SK: I agree that pistols only would likely have reduced the number of casualties. The Bushmaster is a semi-auto version of the M-16/M-4 and generally feeds from a 30rd magazine. We were taught to fire semi-auto, for accuracy and control, and you can put a lot of .223 out, even in semi-auto. It’s a nasty round, no doubt about it and designed for the single purpose of creating an inoperable wound channel.
That said, I remain torn on gun control for assault rifles. I recently attended an Active Shooter scenario in downtown San Francisco. The SFPD SWAT team had fully auto M-4s, concussion grenades and looked virtually indistinguishable from a full-blown military unit. One of them joked about “shock and awe” following their breaching maneuver and I remembered thinking that we live in a different world now and that I mistrust my government now more than ever.
Perhaps this sounds overly paranoid to you, but the thought of voluntarily disarming myself in the face of ever-increasing government intrusion and control just doesn’t seem like a good idea.
