E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSPolice in California say a man swinging a "Samurai"-type sword while naked on the streets on San Jose is in custody. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A naked man holding a "Samurai"-type sword was arrested after a bizarre New Year's Day standoff with police.
Authorities were called to Ezie Street and Cas Drive in San Jose after several people called 911 to report a man standing in front of a home with an assault rifle just after 8 a.m. local time (11 a.m. ET).
As police rushed to the scene, witnesses said the man got in a car and drove to Southwest Expressway and Bascom Avenue. That's where police pulled him over.
Read more news on NBCBayArea.com
Police said the suspect immediately got out of his car and started yelling, "You're going to have to kill me."
He was naked and holding a large "Samurai"-type sword, according to police.
One witness told NBC Bay Area that the man was pacing back and forth waving the sword at times.
San Jose Police Department "Crisis Intervention Team" members were called to the scene and a standoff began.
Coco Bennett, 29, was taken into custody without incident just before 11 a.m. local time (2 p.m. ET).
Police said he would be evaluated by doctors.
An AR-15-type assault rifle was recovered, according to police.
Leave a Comment:
This kind of thing has been happening for centuries, I don't see anything new here. Our society would have never created anyone like this would it?
The problem is that funding has been cut for psychiatric hospitals nationwide year after year. We are now beginning to see the consequences. Reversing this trend is one of the few things for which I wouldn't mind seeing my taxes go up a tiny bit for.
No Room at the Inn:
Those pesky AR-15 assault-style rifles have been around for centuries? Who knew?
Got to wonder if this guy was frying on acid or Ecstasy? Maybe took to much from the night before and was still peaking. Either way it good to see the cops didn't shoot first and ignore questions later.
Public nudity is bad. So is standing off against cops with weapons. But you know what else is bad? Drugs...
I can't believe we finally have a weird story not from Florida. Well, it was California but still... Not Florida! Surprise!
I'm just glad his 2nd amendment rights weren't violated and he was still able to obtain his necessary AR-15 to protect himself.
[I'm just glad his 2nd amendment rights weren't violated and he was still able to obtain his necessary AR-15 to protect himself.]
Actually, AR-15's are illegal in California. So are high capacity magazines.
Funny. This guy didn't really seem to care.
Judo, karate and other martial arts have been around for centuries because repressive governments wouldn't permit common people to possess swords. Who knew?
GM Bill and Happy New Year.
Seems weapons of any kind can be employed to do the deed - even Ninjas (Teenage Mutant or otherwise) can accomplish it! LOL
there fixed it for ya.
GM and Happy New Year!, bill, jack, Scooter...
Why is it that all these sword swinging guys are always naked? Must be something with lopping off a body part.
Stand "BACK" or I'll lop off my prick!! I swear,..............................I'll do it!! Heh heh...
Mornin CD, Jack, Scooter, Bill, happy new year to you all.
More proof that nutters will be nutters. Had to laugh about the naked and holding a sword. Wonder if the sword was a real one. I need a real sam sword for my collection.
Don't stand too close to a naked man.
He must not have gotten his fundoshi in a knot. (For those who don't google, it's a Japanese underwear joke.)
He watched a rerun of "The Last Samurai"
Now that "Django Unchained" is out, all hell will break loose!
Spike Lee is an idiot.
Things that kill you like alcohol, cigarettes and guns are legal, and a totally natural thing like public nudity isn't. Go figure.
Ban swords!!
: )
He got the idea from hollywood. "Django"
Ban Hollywood!!
@tramp Men shouldn't play with swords when they're naked. I'am just telling you. HAPPY NEWYEARS
HAPPY NEWYEARS EVERYONE.
the pen is mighter than the sword...said the writer before they cut his head off...
I wondered that, too. It's always a naked guy, and it's always a samurai sword.
"Tobacco doesn't kill people, smoking it does." "If you criminalize tobacco, only criminals will smoke." "The country would be a safer place if everyone had a lit cigarette."
Huh. That approach doesn't seem to work for smoking, either. But I digress.
My main question: how big was his sword? Are we talking felony or misdemeanor?
