Were you a gun owner during the 1994-2004 Assault Weapons Ban?

[coloradokevin]

As a variety of opinions begin to circulate on THR about how we're going to handle the upcoming political battle for/against more gun control, I'm realizing that there seems to be a contingent of shooters who are willing to make "reasonable" concessions, and others who are not willing to compromise at all.

I began wondering how these gun owners may have been influenced by past experiences, specifically the last assault weapons ban. Were you a gun owner/shooter back then? Have you become a gun owner since? Has that period of time influenced your opinion on the current situation.

Please respond to the attached poll... I'm curious to see how this turns out.

 

[CraigC]

Long before.

Hopefully everybody remembers that the last one was proven to have never prevented a single crime.

 

[dbro822]

+1 to CraigC's reply.

 

[Apachedriver]

'That's because the ban wasn't strict enough' <-- The answer I expect to hear this time.

 

[smalls]

I was too young, I was only 4 when the ban was enacted.

 

[Ehtereon11B]

I am also in the category of too young to be of shooting age during the AWB. However I have done enough research to know it did nothing to curb or reduce crime. Preaching to the choir I am aware. In the 10 year period from 1982 to 1992, "assault weapons" ie weapons with full auto. Were used in 1/10th of 1% of all violent crime in the United States. That rate remained constant between the years of 1994 to 2012. During and after the ban. Refreshing to say the least that politicians never learn from the past. Bought my first firearm in 2009, 5 years after the sunset of the ban.

 

[Skribs]

Hmmm...in 2004 I turned 16. Parents didn't get guns til after I did.

 

[Ignition Override]

Until '07 I had just a .22 rifle, but had not used it or any other gun for about eighteen-twenty years. My foolish assumption was that there was no longer any place to shoot besides ranges, which mostly permit only paper targets for rifles or handguns.

What a shame that almost all good milsurp deals are reported to have gradually vanished during that time.

 

[armedandsafe]

I closed my company to fight the ban. We didn't win but we got the sunset in place.

Pops

 

[ol' scratch]

I was growing up in Northern Michigan at the time. I wasn't old enough to purchase my own, but I did shoot my fathers and grandfathers firearms. I also did lots of hunting.

Oddly enough, some of the most prevalent hunting rifles were Norinco and Russian SKS rifles. They were being demonized in the press and by that big liberal heaven out west...CALIFORNIA. The passage of the AWB helped anger many people up north and elsewhere in the state. It helped further the crackpot conspiracy theories so prevalent in the 90's. It was also the rise of the so called Michigan Militia.

What worries me if they pass this again is that some nutjob is going to pull up in front of another building with a truckload of diesel and fertilizer.

 

[coloradokevin]

Like you, ol' scratch, I was living in the midwest (Ohio) and wasn't old enough to purchase in 1994. I was around 15-16 years old at the time, but had already been shooting for about ten years. I remember everyone talking about how the ban wouldn't go into effect, then I remember how surprised a lot of people were when it did become law. I think gun owners were caught on their heels in that case, and I don't want to see that happen to us again. A couple of years later when I was old enough to purchase without "parental supervision" the prices on any pre-ban items had already gone well through the roof (though I seem to recall they did that pretty quickly anyway).

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Well before. While it was in effect, it didn't really affect my interests.

 

[Dr_B]

I owned only long guns during the ban, but not an "assault rifle."

 

[OptimusPrime]

Oddly enough, I was in the military at that time and I never even noticed or heard or thought about it. Those were the weird years, serving a CinC that none of us respected between 92-00.

 

[Inebriated]

I was 3 in 1994, and 13 in 2004...

My parents weren't really into anything the AWB covered, and I couldn't buy a gun, so I wasn't even aware of the ban. I only started really getting into firearms as a real interest when I turned 18, and could buy them. That's when I learned of the ban, when seeing all this "post-ban" and "pre-ban" stuff.

 

[biohazurd]

Got my first gun in 2003 It was a standard no frills savage .22 bolt. Still gots it.

 

[sidheshooter]

Another +1 to Craig's response.

 

[Snowdog]

I also suspect we'll see a reincarnation of HR4296 in some oppressive form or another. I was under the impression that the current administration was waiting for the 2nd term to get things done in this department. What better initiator to get the ball rolling than a spate of high profile shootings?

Oh, and I think it would be foolish to think this was the last of it. Considering the level of coverage the Sandy Hook shooing garnished, I do believe others who have ill will towards society and a fascination with notoriety might seize the opportunity to step into the spotlight.

I do remember the '94 ban and my frustration with finding 15 round magazines for my G19. Magazines manufactured Glock were selling for $60 at around 2000. It was exasperating to say the least. I don't look forward to an encore.

 

[Isaac-1]

Don't forget the flip side of bans, the ban on high capacity handgun magazines

 

[postalnut25]

Didn't get my first gun until 2001, a G17. Remember having to pay extra for 17 round magazines. Thought it was stupid, but paid for them anyway.

 

[warnerwh]

Didn't assault rifles get defined as having these 3 features:

1. pistol grip
2. flash suppressor
3. bayonet lug

And that you could only have one of the three features for it not to be an assault rifle? In other words you could still buy an AR 15 but it could only have one of the 3 features listed above. It was really no more than a bad joke. It is surprising how many people actually knew
anything about the assault weapons ban laws. They just believed what the media told them.
Many people that don't know either way find it interesting if you explain to them the truth I have found.

Also magazine makers turned out millions of large cap mags before the law went into effect. They were everywhere. In effect the law meant little to nothing with regards to what weapons people had access to. The ten round limit is also a joke considering swapping mags is something that takes but a few seconds.

Either way violent crime has been going down and at the same times gun sales have been
climbing fast. I believe sales are nearly double per year this year compared to 2002. That's according to the FBI or so claimed an article I just read.

The sad part to me is how callous people like Feinstein are when it comes to their pet projects. At least imo these discussions regarding gun control, school security or mental health should have been put off for a week so the poor families who have suffered so severely wouldn't have to deal with this stuff on the tv. Feinstein's goals, gun control. are shown to be more important than actually trying to do something constructive like figuring out a way to deal with this problem. Or at least I haven't noticed her bring up any other possible way to end or at least decrease crimes like we have just seen.

It is very insensitive of the media also to capitalize on such a sad event in their effort to make money. The story was more important than the lives that were lost or so it appeared to me. Then they continue to sell it for all it is worth. In the meantime nothing "meaningful" has been accomplished.

 

[crazyjennyblack]

I started shooting just after the ban sunset. I wasn't exactly aware about what the ban really did, and when I bought my first AR-15 from a friend I was surprised to see that the bayonet lug was sawn off, and it had a muzzle brake instead of a flash hider. Seemed a perfectly useless idea, as the gun was just as deadly, and I was able to put a clamp-style bayonet lug on the barrel for a cheap $20...

 

[Deus Machina]

I was too young until just at the sunset. Got my first gun at 21, in 2006, after a little homework. The guy told me the 15-round magazine was "grandfathered in, so I would never have a legal issue with it."

I just nodded and tuned him out.

 

[bikerdoc]

Guys, I go back to the GCA of 68, The days you could buy a gun with no paperwork.
I hated the awb, All it did was drive up prices. It did not stop a single crime.
We must fight all present proposals, no compromise, no surrender.
All you young guys get active,get involved.

 

[Checkman]

I was twenty-six when it was signed. I already owned many different types of firearms to include one of the evil assault rifles. I'm fighting it this time. I was way to willing to concede a little - I was young and foolish. Not this time.