So there is some controversy over the fact that we in the US have a huge option of weapons from all over the world to choose from. Many of these weapons are surplus. I would like to engage in debate about the view on firearms from different countries. We hear so many people say they are opposed to gun control, but I would like to test the grounds and see how many people are "truly" opposed to gun control.
As we know, the assault weapon ban and 922(r) regulations has opened up a whole new market for companies in America. Ever since certain weapons like the Galil, FAL, AK47, HK91, and other so called assault weapons have been banned (as in sale of new weapons), the American industry has tried to capitalize on the popularity of these weapons by attempting to make clones by reverse engineering the receivers (which in some cases are superior, and other cases inferior) or by using the actual tooling by these companies.
Regulations currently placed on military type weapons like 922(r) require a certain amount of American parts on these weapons for them to legally be sold.
Bill Clinton banned the import of "assault rifles" from China, the excuse being that criminals were able to obtain these weapons cheaply and launch terror upon innocent civilians. This however did not stop the import of shotguns or other politically correct "sporting" rifles from being imported into the US.
To make things more clear, the poll is in regards to if JTF members are completely opposed to gun control and believe firearms should be a free market, or if you feel that certain countries should be blocked that work against our interests. We'll go over the pro and cons as well.
Recently, theres been some controversy on certain weapons, Austrian manufacturer Steyr has been in the news recently for supplying Iranians with .50 caliber sniper rifles, some of the gun forums are saying that members should boycott Steyr for supplying our enemies. Others feel that this is perfectly justified.
I find this rather odd that Steyr is targeted, if anyone looks at terrorist arsenal, they really have a selection of many weapons from all over the world. The Israeli government have supplied the fakestinians with M16's (Made in America), they have also sold Galils to questionable nations in the past as well, Russia and China have sold weapons to anyone who has the cash from terrorists to rebels all over the world. The AK47 today is symbolized as being a terrorist weapon and many political opponents have used the AK47 as a symbol of terror to justify banning so called "Assault weapons". German H&K G3's and FN FAL's have been found all over South America and the middle east.
I guess the end result is, corporations don't always have ethical purposes for how they generate money.
The other side of the debate, people claim that by purchasing Chinese made weapons, or those made in Pakistan, Turkey (yes a lot of American companies are now outsourcing to Turkey now), or even the popular Springfield XD (made in Croatia), that by purchasing these weapons, we are supporting these countries economies and the companies that manufacture them.
There is also the debate of safety, the surplus market has always been flooded with a number of different products from all around the world. Sometimes ammunition has it's flaws, there was commercial ammunition from UAE a number of years ago that was causing the gun to "KaBoom!" when fired. The casings were crimped too tight.
Both Republicans and Democrats have placed restrictions or bans on imports for various reasons, the Democrats mainly claiming that citizens shouldn't have access to these weapons and imposing restrictions on cosmetic appearance.
Republicans have banned import of new weapons from these countries so that our country does not support their economy.
How do you feel about purchasing weapons from foreign countries of questionable status?
My personal view, I oppose gun control in all forms, the end user that suffers is the citizen when bans are imposed. I think reviewing the facts, that if we were to boycott countries selling to our enemies, then we would essentially have to boycott every country seeing as who they they have supplied in the past and what not.