Gun control is one of those issues where candidates don't like to be pinned down. If they make a specific proposal, the NRA will jump all over them, so they talk in generalities, as Clinton did this time. It's better to avoid getting specific because voters can ignore the gun control issue and vote for or against you based on other things. My specific proposals would be:

1. Expand background checks to make them universal, so they cover gun shows, private sales through the want-ads, everything. This does not violate the 2nd Amendment, and the NRA has a difficult time opposing it.

2. Figure out a way the federal government can dilute or negate the "stand your ground" laws passed by so many states. These laws are dangerous mostly because they're so misunderstood. Many people think a SYG law means, "I can shoot you if I see you on my property."

3. Enact consumer protection legislation to protect people from cheap firearms, usually called Saturday Night Specials. It is perfectly reasonable to set minimum standards for reliable function, safety, etc. This would get the cheap knockoff firearms off the market. If you have to ask what good that would do, you probably don't know about the millions of Chinese copies of the AK-47 rifle and Uzi submachinegun.

4. Safe storage of firearms to discourage children from playing with guns.

What do you propose, and what would your proposal(s) seek to accomplish?

what problem are you trying to fix here?

Last edited Tue Aug 25, 2015, 12:59 PM - Edit history (1)

Without addressing my preference in candidates, Mrs Clinton's remarks are helpful in understanding her view and attitude on the issues. Since there is no major pending legislation nor was a type of legislation named in the questions, her remarks enlighten the reader as to some aspects of new laws or changes that she would favor or discourage.

To your point #1, UBCs are a good idea. IMHO this is a state by state issue since the feds have jurisdiction only over interstate commerce. FFLs in every state are already required to check every buyer against the NICS database. That goes for any sale regardless of venue including gun shows, mail order... Some states operate as what the system calls Full POC which facilitates an better check of the individual buyer. The NICS is only as good as the data it holds and many states have privacy laws that restrict the type of personal information the state may share. Certain information from the courts of certain states may NEVER make it to NICS. I hope all states work toward Full POC.

Point #2, as I said above, this is not appropriate and state laws may only be invalidated by SCOTUS decisions where they are deemed unconstitutional. It would be helpful for the feds to establish a public campaign for both safety and for understanding laws like SYG. I've not heard of an incident where a resident shot a trespasser simply for trespassing while that resident was otherwise unimpaired. I haven't searched for that info.

Point #3, my understanding current law is that the import of "Chinese copies of the AK-47 rifle and Uzi submachinegun" is now illegal. IMHO, nothing currently prevents a product liability suit for poor design, materials or workmanship. I'm not sure what additional laws would be needed.

Point #4, absolutely! There should be a law in every state that, where ever a minor has access, a firearm be under the control of an adult or secured against unauthorized access. This is another case where a public safety campaign would be great.

ETA: Adding a link to the NICS participation map on fbi.gov.
https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics/general-information/participation-map

OK, "many" is probably meaningless. At least four people with whom I am acquainted believe this is now the law nationwide, and they believe, varying from one individual to the other, that they can shoot you after giving fair warning, that they can shoot you if they feel threatened by your presence, and so on. And I don't even live in a SYG state, so I'm drawing the inference that a good number of people believe they have a lot more latitude to shoot first and ask questions later.

It maybe by common law. There are 34 SYG states and I know of two countries that are. Czech Republic and UK. UK was common law duty to retreat, but Parliament codified their self defense law in the 1960s that took away the duty to retreat.
Wikipedia has a mistake on the subject. It lists Wyoming as a SYG state, when in fact it is not.

But I do know there have been a few cases where people fired their weapons to defend themselves and prosecutors went after them for being mean to the burglar, rapist, etc. The problem is not with the law, since almost every state allows you to defend yourself if you fear for your life or the life of another. The problem lies with prosecutors who, probably for political reasons, want to turn the law upside down and defend the criminals against the citizens.

Or answer awkward questions, it seems...

Which is odd, because not being poor, and not living in a area with a lot of crime, my massive gun collection is of far less utility to me as a self defense option, that it was when I was living off minimum wage in a part of the city commensurate with my income.

Firearms aren't just for the rich. Your 'Saturday night special' line is a throwaway classist smear. And that's not even what it means, you should try subjects you know something about. Saturday night specials are historically a reference to cheap, $100 or less pistols. Not fucking rifles. A cheap ak clone still runs about 200-300 bucks.