This is why people shouldn't own swords. You own a sword next thing you know you're butt naked in public trying to pick a fight. Nobody wants to deal with that, it's fun to watch but still some poor cop has to tackle a naked guy, hand cuff him and put him in his squad car. It inevitably winds up on youtube and then the jokes fly. And how come you never see a naked woman with a sword? Swords are just plain bad business.
Hi DB, CD, Scooter, Jack, Tracy....
Glad to see everyone here today.
This guy is so lucky he got out of the vehicle with the sword instead of the rifle.
He's also lucky he got both a misdemeanor and a misdeweiner with that sword.
gm mimi
"I don't care who ya are, that's funny raht there." ---Larry the Cable Guy
screminmimi--ROFL!!!!!!! I choked on my fair trade tea!!!!
So who here thinks that people like that should be allowed to breed?
...off with his balls...
The guy was probably just going to cercumsize himself. I need a picture. I bet he didn't need a sword.
@ Lisa C -
Glad to give you a laugh. My favorite Vine moments are when I've had to clean iced tea off the monitor screen.
If you ever figure out why these guys feel the need to get naked when they have their sword in their hands, please let me know.... er.... never mind.... I think it's a free association messed up wishful thinking thingy on their part....
you can have all the money dedicated to psychiatric care but if the person does not go in for treatment then what....
you have to identify the nuts befroe you can treat them...just sayin...
So what kind of gun did he have?
They called it an assault rifle.
if he really wanted the police to kill him why didn't he take the gun out instead of the sword?
He must have been White ... They usually just shoot, instead of trying to use "less than lethal methods".
Seraphim Jackal
[I'm just glad his 2nd amendment rights weren't violated and he was still able to obtain his necessary AR-15 to protect himself.]
Actually, AR-15's are illegal in California. So are high capacity magazines.
Funny. This guy didn't really seem to care.
----------------------------------------------
ar-15s are legal in cali with the correct compliance mods...
immaterial though as he didn't use one in the commission of a crime
310 million guns are out there... maybe 10 million assault rifles... Chicago had about 400 firearm murders last year and zero were from assault rifles.... an assault weapons ban is stupid...
however, finding nuts like these and keeping them from hurting people instead of ignoring them makes a lot more sense
Personally, I have absolutely no problem with the police keeping him in a standoff for as long as they wanted to.
This time of the year, San Jose is in the mid-30's at night and usually no more than 60 for a daytime high. As this happened between eight and eleven in the morning, I suspect that throughout this entire affair, the outside temperature was in the 40-50 degree range.
Keep him strutting around naked out there as long as he wants. He's going to get cold sooner or later. If someone wanted to be really ornery about it, it could quietly be, um, 'arranged' for a 'passerby' to toss a water balloon or several at him. It would seem less heavy handed than turning a fire hose on him, but the result would be the same either way. A naked, dripping wet man standing outdoors in 40 degree weather doesn't pose much of a problem to anyone for very long!
Hey russ,
•This year, more than 300,000 Americans will die from illnesses related to overweight and obesity.
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/news/testimony/obesity07162003.html
what is your solution, make a law against eating food?
The other day I read that you are 7,000 times more likely to get killed by your doctor than by a person with a gun! I'll bet you're even less likely to get killed by someone with a sword.
Why does everyone keep saying it was an A R-15. It was not.
It was AR 15 "LIKE".
MC, Thats because most of those anti gun folks dont know what the hell they are even talking about let alone support some ban!
Howdy ROC.
Better ban naked men.
Could have saved some money and just put a bullet in to his head.
And then they'd have all the whiners going, "He pulled over! He didn't deserve to die for holding a sword!"
If he was driving a car then we should BAN CARS.
At least he will be taken care of for at least a week before he is cured and released.
Good luck America. ; )
Rockyroad,
You want to compare guns to cars? Fine. Let's treat all guns just as we do cars: mandatory test before being allowed to use one, yearly registration (including fees), you'll have to get your gunner's license renewed every few years, and if you're carrying and acting in any way suspicious, a cop may give you a gun-side sobriety test.
Also, you must have your gun registration and insurance (that's right, you'll need liability insurance) with you at all times.
Hambone,,,,,,,,,, Better yet let's stop charging registration fees.
How many times do they need to tax you on the same purchase?
I've had my truck 12 years. I've been taxed on it 12 times.
Why is that fair?
