Obama Praised for Vintage Gun Ban
Posted by John Kullman on September 2, 2010 · Leave a Comment
If you have been following FirearmsTruth over the last few weeks, you know that the federal government has banned the return of vintage Korean War small arms to this country. The facts of this issue are like drunk drivers, they are all over the place. What is clear is that the president is being praised for stopping the import of M1 Garands and M1 carbines. These firearms are popular with history buffs and collectors. But because of the popularity of recent WWII movies and TV series, these weapons have become expensive to buy. It seems that anti-gun zealots are ecstatic over the ban.
As Mary Bargeman of World News Heard Now wrote: “The Brady Campaign is aglow with praise for the Obama Administration, because these people would love nothing more than to take away the one Constitutional right which guarantees all others- the right to keep and bear arms.”
During the election, Obama promised that he didn’t want to take away people’s hunting guns. Both the M1 Garand and M1 carbine are perfect for hunting. Neither is fully automatic and both are sturdy and easy to operate. So why ban an American ally from returning these firearms home?
The State Department has made at least three arguments against their import. It is claimed that they are old and dangerous to operate, that they might be used by criminals or terrorists and that they have a high capacity magazine. Earlier FirearmsTruth posts have addressed the first two illogical arguments made by the government, I’ll address the third.
The M1 Garand doesn’t have a magazine and I don’t think can be easily modified to have one. Up to eight rounds can be loaded into the breach from the top of the firearm. This allows the shooter to lay prone without worrying about a box-type magazine interfering with cover. If a state restricts the number of rounds that can be in a firearm while hunting, that number can be easily restricted. If anyone knows of an M1 Garand that has a top-loading clip that allows more than eight rounds, please contact FirearmsTruth. I’d like to see a picture of that.
The M1 carbine does have two types of box magazines. One holds fifteen rounds and the other variant thirty. These clips can be easily modified so as to meet any restrictions on the number of rounds allowed for hunting.
It seems strange that communist and former communist countries can import the SKS and AK-47, both of which have high capacity magazines, while banning good old American rifles from import. But it is President Obama. If you were to check his desk you would probably find framed pictures of Stalin and Mao.
“If the opposition disarms, well and good. If it refuses to disarm, we shall disarm it ourselves.” Joseph Stalin
“War can only be abolished through war, and in order to get rid of the gun it is necessary to take up the gun.” Mao Zedong
