Fowler1

SpencerFowler
Mr.Campopiano
Government1
27October2015
RationalFirearmsRegulation
Theammocapacityofagivenmodelofmagazinecanreachanywherefromtworounds
allthewayupto100rounds.Whilethismassivevariationhasoftencausedtroubleforgun
supporters,gunopposers,lawenforcers,andlawmakers,verylittlehasbeendonetocreatean
effectivestandardizedsystemofdeterminingwhatcapacitiesarelegalorillegal,whilestill
consideringtheuseoffirearmsforselfdefense.Somestateshavedonenothingtolimit
magazines,easilyallowingacitizentopurchaseamassive(ifsomewhatunreliable)100round
BetaCMag.Othershaveintroducelimitsoftenrounds,butconsideringthecharacteristicsof
manyammunitiontypes,thisisoftennotenoughtostopanimmediatethreattoapersonslife.
Thenationalmaximummagazinecapacityshouldbesetattwentyroundsinordertoreducelegal
issuescausedbytransferbetweenstates,allowforeffectivedefence,andprovidelaw
enforcementpersonnelwithanadvantageinafirefight.
Magazinesareoftenthedefiningtraitofhowafirearmisused,howitisperceivedbythe
public,andhowitmightberestricted.Asofnow,thelegallimitonthecapacityofanymagazine
variesmassivelybystate.SimplycrossingtheborderbetweenCaliforniaandNevadawill
changetheeffectivelimitfromtentounlimited.Thistendstocauseissuesconcerningwhat
qualifiesasahighcapacitymagazine,sincethereiscurrentlynostandardizeddefinitionamong
allstates(ConnecticutGeneralAssembly).Becauseofthis,manyrecreationalshooterscrossing

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intomorerestrictivestateswillhavetoeitherbuynewmagazinestoreplaceeachandeveryone
oftheirownmagazines,orcompletelyforgothetediousprocess,whichconsequentlymakesthe
personacriminalinthatstate.Sincemanyrifleschamberedinthecommon.223/5.56NATO
caliberusethesameSTANAGmagazines,standardizingcapacitylawsacrossthenationwould
notonlysimplifyproductionforcompaniesmakingmagazines,butalsopreventpeoplefrom
committingacrimesimplyduetotheinconvenienceofbuyingnewmagazines(BATF).Since
STANAGmagazinesareofferedintwentyroundvariants,settingthenationallimitatthesame
numberwouldmakeitsignificantlyeasiertotransfermagazinesbetweenstates.Fromalegal
pointofview,thereisnoreasontopreservestatecapacitylawsastheycurrentlystand,
especiallyconsideringthegeneralpurposeofafirearmfromaneverydaypersonspointofview.
Fortheaveragecivilian,firearmsareintendedtobeusedforhunting,targetpractice,or
selfdefense.Ofthethree,selfdefenseincludesthemostcriticalsituations,asahandgundrawn
fromaholsteralwaysimpliesalifeordeathscenario.Themainproblemwithaconcealedcarry
weaponisthatsomestateregulationsmakeusingafullsizedhandgunextremelydifficultdueto
onemainfactor:magazinecapacity.The9x19mmpistolcaliber,commonlyusedbylaw
enforcementandfirearmsenthusiastsduetoitsabilitytoholdmoreroundspermagazinethan
othercalibers,sacrificessignificantstoppingpowerasaresultofitscompactdimensions.The
stoppingpowerproblemcanbeslightlyalleviatedwiththeuseofadifferentcommonpistol
caliber,suchas10mm,.357SIG,or.40S&W(Glock).However,thiscancauseevenworse
accuracyatrange,duetotheconsiderablyhigherrecoilassociatedwithalargerprojectileanda
higheramountofgunpowderinagivencartridge.Instateswithmagazinelimitsoflessthan
twentyrounds,aconsiderableissuewithusingapistolforselfdefenseisthislackofpower,as

