C of C, the musket and ball was the "state of the art" military weapon of its day. And whether you believe it or not there were a number of repeating arms (read "semi-automatic") in common use in Europe as well as America. They were as multifunctional as today's military (type?) arms are. With very few exceptions (and those exceptions are quite controlled) all the full auto stuff, bombs, rockets, grenades, Hell-fire missiles and such are under the tight control of the national military groups, National Guards and State Militias.

"Assault" rifle has never been clearly defined. Most of what goes as a definition is nothing more than the cosmetic appearance of the weapon; things like whether the hand grip extends a given distance below the stock or if it has a bi-pod lug or a bayonet lug. I have never heard of a crime being committed with a fixed bayonet, have you? That would be a purely military application and would make no sense whatever for holding up the local 7-11 store. "Assault" for the most part is for the benefit of the ignorant who are afraid of the unknown (arms) in the first place. It's a "scare" word, a buzz word to signal the faithful that what ever it is linked to is surely EVIL, you know, kinda like the reaction you hope to elicit when you mention the NRA?!

How about those evil "fingerprint resistant" grips? You know, what is commonly known as "checked" grips which have been around about as long of firearms? Even longer as they were on swords and daggers, not to mention hammers and screwdrivers and all sorts of hand tools long before the day of firearms. And why are the really there? To disguise or hide the fingerprint identity of the user? NO! They are there to afford the user a better GRIP! Be real. Some thugee who is going to be conscious of his fingerprints on his weapon of choice, be it a knife, a gun or a screwdriver (I was once robbed by a screwdriver-wielding punk when I was in the Air Force) they will wipe off their prints. One is more likely to find a tell tale print on a cartridge casing or barrel than the grip. A diamond checked grip is more likely to provide you with a DNA sample.

The things criminals do are CRIMINAL. They modify guns for concealment. They make silencers. They are CRIMINALS. It's what they do. The NRA is NOT a criminal organization. If they were, they would have been put out of business long ago. They do NOT advocate ANY criminal activity. If they had, they would have been put out of business a long time ago. Nor do they endorse any criminal group or endeavor of any kind.

The NRA was created following the US Civil War because so many Union soldiers were simply awful marksmen. The Southern boys, though comparatively fewer in number were far better marksmen and they made every shot count and came near to winning the war do to that fact alone. The goal of the NRA was to train civilians in marksmanship and also in the hunter's ways. It has always had the best interests of the nation at heart and has always stood as a proud supporter of the Bill of Rights and in particular the Second Amendment. If you every study the Bill of Rights you will find that there was a debate as to whether to have what is now the Second Amendment the First. The two are so closely interdependent that they both vie for first consideration. This is also seen in the Great Seal as the Eagle carries both the olive branch and arrows but looks first to the olive branch.

I find that people who want to vilify and portray the NRA as something evil are either ignorant of who and what the NRA is or does or they actually want to change the political character of this nation and make it some it is not: something less than what it is, in my opinion. It isn't really the NRA they are opposed to but what they represent, namely the freedoms which are enumerated in the Bill of Rights.