Josh Sugarman on Breivek's Mini-14 [View All]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-sugarmann/norway-shooters-mini-14-t_b_911155.html

"Long notes, "The Mini-14's inexpensive price has made it the 'poor man's' assault rifle in many ways." Its price, he states, is "often only half that commanded by many military-style rifles on the market." "

The going price for Mini-14's is about $650.

Long concludes, "The Mini-14 is a handy, affordable rifle that is capable of being modified for combat or used as a sporter."

Kind of like just about any rifle.

"Breivik clearly understood that the firepower of militarized weapons is "just as efficient" as explosives:"

Or even more so. Breivik killed far more with his firearms than he did with explosives. And look at the people who attacked those hotels in India not so long ago.

"Breivik repeatedly noted that fully automatic (machine gun) fire capability is not necessary for armed terror attacks"

That's right. Just about any firearm will do.

"Breivik understood and advised others to make full use of high-capacity ammunition magazines"

If he didn't have high-capacity magazines, he would have simply carried more lower-capacity magazines. No one could stop him either way, until people with guns showed up.

"Ruger's Mini-14 Tactical Rifle is a version of the well-established Mini-14 incorporating many of the assault rifle features that end users have being applying themselves for decades, this time straight from the factory."


"Being seen over the years as a sort of 'poor man's assault rifle' the Mini-14 has spawned a huge array of after-market parts that may be applied to make it more 'assault rifle-y.' Recently Sturm, Ruger & Co. finally decided to get into the act themselves by producing their Mini-14 Tactical Rifles."

Of course, none of these accessories change the functionality of the way the firearm shoots bullets in the slightest.

The Mini-14 is simply one of many semi-automatic rifles that shoot a .223 cartridge.


What this kind of article shows is that it doesn't matter what kind of weapon bad people use, it will always be the weapon that is bad. Breivik could have used a 1898 bolt-action Mauser and Sugarman would be against those.