misrepresenting the case, the discussion and consequences of removal of the mag disconnect.
He has not misrepresented anything.
...the overwhelming odds are that it will never be an issue for any of us.
The overwhelming odds are that we will never shoot anyone, but one cannot make such a statement about the problems that can occur should we do so, and if that should happen, we would be a
lot better off without having given prosecutors or a civil plaintiff, or both, something to use against us.
In the end do what you feel is best but do not give advice or use inaccurate scare tactics to persuade people over to your side.
There's nothing inaccurate about it.
...in the one case that Ayoob could site from his longtime as a witness and firearms expert the shooter was not convicted
Nor was he acquitted. The case was settled via a plea bargain, and the defendant received probation and a withhold of adjudication. He had been at risk of conviction and imprisonment.
A few years ago, I was looking for a semi-automatic pistol for concealed carry, and I concluded that the BHP could be so carried.
I chose something else, for two reasons:
- I could not disengage the stock safety quickly on the draw, and I would have had to find someone to modify it, and
- the trigger pull was nowhere near smooth enough for my liking.
I knew that removing the magazine disconnect would help address the latter, at least to some event, but there was
no way that I would even
consider going that route. For one thing, I was well aware of the legal risks, and particularly of those involving civil liability, where a plaintiff's burden of proof is significantly reduced. I take those risks very seriously. Secondly, I did not want to have someone pick up a BHP, thinking it had a magazine disconnect, and find out the hard way that it did not.
...