Hambone: I like your style. But you're expecting people to treat a handheld deadly weapon like a deadly weapon on wheels? Perish the thought! That makes SENSE!
hambone johnson;
You want to compare guns to cars? Fine. Let's treat all guns just as we do cars: mandatory test before being allowed to use one, yearly registration (including fees), you'll have to get your gunner's license renewed every few years, and if you're carrying and acting in any way suspicious, a cop may give you a gun-side sobriety test.
Funny, you think you have to pass a test to buy or drive a car? ANYBODY can go buy, drive, and commit crimes or kill with a car, and no law on the books requires they be checked out before they do so. In fact, they can even be a convicted FELON and still go buy a car. They can even be convicted of killing with a car, and still go out and buy one legally without any types of checks at all! No government agency is going to come confiscate the car because they are under suspicion of or charged with a felony. Be charged with ANY felony, and many misdemeanors and see how long you keep possession of your legally owned firearm.
Yet, you think you proved some kind of point here, LOL! Criminals don't obey the law, but you utopians still think a posted sign or words on a piece of paper have impact with people that don't obey laws.
peb,
So what you're saying is: if we cannot stop all criminals, why do anything at all about it?
I am not a utopian, and I fully defend the Second Amendment, but it's about time some of us responsible gun owners put out some ideas instead of just slamming everybody else.
Do you have any ideas besides blaming our culture of violence or video games? Please, we'd love to hear 'em!
No, I'm saying enforce our existing laws on criminals and quit giving them a slap on the hands and returning them to our society to do it all over again. Not one of your suggestions does a single thing to address criminals obtaining or using firearms, it only further hinders and restricts LAW ABIDING citizens. You can pass all the laws you want, but in the end criminals and/or mentally ill are not going to follow them. You want change? Put your money where your mouth is, lock the revolving door of the criminal justice system.
I really can't imaging a better example of, "Guns aren't the problem. Crazy people are the problem."
Who stands a better chance of survival: members of a crowd being attacked by one man with a sword, or members of a crowd being attacked by a man on a roof with a military-style assault rifle that fires a gazillion shots a minute? If you see no difference, then yes, I agree with you: crazy people ARE the problem.
@Nikolaus20,
Yes. There's more than one kind of crazy at work here.
[a man on a roof with a military-style assault rifle that fires a gazillion shots a minute?]
You mean the kind that's illegal in California and has been for years (that somehow miraculously ended up in this guy's hands anyway)?
And are you talking about 'machine guns' or AR-15's? There's a big difference between the two, you know.
Neither happened. dramatise much? and a gazillion? obviously you don't have a clue as to what your talking about. Lets us know when you get a clue, in the meantime best go catch the school-bus Christmas break is over. ....gazillion....
Who stands a better chance of survival? Someone in a crowd of people being shot at by a crazy person, someone in a crowd of people that a crazy person is driving a car through, or someone in a crowd of people that a crazy person threw a home-made bomb into?
The common thread seems to be crazy people, not the tools they use.
Nicolaus20 #3.1,
Hum-m-m, don't know, but hey, lets do a test: Get a bunch of your buds and we'll all congregate in a room somewhere and then we'll see how many of you make out before you get Veg-a-Maticed with my katana. But hey, no fair bringin guns!
I'd prefer to avoid both situations. Maybe we should address the root cause: mental illness.
Well looks like the only way to deal with the root cause is to make it mandatory to be drug tested annually, plus you must pass an annual psychological exam administered by a panel of psychiatrists ,pass a criminal background test and take and pass a gun safety & Training course. In addition to the following you must be over age 25, not on lithium, prosac, or any other mental drugs in addition to illegal drugs. Then you get licensed not permitted. Charge a state licensing fee, throw in a recreational tax fee and a county tax fee, then ban assault riffles and magazines, and we should be good to go!!
There was no AR-15.
Read the story again.
You re-read.
MC Gusto,
Very last sentence in the article:
He's (MC Gusto) is right.
Scubasteve58001
MC Gusto,
Very last sentence in the article:
#3.11 - Wed Jan 2, 2013 1:02 PM EST
Because it is an ar-15 TYPE gun doesn't make it an ar-15, and those aren't assault rifles anyway. they're just 22's with a rail system.
Jeremy,
To quote one of my favorite TV shows, Futurama, "You are technically correct, the best kind of correct."
