The Virginia House of Delegates approved an assault weapons ban on a party line vote Friday.

Fairfax County Democratic Del. Dan Helmer’s bill would end the sale and transfer of assault firearms manufactured after July 1, 2024. It also prohibits the sale of certain large capacity magazines.

“This bill would stop the sale of weapons similar to those I and many of the other veterans carried in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Helmer said.

  • abbotsbury@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    If the goal is to stop someone in 5 seconds, why would you need more rounds for the higher caliber rifle? Seems like 5 rifle rounds and 12-15 pistol rounds would be enough stopping power.

    But if your argument is more chances to hit, well then you’re just advocating for more rounds going somewhere other than there target, and 30 (high caliber rifle) rounds is certainly too much to fire out your walls willy nilly.

    • Fades@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Seems like 5 rifle rounds and 12-15 pistol rounds would be enough stopping power.

      it’s like you only read half of the comment and raced to post this reply…

      the comment you replied to said:

      the bigger reason is because precise shooting under stress is really, really difficult.

      the reason why you need more than 5 rifle rounds, IS NOT about stopping power. It’s about giving you more than enough chances to land hits (if such a thing is absolutely necessary, the #1 goal of any sane gun owner is to avoid a firefight at ALL FUCKING COSTS).

      Precise shooting in a stressful environment is really fucking hard, your heart is hammering your hands are shaking, you realize this could be the end. All of these factors heavily affect shooting ability in the moment.

      But if your argument is more chances to hit, well then you’re just advocating for more rounds going somewhere other than there target, and 30 (high caliber rifle) rounds is certainly too much to fire out your walls willy nilly.

      you are making a lot of assumptions here, like assuming it’s home defense shooting 556 or the like. What happens when you’re out in the wilderness and end up in a face off with a bear or a cougar? There are so many complex settings and situations and here you are framing the conversation as if this only applies to defending your bedroom or hallway.

      For home defense, many many people take this into account and avoid calibers with high penetration power. Not every home defenser has 5.56 or .300blk. Plenty of “assault weapons” that shoot pistol calibers

      • abbotsbury@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        it’s like you only read half of the comment and raced to post this reply…

        Nice ad hominem, thank you for putting your poor faith on display right away, but no, I was merely just addressing the points as presented.

        the reason why you need more than 5 rifle rounds, IS NOT about stopping power

        So why did they say the rifle needed more than the handgun?

        It’s about giving you more than enough chances to land hits

        So the numbers should be the same then, no?

        Precise shooting in a stressful environment is really fucking hard, your heart is hammering your hands are shaking, you realize this could be the end. All of these factors heavily affect shooting ability in the moment.

        Which is dangerous for anyone nearby.

        you are making a lot of assumptions here, like assuming it’s home defense shooting 556 or the like

        Seems like you’re the one making assumptions, champ, all I implied is higher caliber, because I don’t think people often refer to .22 carbines as rifles.

        What happens when you’re out in the wilderness and end up in a face off with a bear or a cougar? There are so many complex settings and situations and here you are framing the conversation as if this only applies to defending your bedroom or hallway.

        Okay, so how many shots do you think you need for a bear, or for a cougar? Because even if you’re squeezing your trigger as fast as possible, a cougar is gonna be able to finish you before you finish your 30 round mag.

        Not every home defenser has 5.56 or .300blk. Plenty of “assault weapons” that shoot pistol calibers

        oh cute, a nice little strawman to finish with, almost needed a reminder that you were a bad faith actor. Didn’t say anything about assault weapons though, scare quotes were cute though, definitely keep that up.

        • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          Not who you’re arguing with, but I am who you initially replied to.

          I never said a rifle needed more ammo than a pistol, and you’re claiming I did. I only addressed handguns in my comment. So maybe there’s some accuracy to the claim you are framing your reply before reading the comments…

          Also, an AR-15 is a .22 inch (22 caliber) carbine. It’s not a .22lr carbine (though I have BCG replacement that let’s me run .22lr through it for cheaper plinking).

        • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          5 months ago

          Also not who you’re arguing with nor who you originally replied too, but:

          So why did they say the rifle needed more than the handgun?

          He didn’t, but “because the pistol still needs to be concealable.” Jam this in your pants and it’ll 100% stick out, or “print” as they call it. Rifles are inherrently less concealable, so they may as well have their standard capacity magazines.