"JerryD(upstateNY)" <
jer...@rochester.rr.com> wrote in message
news:kdjuuf$ss6$1...@jerryd.eternal-september.org...
You obviously don't understand logical fallacies. I'm not going to
waste time trying to explain it to you other than saying that by your logic
ALL drugs should be legal because more people are killed by alcohol and
cigarettes than all other drugs combined
You have your facts confused. No surprise there.
http://nation.foxnews.com/gun-rights/2013/01/03/fbi-more-people-killed-hammers-clubs-each-year-rifles
According to the FBI annual crime statistics, the number of murders
committed annually with hammers and clubs far outnumbers the number of
murders committed with a rifle.
This is an interesting fact, particularly amid the Democrats' feverish push
to ban many different rifles, ostensibly to keep us safe of course.
However, it appears the zeal of Sens. like Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Joe
Manchin (D-WV) is misdirected. For in looking at the FBI numbers from 2005
to 2011, the number of murders by hammers and clubs consistently exceeds the
number of murders committed with a rifle.
Think about it: In 2005, the number of murders committed with a rifle was
445, while the number of murders committed with hammers and clubs was 605.
In 2006, the number of murders committed with a rifle was 438, while the
number of murders committed with hammers and clubs was 618.
And so the list goes, with the actual numbers changing somewhat from year to
year, yet the fact that more people are killed with blunt objects each year
remains constant.
For example, in 2011, there was 323 murders committed with a rifle but 496
murders committed with hammers and clubs.
While the FBI makes is clear that some of the "murder by rifle" numbers
could be adjusted up slightly, when you take into account murders with
non-categorized types of guns, it does not change the fact that their annual
reports consistently show more lives are taken each year with these blunt
objects than are taken with Feinstein's dreaded rifle.
Another interesting fact: According to the FBI, nearly twice as many people
are killed by hands and fists each year than are killed by murderers who use
rifles.
Here's a new wrinkle in the national debate:
http://www.newser.com/article/da3a69e80/click-print-shoot-guns-made-on-3-d-printers-not-as-farfetched-as-it-sounds.html
By JASON DEAREN | Associated Press | Dec 21, 2012 7:31 AM CST
Downloading a gun's design plans to your computer, building it on a
three-dimensional printer and firing it minutes later. No background checks,
no questions asked.
Sound far-fetched? It's not. And that is disquieting for U.S. gun control
advocates.
At least one group, called Defense Distributed, is claiming to have created
downloadable weapon parts that can be built using the increasingly popular
new generation of printer that uses plastics and other materials to create
3-D objects with moving parts.
University of Texas law student Cody Wilson, the 24-year-old "Wiki Weapons"
project leader, says the group last month test fired a semiautomatic AR-15
rifle _ one of the weapon types used in last week's Connecticut school
massacre _ which was built with some key parts created on a 3-D printer. The
gun was fired six times before it broke.
Though no independent observer was there to verify the test, a short video
clip showing the gun firing and breaking was posted to YouTube.
Federal firearms regulators said they are aware of the technology's
gun-making potential but do not believe an entire weapon has yet been made.
Rep. Steven Israel said the prospect of such guns becoming reality is reason
enough for the renewal of the Undetectable Firearms Act, which makes illegal
the building of guns that can't be detected by X-ray or metallic scanners.
That law expires at the end of 2013.
"What's chilling is that last month a group of kids used a 3-D printer to
actually manufacture (key parts) of the AR-15 and fire six bullets," the
Democrat said. "When the (act) was last renewed in 2003, a gun made by a 3-D
printer was like a Star Trek episode, but now we know it's real."
Even with gun control pushed to the top of the national political
conversation, Wilson is steadfast about reaching his goal of making a fully
downloadable gun. This weekend, he and his partners plan to print four new
lower receivers _ the part of the gun that includes the trigger, magazine
and grip. He keeps three of these AR-15 parts in his tidy student apartment
in Austin, Texas.
While saddened by the Connecticut school killing, Wilson said Thursday that
protecting the constitutional right to bear arms by giving everyone access
to guns is more important in the long term than a single horrible crime.
"Clearly what happened in Connecticut was a tragedy," he told The Associated
Press. "Still, by affording the Second Amendment protection, we understand
events like these will happen."
He said he discussed with his partners whether they should suspend their
effort, and they all decided it was too important to stop.
Wilson acknowledged there still are many technical hurdles to creating a
complete gun from a 3-D printer and provided no estimate on when his goal
might be reached.
Special Agent Helen Dunkel of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives, which helps enforce gun laws, said the agency is
familiar with Wilson's project. She didn't offer an opinion but noted there
is nothing illegal about making many types of guns at home. Exceptions would
be high-powered weapons like machine guns and those not detectable by
airport scanners.
3-D printing technology was developed for the automobile, aerospace and
other industries to create product prototypes from the same hard plastics
used in toys like Legos. Hobbyists mainly use the printers to design
Christmas ornaments, toys and gadget accessories.
Prices on the machines have fallen as the consumer market grows, leading to
a surge in interest from people in the so-called "maker" scene. Low-end 3-D
printers can now be purchased online from between $1,500 and $4,000. The
more high-end printers needed to make gun parts are still priced from
$10,000 and up.
Stratasys Ltd. of Minnesota makes 3-D printers. Shane Glenn, director of
investor relations, said gun-making was never something envisioned for the
machines.
"The gun issue is something that the 3-D printing industry will have to
address going forward," Glenn said.
Right now, most people interested in 3-D printing rent time on one. There
are a number of businesses and co-ops in major cities that allow access to
the machines for a nominal fee. At San Francisco's TechShop, which features
a 3-D printer for its members, "assembling firearms is strictly prohibited
and our staff is trained on that policy," company spokeswoman Carrie
Motamedi said.
Wilson acknowledged his idea has met resistance from those active in 3-D
printing.
"The early adopters of 3-D printing technology seem to be an educated, more
liberal group who were against firearms to begin with," he said. Wilson said
some are worried the gun project might spur regulations that will hurt or
curtail their projects.
Early schematics created by Wilson's group were posted on Thingiverse, a New
York-based website that serves as a hub for 3-D printing aficionados. After
the school shooting, Thingiverse took down Wilson's links.
The site's spokeswoman, Jenifer Howard, said its focus is "to empower the
creative process and make things for good." Howard said Thingiverse's terms
of service state that users cannot use the site to share content that
contributes to the creation of weapons.
Wilson said the group has already posted the links on its own website.
Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley technology forecaster who teaches at Stanford
University's engineering school, said Defense Distributed's work carries on
a long tradition of tech geeks using innovation to make a political point,
in this case on gun control and constitutional freedoms.
"If you want to get people's attention in Washington, you say something. If
you want to do it in Silicon Valley, you make something," Saffo said.
He said the technology exists now for a highly motivated group to make a
plastic gun on a 3-D printer that could avoid airport scanners. But the
equipment is still too expensive for most people.
"Nobody right now needs to worry about the bright teenager making a gun on a
printer in their bedroom," he said.
http://defensedistributed.com/
When 3D printers are outlawed only outlaws will have 3D printers. LOL
TB