This is a reply to several posts I've seen in this thread condemn that "assault weapons" or weapons that simply don't exist. I've never seen a weapon with a ceramic barrel, and in the US it is illegal to own or manufacture a weapon that can defeat metal detectors.
Anyway, on the matter of "assualt weapons" - I use scare quotes because this is an invented term. The term was invented to classify a set of weapons that was both scary looking and supposedly super-deadly. I find that people enjoy making imaginary distinctions between "hunting arms" and "assualt weapons". This is silly.
The most lethal weapon that an American can legally own is a 12 gauge shotgun loaded with #4 buckshot. Not an Uzi, Tec-9, AK-47, AR-15, handgun, or any of the other weapons that look "scary". Yes, that's right - the shotgun at Wal-Mart is the most devistatingly effective gun available. It's also the most common and "legitimate" hunting arm.
Teflon, steel-core, or otherwise armor piercing ammunition for handguns is illegal in the US. Armor piercing ammunition for rifles, on the other hand, is legal. High powered hunting rifles will pierce a standard bullet proof vest without the aid of armor piercing rounds. Soft body armor simply isn't designed to withstand a rifle.
The point is that it bothers me when people take something that looks scary (like my rifle) and say "this is a child killing machine!". It's not just FUD, it's a lie.
If you feel that people, yourself included, shouldn't have the right to defend themselves - well, that's your choice. You have the right to believe and say what you wish. But please don't delude yourself in thinking that "assault weapons" are responsible for a significant amount of crime or are especially lethal. It's just misdirection.
