Although the assault against assault rifles has tapered off, it will be back just prior to the fall elections. The present psychology of the anti Second Amendment Left is to strike fear into the Republican/Right, coerce by intimidation to join the gun ban forces of the Left and ultimately opt for gun bans themselves lest they be voted out of office. This is a transparent ploy by Democrats to create a panic within the Republican Right to turn on themselves, abandon their core beliefs about guns, throw their base constituents under the bus … all for the selfish sake of office preservation. It’s an interesting tactic to manipulate a political cannibalism but, very doubtful those who know the truth about guns will sell out and turn their coats.

Among the mass media misinformation told about guns and crime, one often repeated on the news is, “machine guns are illegal.” This is patently false information. As it is illegal to operate a car, truck or air plane without permit, likewise it’s illegal to have a machine gun … without a permit. Howsoever, if one has the funds, a clear criminal record and doesn’t mind a lengthy FBI/ATF background check to get a permit, one can become cleared to own a, “Class III” weapon otherwise known as a fully automatic machine gun with far greater cyclic rates over that of any, “Bump stock.”

People all over the U.S. legally own machine guns … enjoying a sterling reputation of near never being used in crime. If you are a novice Class III person, you might settle for an entry level Thompson sub machine gun or an M-16. If attaching and removing 30 round magazines offers too few shots and is too slow and cumbersome a process, one might prefer a Browning Model 1919 or the more stylish M-60 machine gun both usually fitted for 250 round belts of ammo. For those who believe these machine guns just don’t have the down range firepower to properly address those 2000 yard targets with authority, one may opt for the M-2 Browning 0.50 cal. machine gun capable of reducing brick walls to piles of dust. An endless array of these type machine guns are available and perfectly legal to own right here in the good ole U.S.A.

Even if the Democrats were able to accomplish their long held dream of banning the semi-auto “assault style” rifle, the fully automatic machine guns of every size, caliber and description is still accessible and available to the American public. Class III machine guns are in a category of their own wholly unaffected to obtain by any ban that may be imposed on the semi auto assault style, “look-a-like.” It would be poetic justice visited on the liberal Left to succeed in banning the assault style weapon only to propel and redirect the gun market resulting in a shift toward and surge in sales for the genuine full auto weapons that make the semi auto’s firepower look tame by comparison. Ironically, Democrats efforts to ban guns have always succeeded in bolstering the industry.

Karl Schmidt lives in Prince Edward County. His email address is tenbears@centurylink.net.