At the end of the day though, an AR-15-type weapon might as well be an AR-15. Especially to the lay person.
Scuba steve has a fancy way of saying he was wrong and M C Gusto was right.
He is also a lay person.
Right Big Daddy?
Ban assault weapons. It is a good thing he used the sword and not the gun.
"Assault weapons" already are banned in California, Scarecrow.
GM Takenada,
you do realise that the first "assault weapon" was a rock don't you?
GM Scooter
Seems Takenada has no problem with "Samurai"-type sword. However, the NBC story does not relate how:
GM Jack,
one of the cops probably dropped his.
GM Saraphim Jackel
and welcome aboard.
gm Tramp, jack
Good thing for him. However, I suspect a poll of potential victims would reveal that most people, given the choice, would rather be shot than hacked to death.
He was driving a car so we should give serious thought to banning cars as well. : )
Was he wearing a seatbelt?
Good morning & Happy New Year!
Thanks for the best laugh (so far) of the day!!! A great way to start the new year!!
The katana would actually be a quite effective method of causing mayhem in a crowded mall, quiet and efficient. If you know what you are doing with it, they literally lop heads off with a single swipe, it's no joke.
Check out some of the images from the Mao revolution and 'death by 10,000 cuts' on youtube and you will see images of people being beheaded with swords. One image has the executioner after his full follow through and the victims head still with an expression of fear on it, half falling off his neck, but obviously sliced clean off.
Now i can see the scaredy cat liberals pissing and moaning about swords/knives and 'control' now....how much do you want to bet?
Ban swords
This society must confiscate everything from everyone because someone might kill someone else with whatever they can put their hands on.
No-one is allowed to posses anything, because it's too dangerous!
"
This society must confiscate everything from everyone because someone might kill someone else with whatever they can put their hands on.
No-one is allowed to posses anything, because it's too dangerous!
"
Touche! I like to call it the bubble society. It will only be a matter of time before the liberals' thought process reaches critical mass and things will finally change.
You also don't need to reload swords.
They are also silent so public response would be slower.
Using a sword at that level of efficient, effective skill is not something you pickup from reading a book online.
you have to be at least a "Polk-a-dot" level clown to pull a stunt like that. I appreciate the Shik point of view - they are not allowed to brandish their knives without allowing the knive to 'taste blood' before it is put away. Meaning - you seriously need to use it or the penalty is you cut yourself for the mistake.
No one who attains that kind of skill is likely to waste his life by some grand standing display or attacking anonymous targets at a shopping mall. That is the beauty of attaining skill in traditional martial arts - its not likely that a skilled fighter is going to waste all that talent, without a good reason.
Randy Travis is up to his antics again I see.
I think George Takei paid him to do it. "A naked Randy Travis? What an idea! Oh, MY..."
I guess living on Ezie Street isn't all it's cracked up to be.
As the NRA says about guns ... guns doen kill people, it people that pull the trigger. The same can be said about Living on "Ezie Street". The street isn't Eazy - its the idiots that don't live on it that make the stupid mistakes and bring problems!
On the other hand... the people who lived there weren't the problem - it was the idiot that drove over their who caused the problem.
Im glad to hear they were able to take him alive. So often the police shoot people like this. He sounds like he was having some kind of mental breakdown or perhaps has mental health problems. Regardless, he will get the treatment he needs, and no one was hurt.
A life saved, well done.
Well said Freedom.
Thank God Nobody was hurt this time. Kudos to police and everyone involved. Can anyone say MENTAL ILLNESS??? Can anyone one say "Affordable mental health services?" Why does a man have to strip, and pull out a Samurai Sword to get attention???
I think it is funny they said they arrested him without incident.
Police stand off
Crisis intervention.
Enough of a standoff for reporters to show up.
Suicide by cop - not successful. Oh, well.
I blame the parents, kids today are just too lazy and lack the ambition to follow through with their plans.
Crazy person got handled by the cops with no casualties. Good work to the police on this one.
Amen to that.
You guys want to ban "assault weapons" because of this?
I've got bad news for you geniuses. ASSAULT WEAPONS ARE ALREADY BANNED IN CALIFORNIA. They have been for a really long time. Gun regulation fail much, bro?
