A note on police preferring semi-autos
Key: the same points that make that semi-auto valuable for the police also make them valuable for civilians to use. This brief discussion was written up by Don Kates.
AMERICAN POLICE SEMI-AUTOS.
From the 1960s American police switched to semo-autos. Today this is well-nigh universal but I remember how astonished I was sometime in the 1960s when I saw a Monrovia, CA officer carrying a 1911A1.
Part of the changeover from revolvers came in the ‘60s when increasing violent crime fueled an increasing recognition of how inadequate the .38 special was as a man stopper. Also of great import was the manufacture of the Glock whose simplicity of operation was very attractive to police hierarchies inter alia because it resembled the revolver’s simplicity.
Today virtually all American police carry semi-autos, generally Glocks but some also with the S&W Sigma, a Glock knock off which I prefer to the Glock.
It is notable that police overwhelmingly favor weapons with 14 or more shots. Civilians reasonably ask, if cops (who often patrol in pairs) need that many rounds why civilians should not be so equipped also?
Most police weapons are in 9 mm. parabellum though many are in .40 caliber. As to stopping power, Col. Martin Fackler, MD, an experienced military surgeon who headed the Armed Services' Wound Balistics Institute believes that no handgun is a reliable man stopper. Note an endlessly repeated error: while the evidence is clear that the .38 sp and the 9mm. are inadequate, that does NOT prove larger caliber handguns will suffice.
Labels: semi-auto
posted by John Lott at 6:58 AM
3 Comments:
I'm a little confused about thevwording of Dianne Feinstein's bill with respect to semi-auto weapons - (to paraphrase) - "if a weapom WILL ACCEPT more than a 10 round magazine" Won't ANY semi-auto weapon "accept"(even theoretically)ANY SIZE magazine? I mean you can "make" an eleven round mag (or "clip") for the government model 1911A1 - thus putting it in the "forbidden" category. - I just wondered.[I guess this is one of the joys of having legislation proposed by people who don't know a damn thing about the subject they have the gaul to attempt to regulate]. This would be funny, if it wasn't a life and death issue. Peoples LIVES may well depend on the machinations of these IDIOTS.
Another point: have you noticed that as of late the usual suspects (Obama, Biden, Feinstein, Rebecca Peters, the Brady "bunch", the liberal media, liberal movie stars, sports announcers, etc., etc.) have unnervingly failed to make the first mention of DEMON HANDGUN. I mean when was the last time you heard "Saturday Night Special"?
Of course, to answer my own question - They'll concentrate on the rest of the guns when they've got this legislation passed. We will probably (unwittingly) help things along by not cooperating with "round one". Then the home grown variety of CITIZEN TERRORISTS will HAVE to be silenced for "PUBLIC SAFETY". Round Two will HAVE to get ALL those DANGEROUS SATERDAY NIGHT SPECIALS and the even MORE DANGEROUS high quality handguns (known to be 'weapons of choice' of this newly minted TERRORISTS GROUP) - you know, the ones of us who refuse to go along with "round one". Think about the PATRIOT act and how tailor made it is to apply here. [I guess I just must be "paranoid" - I mean YOU trust Obama & Co., RIGHT?]
So much for historical context when it comes to pistol magazines.
The military discovered during the Philippine Insurection (Spanish American War), that the then current issue sidearm M1892.38 D.A. Colt was insufficient in combat.
The Army then switched over to the M1873 .45 Colt Single Action Army which is also a 'six shooter'.
The next issue pistol to be brought into U.S. military service was the now very famous M1911 .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) semiauto pistol whose magazine held 9 rounds (10 rounds with one in the chamber).
Now why would someone be astonished to see an LEO carry a M1911 in the 1960's? Did it actually take that long for P.D.'s to realize that the Army figured out that the .38 Colt was inadequate more than sixty years before?
LEO's deal with bad guys. Homeowners deal with bad guys.
What's the difference?
Are LEO's such lousy shots compared to regular citizens that they need higher mag capacities than do civilians?
Our politicans seem to want to place citizens in danger so as to create an excuse to enact more laws that criminals ignore. When citizens are disarmed, and criminals run amok, does that not create a situation where more draconian laws are needed? Laws that disembowel our Constitutional Rights and place us in greater danger of enslavement.
History ignored is history repeated, and politicians do this simply because they understand the lessons of history that show how to take complete control of a country...
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