NO 30-ROUND PISTOL MAGAZINES, BUT NO 10-ROUND LIMIT EITHER

Ever since the Tucson shooting, the Brady Bunch has raised the crescendo for stricter gun control laws to its highest level. California senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer have been sounding off for stricter gun control. New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg and New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, a perennial handgun opponent, have introduced bills that would restore parts of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban which expired in 2004, especially the part limiting pistol magazine capacity to a maximum of 10 rounds.

While a few cops still carry revolvers on duty, my educated guess is that 99 percent of our law enforcement officers carry semi-automatic pistols. Most of those officers use only the standard clips that come with their pistols. The magazine capacity of pistols varies with the caliber of the gun, those with the largest caliber having the smallest clip capacity. Some cops do carry extended clips, but those magazines increase the bullet capacity by only three or four rounds. It would be impractical for an officer to carry an extended clip with a larger bullet capacity.

I happen to agree with those folks who maintain that there is no real need for anyone to use a 30-round pistol magazine. Most pistols come with two magazines and gun owners will usually buy several more standard clips. Most pistol owners can eject an empty clip and reload their guns with a loaded one in two or three seconds – experienced shooters can do so even faster – and that readily meets their shooting needs.

I am strongly opposed to restoring the 10-round magazine capacity limit of the expired Assault Weapons Ban. Limiting the capacity to 10 rounds would be an unnecessary overkill which would not prevent some kook from going on a shooting rampage. A 10-round limit would only penalize law-abiding citizens for the misdeeds of a tiny fraction of gun owners.

My suggestion is that reasonable folks – that does not include Feinstein, Boxer, McCarthy and the Brady Bunch - should consider imposing a ban on clips with a capacity of more than 15 rounds. 15 round pistol magazines are adequate in most law enforcement situations and should serve to satisfy the needs of most ardent shooters.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I also posted the above on PACOVILLA Corrections blog.

This is what ‘Tkjr’ said:

__So one guy goes crazy and we as gun owners need to meet the anti gunners in the middle by reducing magazine capacity to what they deem as necessary for self defense. My m&p holds 17 plus 1. Why would I want to hold less? Why can’t people see that? next thing you know they’ll want to take your finger prints and keep a record of all ammo purchases you make …

Here is my reply:

__Tkjr, I am not proposing we meet the anti-gun nuts half way. It would have been better had I suggested that the magazine capacity should be limited to the capacity of standard clips that come with each pistol or to 15 rounds, whichever is greater.

__As a former street cop and narc, I cannot see any reason to use a 20 or 30 round magazine. If you can’t hit what you’re shooting at with 10 or 15 rounds, you’re probably not going to hit your target with 30 rounds either. And in a mano-a-mano shootout, you’re probably fucked if you don’t waste the bastard with your first couple of rounds.