Last edited Tue Aug 25, 2015, 08:50 PM - Edit history (1)

for a civilian-transferable pre-'86 model, yes? They are exceedingly rare collector's items. An actual full auto civilian-transferable AK *starts* around $15,000, and they are even more rare. You have to get special authorization from the BATFE to own any automatic weapons (BATFE Form 4, which involves a very extensive background check, and your local chief law enforcement officer signs off on the application). Possession without a Form 4 gets you 10 years in Federal prison; they are as tightly controlled in this country as artillery and shoulder-fired missiles.

There are non-automatic civilian Uzi lookalikes, but they are high quality firearms that work like any other 9mm pistol (one shot at a time, and they fire from a closed bolt like a regular pistol).

There are civilian AK lookalikes, too---also non-automatic---but none have been imported from China since the early 1990s. All American-market AK's are quality firearms, and would cost more than mass-market AR's if they were made entirely in the U.S. at U.S. labor rates, since they require a lot of hand fitting.

The Chinese AK's were always regarded as nicer than most in terms of fit and finish. Even the Romanian AK's shoot well, though some of the early ones had cosmetic blemishes and the finish is typically more industrial than the nicer Chinese variants. I used to shoot a nice SAR-1 in local USPSA matches, and put a couple thousand rounds through it without a single failure of any kind.

The thing is, civilian Uzi lookalikes and civilian AK's are among the safest and least misused of all firearms, so the "safety" argument against them is bunk.

https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2013/crime-in-the-u.s.-2013/tables/table-20/table_20_murder_by_state_types_of_weapons_2013.xls

she said lots of words without actually saying anything.

Like most politicians, she is not knowledgeable about firearms and their laws. However, she is not allowed to admit that. Nor is she interested is becoming knowledgeable.

Many people like those cheap knockoffs. Some of them are here, claiming they're fine firearms, just excellent for whatever use one might have for them. Well, not those I fired. I have fired three different AK-47 knockoffs and they were all terrible, with heavy, rough trigger pull that seemed to be a foot long, feed problems, and serious lack of accuracy. I did not fire the Uzi knockoff, but watched the sheriff's deputies try to fire it, and they spent far more time getting it unjammed than actually shooting it. Yes, this would be "discrimination" against a poor person who had to defend himself against the bad people in the neighborhood. He would have to buy a shotgun, which is what he should have in the first place. How unfortunate. I just love to laugh at the justifications people offer for owning particular types of guns, a large number of guns, guns that don't fit the stated purpose, and so on. The truth is, some people just love firearms, any kind, any caliber.

Who are you to tell other people what they should and should not have? That is not a liberal value.

When it comes to firearms, everybody has an opinion about the best gun for this, the best caliber, revolver vs. auto, etc. My opinion... no, wait... established fact ordained from on high, is that a shotgun is best for home defense.

Last edited Tue Aug 25, 2015, 09:36 PM - Edit history (1)

How did you assess that it was a Chinese variant, how was it lubricated, and what magazines did you use? Was this a civilian non-automatic, or a clapped out military full auto, and were you getting double feeds, bolt over base, failure to cycle/eject, or feed ramp hangups? Were they x39's, or .223 conversions?

I shot a SAR-1 (Romanian non-automatic AK derivative, 7.62x39mm) competitively in the early 2000's, mostly with steel-case ammo, and never once had a failure of any kind in ~2,000 rounds. Trigger pull wasn't as good as an AR or a nicer bolt action, but certainly as good as a Glock and better than my Ruger Ranch Rifle. Accuracy is as good as a Winchester .30-30 if you stuck to the fundamentals and used the sights like you're supposed to instead of trying to shoot like some idiot in a B-movie, and the safety was secure and very well designed. The Soviets considered them effective out to 300 meters, and mine would keep every round in the black at 200 yards with decent ammo and a 1x optic. Given their reputation for reliability and extreme durability, coupled with my own experience, I'd say your experience was an extreme outlier.

As to Uzi's, they have always been regarded as very high quality firearms, as are most Israeli designs, but they've never been common in this country and have always been something of a collector's item. Perhaps you're confusing them with the civilian Intratecs? AFAIK, China never imported any, and I doubt IMI would have licensed their production; the only non-IMI's I'm aware of were made by a U.S. company under license.

Out of curiousity, do you feel about AR's? You certainly can't claim those are low quality, inaccurate, unsafe designs, or commonly misused.