8/06/2014

Arms Control in the US of A

We all know  the U.S. of A.  has some interesting laws to control gun ownership.   The law is different in all fifty states. Therefore it is difficult to make a nation wide comment about state laws. 

But I  can  explain what happens at the national (i.e. federal) level.  The U.S.of A. Constitution´s Second Amendment says that "because a well armed militia is necessary, the right of people to bear arms shall not be limited." That´s it all,  more or less.  This  amendment is what allows Americans to own and use weapons of all kinds.

For example, the Waco massacre got started  when the authorities tried to carry out an investigation at David Koresh´s camp. Koresh was said by his followers to be the second coming of  Christ. This guy  made a living from  his folowers´donations  and selling weapons, including .50-caliber machine guns like this


.50 caliber machine gun (from walkingdead.wikia.com)

Because the  second amendment is so short and lacks detail,  and in the U.S.  of A.  there is a tradition for people to own  weapons,  some states have laws which  allow some individuals  to use heavy weapons. For example, here is a man who will do a demonstration of his personal  105 mm cannon. Look at the size of the bullet.

Old man demonstrating a 105 mm cannon

I wonder, why would a guy  be interested in something like this?  Those rounds  must be very expensive, and it  sure seems a bit exaggerated to shoot a stranger at long distance with a 105 mm cannon.  But the way this works, that cannon´s owner can blast you to kingdom come if you enter his property without asking for pemission (In some states he has to post signs saying something like “Do not enter, if you do the owner will  shoot at you with a 105 mm howitzer”).

I don´t  like to live near someone like that. The Lord knows he looks sane, but hey, one mistake and there goes MY property.  Let me show you an example: here we see him with his assistant preparing to fire that cannon of his:

Old man preparing to fire a 105 mm cannon

And here we see the results of this  demonstration. The cannon round  flew over 5 km and fell quite close to a car stopped in the old man´s  property. This means it was quite legal for the round to hit the car and blow it apart.

Round strikes the ground near a parked vehicle 


What else can I say? To live in a place where people are armed like that  you have to be crazy. Or at least one needs a very  well-fortified house, as we see below. Because if an old drunk comes around  and starts shooting a .50 caliber machine gun or a howitzer,  a house with extremely thick walls and roof sure comes in handy. 

House with very thick walls and roof 

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