Let's just be glad nobody was seriously hurt by the crazy person with a deadly weapon.
Hey, at least he wasn't using an 'assault' Samurai sword, right?
I'd bet the NRA is happy he didn't use that, especially since it's not much more difficult to acquire than a sword.
Yeah, I'm happy he didn't use it, too.
Probably because I don't like it when innocent people get shot. (Regardless of whether or not the bullet came from an "Assault Rifle!!!").
But really, would it be any less tragic if this guy had taken his sword and attacked a bunch of defenseless people? It wouldn't take much to lock the door in a classroom, take a sword and kill thirty kids in the space of a minute or two.
I think we're all glad that didn't happen.
How about a little more sympathy and thankfulness that this turned out alright and a little less politics here, pal?
Oh and 'by the way', when you go to buy a sword?
Nooooobody in any state puts you through a 'background check'. You're completely wrong about that, too.
You could be a felon, a parolee, a wanted fugitive, a psychopath, a foreign terrorist or even a juvenile offender with a fake ID.
They won't spend minute one checknig you.
Hell, they won't even ask you if you're from this planet.
If you have your ID and the money, anybody anywhere will 'hand you' a sword or a knife. And hey, you can buy as many as you want, too. If you walk into the knife shop and say "The biggest, meanest one you've got! I'll take a thousand of them!", if you have the money, you've got a deal.
Nobody seems worried about that, though.
Al Kyda
dont you have some goats to "tend" to?
It's never too early in the morning for stupid, Scooter!
how true S.J.
note his posting name and his stand on the NRA. the lib left must be proud every time he "helps" out there agenda...er i mean..."cause".....
I'm thinking his name is almost perfect except the spelling,
Coco should be spelled Kookoo!
Glad no one was hurt by gun or sword as it could have gone bad very quickly with someone as Kookoo as this guy.
This is what the World has to deal with. Insane, crazy, hateful, despicable, dangerous, bigoted, racist, dumb, religious nut case type of a human being and there are millions of them. You can't blame it on any type of weapon but the person themselves that are responsible for their own actions. You can't keep weapons from them just like you can't keep drugs or anything else just because they can. Before guns people were murdered by swords, knifes, spears, clubs, rocks or anything they could use for their deadly deeds. It is Man and not the weapons, period. Guns are here and they are NOT going away. You can try and keep them from criminals but how has that worked out. Thousands of criminal and gang members have them illegally and what type of laws would stop them? When murderers go to trial it's not the gun on trial its THE person. Unless you can change folks you will never stop crime. I have no gun myself but I put no fault on those law abiding folks that do.
One more time: Mental Illness is what causes people to do irrational things. If a person has the intent. all a weapon represents in the MEANS. This endless blather about banning this and that WON'T solve the problem as long as there are UNTREATED MENTAL PATIENTS running around with nowhere to go....
I'm really surprised the cops didn't shoot him.
Warren,
Most police prefer to defuse and distract rather than shoot. Deadly force is a last resort. My husband prayed he would never have to kill anyone. He never fired his weapon in the line of duty but did see many people die on 9-11. It is a memory that will haunt him to his last days...We talk about killing someone so blithely. It is no joke.
A few highlights in the history of San Jose PD:
they unleashed a fusillade of rounds on a incensed Vietnamese house wife who had chased her husband out of the house for coming home intoxicated under suspicious circumstances. This distraught 70 lbs, 5'4" house wife was in the kitchen holding a vegetable peeler. The officers advanced, she raised the peeler - they shot... end of story. Since she was a "wounded wife" and was isolated in the kitchen, she was not going anywhere and - in her mind - was more than justified for being angry... it wasn't impossible for the officers to give her a moment or two to calm down? Why was in necessary to get her in custody - right away?
another Golden moment from the annals of SJPD - ?:
family had a mentally challenged son running amok - 20 -something, with IQ of a pre-teen, hadn't taken his medications. He climbed onto the roof of the house and the family was unable to get him to come down. So they made an emergency call to 911. Instead of sending a medical team or counselor - the police came. the family advised them of the situation - letting them know that he did have a screw driver. They assume they would talk him down - instead they used "Voice Commands" - yelled at him to come down or they would come up! Outcome? he died from multiple gun shots.