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evenatrainedpoliceofficercanonlymanageanaveragehitaccuracyoftwentytothirtypercent
understressfulconditions(LooseRounds).However,itisverylikelythattheaveragepolice
officerdoesnotspendconsiderabletimeontherange,sincemanywillneverberequiredtodraw
theirhandguns.Sincetheaveragecarrierwillhavespenttimetraining,theywouldbemuchmore
accurateasaresult.Ifacarrierweretouseanaccuratesemiautomaticcalibertopreventstray
shotsfromcausingcollateral,theresultinglackofforcewitheachshotmustbecompensatedby
areasonablysizedmagazine.
Althoughafirearmmaybeintendedforusetopreserveorderbytheirmanufacturersand
advocates,justlikeanyotherdangerousorexploitableindustry,therewillalwaysbethose
seekingtousethemforpersonalprofitorunrestrictedharmtoothers.Therehavebeenmany
occasionswherecriminalsareabletooverpowerlawenforcementpersonnelwithahailof
bullets.TheAR15issuedtomanypolicecruiserscomeswithastandardSTANAGholding30
rounds,withseveralreservemagazines.However,itiscurrentlymorethanpossiblethatthe
averagecivilianinmoststateswouldbeabletobuytheirownriflewithamuchlargermagsize.
OneverynotableinstanceofthisscenariooccurredpriortotheoptionforpolicetocarryAR15s
intheircars,duringtheNorthHollywoodshootoutonFebruary28,whentworobbersmadeuse
of50and100rounddrummagazinesinordertooutgunpoliceofficerswhoweresignificantly
underequippedforthesituation.Thefirefightonlyendedwhenoneoftherobberskilledhimself
withashottothehead,andtheotherbledoutfromsustainedinjuries(DailyNews).Sincethen,
semiautomaticAR15shavetakenaplaceinthearsenaloflawenforcement,nolongerbeing
limitedtoSWATunitsintheformofthefullyautomaticM16.GabrielleGiffordsandeighteen
otherswereshotbyJaredLoughner,whomadeuseofaGlock19andamassive33roundbox

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magazine(NYTimes).Amagazineofsuchanexcessivesidehasnoplaceinsocietyduetoits
inabilitytobeusedforpracticaldefense,allowinganaggressortheabilitytokeepshootinglong
afterpolicewouldreloadtheirownsidearms,consequentlycreatingadisadvantageforthe
peoplewhowouldneedanadvantagethemost.
Somesaythatasmostfirearmscrimesinvolveahandgun,atwentyroundmagazine
mightstillallowfortheuseofahandguninmassshootingssimilartotheTusconshootingin
2011(CaliforniaDepartmentofJustice),orthatsincenationalnewshasnevercovereda
preventedmassshooting,itmusthaveneveroccurred.However,whatfewpeoplehearaboutare
themultipleinstanceseveryyearwheremassshootingsarestoppedbeforetheycanbecarried
out.Twicethisyearalready,peoplewithconcealedcarrypermitshavepreventedshootersfrom
indiscriminatelyshootingintolargegroups,onceinChicago,andanothertimeinabarbershop
inPhiladelphia(WashingtonPost).Foreverytimewehearaboutamassshootingonthenews,
thereisanotherthatgoesunreportedsimplybecauseitnevermanagedtogofurtherthanafew
hastyshots.Thiswasmadepossibleonlythroughtheuseofcarriedhandgunsbylawabiding
citizenswhowerethereatthetime,abletorespondlongbeforepolicecouldarriveonthescene.
Standardizationandregulationarecommonlyseenasrequirementsfororderinasociety.
SomehowthishasnotextendedtotheoneaspectofAmericansocietythatprobablyrequiresthe
mostregulationofall.Asitstands,magazinestransferredbetweenstatesresultsinalegal
nightmare,selfdefenseisunreliableinmanystates,andatthesametime,policemaycome
acrossashooterwithaBetaCMag,whichislegalwithoutconcerninseveralstates.Astandard
maximumcapacitywillallowsignificantlyincreasedsafetyforthoseinvolvedwithfirearms,
boththeoneswhousethemtodefendthemselves,andforthosewhoupholdthelaw.Although

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firearmsaretoocommonwithinthenationtobestoppedintheirentirety,properlawmakingwill
allowthenationtomakeastepintherightdirection.

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Sources
Rose,Veronica.LawsonHighCapacityMagazinescga.ct.gov.Connecticut
GeneralAssembly.24January2013.Web.23September2015.
ATFFrameworkforDeterminingWhetherCertainProjectilesare
PrimarilyIntendedforSportingPurposesWithintheMeaning
of18U.S.C.921(a)(17)(C)atf.gov.BureauofAlcohol,Tobacco,and
Firearms,N.d.Web.24September2015.
FBI9mmJustification,FBITrainingDivision.looserounds.com.LooseRounds.21September,2014.18
October2015.
GlockLawEnforcementus.glock.com.GlockUSA.N.d.18October2015.
Orlov,Rick.NorthHollywoodshootout,15yearslaterdailynews.com.LosAngelesDailyNews.27
February2012.Web.22October2015.
Lacey,MarkandHerszenhorn,David.InAttacksWake,PoliticalRepercussionsnytime.com.New
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Brown,Edmund.2009FirearmsUsedintheCommissionofCrimesoag.gov.OfficeoftheAttorney
General.N.d.Web.22October2015.
Volokh,Eugene.Docitizens(notpoliceofficers)withgunseverstopmassshootings?
washingtonpost.com.TheWashingtonPost.3October2015.Web.22October2015.