You know you're in trouble when even Salon destroys the "assault weapon" myth

[pablo_marmol]

First off, why not just re-institute the “assault weapons” ban that expired in 2004?

"I think that would be a mistake. A ban on military-style rifles won’t do much to stop criminal activity and, in the case of mass shootings, handguns are used more often and to equally devastating effect. Contrary to popular wisdom, these are not machine guns, which have been effectively outlawed for sale since 1986. Like a handgun, you need to pull the trigger for each round you wish to fire. Most of these guns are basically rifles with military styling. When the federal assault weapons ban was in effect, the manufactures just made slight alterations in the design and sold the same guns, with the same lethality, by the millions.

Basically, banning assault-type weapons to prevent mass shootings is like regulating drunk driving by banning scotch. Most people seem to believe that it is more like banning all hard alcohol, leaving drinkers with the less powerful spirits, like beer and wine. In fact, it’s more like banning scotch and allowing people to drink vodka, tequila, and rum. Even with a ban on assault weapons, there will still be equally powerful weapons out there."

http://www.salon.com/2016/06/20/an_ar_15_ban_wont_stop_mass_shootings_thats_like_regulating_drunk_driving_by_banning_scotch/

The "banning Scotch" analogy is spot-on!