So - what did we learn about the kind officers of SJPD, little kiddies? Johnny, you have your hand up - answer the question.
Don't call the police - unless you want to see gunfire? Kids, is Johnny right or is there another answer to the question ...? Sussy, what is your answer?
Maybe - if the officers had listened to the family? May they didn't need to rush and bring the person down without listening to them or talking to them?
He was probably upset about congress and the fiscal cliff. That's enough to make anyone crazy.
Don't worry California, the Florida article it was merely a time zone thing, their "reporter" was simply able to compile a list of wackos and get it in earlier then yours. So don't be discouraged, your still number one in our thoughts when we think wackos.
Nah. If it were Florida, it would have been a drunk guy in a wife-beater and sweat shorts with a lawnmower blade.
I like fried taters, mhmm.
A chicken in every pot......and a gun in every article............nope no apparent lib agenda here.
of course there was an assault rifle present everyone is carrying them now days and everyone who owns one is a criminal right? i was reading an article about the nasa rover taking pics of itself and the rover even had an assault rifle
yep got mine at the local 7-11 from the rack between the coffee pot and the slim jims.
Scooter,
I've been wondering where they keep those!
Can you still buy high capacity magazines for Slim Jims??
Us and Them, Isnt that the plastic container that Slim Jims come in? Or some cases a box?
One problem with this "article" that happens too much in media today.
An AR-15 is NOT an assault rifle.
It's military version, the M-16 is.
that's why they use the word "style: as in "Assault style" it sounds scarier its the hype that matters, not the content.
The way the media spins their narratives, it could've been a bolt action .22 plinking rifle and it would be labeled "Assault Style" I'm just shocked that didn't throw in a "Bushmaster" since thats the only manufaturer they use in thier descriptions of these rifles. DPMS, Rock River, Doublestar, etc just don't contribute to the 'scary' factor..
I'm skeptical as to whether there was actually a rifle there at all, let alone an "assault style" one. Notice we don't know the make or model of the car involved? It doesn't contribute to the narrative.
Kinda like the media is quick to mention when an "SUV" is involved in an accident, even if it was not even the cause - but any other vehicle it "just" a car, a sedan or not even mentioned at all.
Same with a dog bite... unless its a Pit bull or potentially a "pit bull mix"... its just a dog. Most of the time, in dog bites... even if its a Collie - first reports will call it a Pit Bull. Only later, after everyone has blamed yet another problem on Pit Bulls. Finally, the damage is done, is the real breed is identified.
People would be better off learning you to read dog behavior, rather than guessing at the Breed - to tell when a dog is prone to bite or is nervous, agitated.
Same with weapons - you can have a weapon with you all day long - wouldn't bother me at all. However - if the situation is tense or you are agitated... I start to worry. Then I feel the need to focus on the person, personality holding that weapon.
Its called - exercising common sense.
I guess that it is alright to threaten to slice and dice with a sword, just as long as you don't threaten to shoot. When will people learn that the type of weapon doesn't matter. Murder or the threat of murder is the same no matter the method or weapon used.
Well, one key difference is that a gun is a ranged weapon and a sword is not. If you threaten to kill someone, then that's bad. If you threaten to kill someone from a distance with a sword, it's still bad, but it's not gonna happen.
bullet can hit you from much farther away
When I was young I wielded a sword as hard as the strongest steel, alas no more.
*sigh
great one stone.....i too hammered mine out to be of the finest material, now it sits ideally by ever watchful to its next use to carve out new territories.and plunge itself into the vast chasms of battle......
Scooter, at least we are on the right side of the grass. :)
Hatori Hanzo???
evidently not. Damn kids today, to lazy to commit to the long run.
Scooter, especially the ones that are using these new, mind-altering drugs, i.e. Ecstasy, "Bath Salt"s and any other new concoction, almost akin to Dr Timothy Leary and his mind-altering experiments with LSD!
I know, its really sad how this generation refuse to stand behind their word! I hate people that won't follow through on their promises.
The AR-15 was first built by ArmaLite as a selective fire rifle for the United States armed forces. Because
of financial problems, ArmaLite sold the AR-15 design to Colt. The select-fire AR-15
entered the US military system as the M16 rifle. Colt then marketed the Colt AR-15 as a
semi-automatic version of the M16 rifle
for civilian sales in 1963.[8] Although the name
"AR-15" remains a Colt registered trademark, variants of the firearm are
independently made, modified and sold under various names by multiple
manufacturers.
