I was in Vegas during the Super Bowl and really didn't hear much about this story until after we got home in the middle of last week, but I don't seem to be able to find the answer to this question.
MSNBC.com wrote Gun in Super Bowl plot was banned, now popular
Havelock bought an AR-15 at Scottsdale Gun Club and 250 rounds of ammunition Jan. 29 in preparation for the planned slaughter.
The AR-15 was one of 19 guns banned under the 1994 Crime Bill, which expired on Sept. 13, 2004.
But I guess I think the odds of it being a real, actual AR-15 are pretty slim. At best. Rather, it's almost certainly an AR-15 clone.
Rob Keeney calls it a Flat Out Lie.
Over a DU (yeah, I know) they're arguing up and down that since the news report called it an AR-15, it's really an AR-15. I guess I find it pretty idiotic to argue that, as at some point we're going to learn whether or not it really was an AR-15.
I also find it hilarious that so many DUers claim that you couldn't get AR-15 clones during the AWB because, well, they found some internet links proving you couldn't. I spent some time wading through all that mess, and it ain't pretty.
Anyway, something from the MSNBC.com article that is appalling is this:
FBI Special Agent Philip Thorlin testified at Havelock's detention hearing Tuesday that the gun is the weapon of choice for the U.S. military.
This is, of course, almost certainly total bunk. Unless it really is a fully automatic assault rifle, FBI Special Agent Philip Thorlin is lying or woefully misinformed.
So. Does anyone know what the rifle really was?
4 Comments
Jerry in Detroit said:
Yeah, it was an AR-15 as much as painting racing stripes on a Yugo makes it a NASCAR racer.
Nicholas said:
So what's the implication? That if the particular type of gun he used to shoot people had been banned, he wouldn't have shot anyway? That's what it sounds like they are trying to imply and of course it is ridiculous.
The question that always comes to my mind is what makes people WANT to do something like this. That's the problem that needs to be addressed. Is it a lack of proper mental health care? I know that we have a big problem with that here. There are practically no mental health clinics left, and every now and then one of the released patients goes on a killing spree. I remember one in particular who hacked up a couple of tourists with an axe not long after he was turned out... not pretty.
Murdoc
said:
Well, I doubt they want to convince anyone that he wouldn't have thought about shooting without one of these rifles. But the anti-gun types spend a lot of time demonizing their scary "assault weapons" and work hard to make sure that the public thinks that what they call "assault weapons" are military weapons. If they can use this incident to help convince Americans that no one needs military weapons and show that the assault weapons ban would have banned this rifle, they'll call it good.
John of Argghhh! said:
Stories like this brought me into blogging.
To heck with it. I'm going to go ahead and buy that .308 belt-fed semi auto M1919A1, and stick on the carrying handle, stock and bipod.
Now *that's* an assault weapon.
Heh. Sorry, just read one too many gun posts today, I think!