Many people think the designator "AR" means "assault rifle", it does not. It was originally a designator for the company who made it, Armalite Rifle.
Viewer Ready
Great job! Using facts that is backed up by research to take away the Thunder from those that believe anything looking like the AR-15 is classified as an "assault rifle". Wonder if factual research will quiet the debate? Or will those "who know better" let it go over their head like "pffftttt"?
More than likely, "pfffftttt".
But thanks.
The media whores love to make a slingshot look like a Howitzer.
FACTS ..???.....how dare you insert FACTS sir, don't you know where you are?.....
I fear collapse is in the very near future.
Ban facts.
Since you got this from wikipedia, I'm gonna go ahead and paste this as well straight from the same article:
"Semi-automatic AR-15s for sale to civilians are internally different from the full automatic M-16, although nearly identical in external appearance. The hammer and trigger mechanisms are of a different design. The bolt carrier and internal lower receiver of semi-automatic versions are milled differently, so that the firing mechanisms are not interchangeable. This was done to satisfy United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) requirements that civilian weapons may not be easily convertible to full-automatic. Despite this, through use of a "Drop In Auto Sear" or "lightning-link," conversion to full automatic is very straightforward (sometimes requiring slight modification to the bolt carrier).
"Automatic variants have a three-position rotating selective fire switch, allowing the operator to select between three modes: safe, semi-automatic, and either automatic or three round burst, depending on model. Civilian AR-15 models do not have three-round burst or automatic settings on the fire selector. In semi-automatic only variants, the selector only rotates between safe and semi-automatic. Due to this, weapons modified to full automatic using a lightning-link are capable of full automatic fire only—unless a special full automatic fire select mechanism and modified selector-switch is substituted."
So we've both demonstrated that it isn't sold as an assault, fully automatic weapon but could easily be converted to one. Should we instead reduce the magazine capacity?
You can convert a potato gun for automatic fire.
How many people do this?
And if you do, you are a criminal, not a law abiding gun owner.
"You can convert a potato gun for automatic fire.
How many people do this?
And if you do, you are a criminal, not a law abiding gun owner."
You can drive above speed limit, make unauthorized copies/install of software, practice sodomy in Texas.
How many people do this? I don't know and it's illegal.
Ban potatos...
You will never pry my fingers off my Mr Potato Head!
Yet another case of a crazy person brandishing a weapon and trying to get the police to kill him. Lucky for him they didn't. For the rest of us, after he gets out, maybe not so lucky. Believe me, he'll be out in no time at all. And likely will try a similar escapade, this time possibly with a very bad outcome for an innocent bystander or two, or three, or four. He may have been whacked-out on drugs, or he may be clinically psychotic, but in either case he represents the same threat, and is not unlikely to do the same again. Some crazies are really, really persistent and dedicated to their craze.
Had to be Hard not to put a coupla shots in the Kneecaps!
I must disagree with a majority of the post. First off I'm a gun owner, hunter and avid outdoorsman. I'm a conservative on most issues, but I'm an independent thinker and not drinking the koolaid for either party. As a person who just bought his son a .22 caliber rifle for his 8th birthday, I'm not anti-gun. I also just took my first deer with him by my side! I do however disagree that we need .223 rifles with large capacity magazines. The only reason I can see to have these large capacity magazines is to cause great carnage or maybe get your jollies firing a ton of ammo down range. I understand most people who possess these are law abiding citizens, but they consistently get into the wrong hands. If they weren't produced or possessed it would make a difference in these mass murders of totally innocent victims. I believe most guns used for hunting can only have 5 or 6 rounds in them at most. I realize 5 rounds will kill, but every reload gives a chance for a citizen to intervene. In the Arizona shooting the only reason more people were not killed was that when he went to reload he was over powered by regular everyday citizens. The Colorado Movie theater shooting the guy killed 13 people and wounded 54. The first Police Officer was on scene in 90 seconds. If you think a large capacity magazine is not a huge issue in these mass murders, you have issues. I realize there are mental health issues, moral breakdown of our society but do we do nothing to help minimize these incidents. As far as California having laws forbidding these weapons I do no know their specific laws and this is a whole different issue because laws for these types of magazines need to be at the federal level. I know in most states the sale of a long gun between two individuals is completely legal with no background check (this is scary)There are way too many loop holes in the gun laws to have any effect. The one thing that I do know is we have a lot of guns in this country and with that we have the highest level of death by gun in the world in what I would consider a civilized society. I would support all law abidding, free of mental health issues, to own firearms for protection, hunting ect. I'm just not sure an AR-15 with a 30 or 100 round magazine is necessary. It's not like you can take one to the movies, mall or school to protect your family from the next whack job! Try to really think this issue through and support sensible, reasonable gun ownership.
Agree!!
Just because you do not see the need does not mean that it doesn't exist. AR-15 style rifles are the result of many years of firearm progress. They have been carried by most police officers for several years in order to give them a chance to protect themselves against multiple and/or heavily armed criminals. You may have noticed them in the hands of many of the officers seen during the media coverage of the Newtown tragedy.
You may live somewhere where you feel that a call to 911 will bring you immediate response and police protection. You are probably wrong. Many of us don't even have that fantasy. Where I live I am 911. I spent 28 years as a police officer. I'm comfortable being my own security but I still need the tools to be able to do it. I cannot depend on the government to take care of me, and wouldn't if I could.
Don't be so quick to dismiss a purpose for something just because you cannot see the need. If you don't need one, fine, don't buy one, but don't give away my right just because you don't choose to be responsible for yourself.
WyattEarp, you do need a rifle with a 30 rounds magazine to defend yourself as a civilian? From what? angry mobs? an armada of thieves? Come on now, if you piss off that many people and live in a place where you could be attacked by 20+ folks at once, more power to you. Other than that, I would agree with common sense 10.
Ironically, I've been a Police Officer for 25 years and the only reason law enforcement needs them to do our job, is because of the proliferation of these rifles in our society with high capacity magazines. As a law enforcement firearms instructor I carry a .45 cal handgun for protection off duty and I would have difficulty protecting myself and family against an AR-15 with a 30 round magazine. For home protection I use a 12 gauge shotgun with 00 buck. I don't mind if you have an AR-15 just give up the high capacity magazines that are difficult to defend against and can cause great carnage in seconds! I'm guessing as a 28 year veteran you don't carry an AR-15 to the mall or movies. I hope you never have to go to a funeral of a 7 year old as I did last week in Sandy Hook. I do not usually comment on here so I'm not sure why my name is different I'm the same one that posted under the name common sense 10.
common sense 10 - I think you have made some good points. There are a few instances where I can see a need for high capacity clips for protection--the rancher who has to contend with Mexican drug cartels because he lives and ranches on the border--there's been an article recently about the challenges one of the ranchers is facing because of the drug cartel smugglers. What a difficult situation for that rancher! My husband and I hunt, and we both think independently when it comes to politics, so I can identify with where you are coming from.
pdrafter, common sense 10
I live in the sticks. Twelve miles to the nearest town and no police protection. When the dog tells me that something needs my attention I pick up the AR and I go investigate. I don't want to hunt for extra ammo or more mags, I just want to grab the rifle and go. I don't plan on equal firepower. This is not a sporting event. I want overwhelming odds in my favor. Hopefully I will never have to fire a shot at anyone but I don't want someone else deciding what I need in case I do. As stated, there are millions of those rifles and mags out in the real world. They are not going away just because a law is passed. The AR came with me when I retired. I did not purchase it for this purpose but it is the right tool for the situation. It's the farm gun, I don't carry it to town or anywhere else. It sits in the corner of the bedroom until it is needed.
common sense, if you're a police officer you know that a situation that you have never experienced before can occur at any moment. Even after 25 years on the job something could happen today that you never dreamed of. That is my experience and how I conduct my life. I try to be prepared for whatever and hope for the best.
There are insane people out there. In every single mass shooting that has occurred in recent history that is the one common element. In every case the shooter has been insane. That is the problem that needs to be addressed. Banning an object may feel like something that will solve a problem but I doubt it. Everything that we are trying to prevent is already against the law but that doesn't seem to be making a difference. Laws only affect the law abiding. Criminals and nuts do not care about laws. It's time to try something else.