Communities around the U.S. have seen shootings carried out with weapons converted to fully automatic in recent years, fueled by a staggering increase in small pieces of metal or plastic made with a 3D printer or ordered online. Laws against machine guns date back to the bloody violence of Prohibition-era gangsters. But the proliferation of devices known by nicknames such as Glock switches, auto sears and chips has allowed people to transform legal semi-automatic weapons into even more dangerous guns, helping fuel gun violence, police and federal authorities said.
The (ATF) reported a 570% increase in the number of conversion devices collected by police departments between 2017 and 2021, the most recent data available.
The devices that can convert legal semi-automatic weapons can be made on a 3D printer in about 35 minutes or ordered from overseas online for less than $30. They’re also quick to install.
“It takes two or three seconds to put in some of these devices into a firearm to make that firearm into a machine gun instantly,” Dettelbach said.
There are lots of situations where fire arms aren’t good for defense.
They need to be aimed.
They need to be loaded.
They are not allowed in some places/They have specific transportation requirements which preclude them from bring brought to some places.
They can kill/ grievously wound uninvolved people.
They aren’t effective for summoning help.
Someone wielding one in self defense can be reasonably misidentified as an aggressor.
Not every defence device has these deficiencies.
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I didn’t mean to suggest that there was something without any of those drawbacks, so I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear about that.
I’m not going to propose a one size fits all solution.
But I think people should consider the situations they are most likely to find themselves in, and make considered decisions.
I don’t think guns are likely to be the best choice very often.
Can you name viable alternatives, and what’s your personal plan?
Copying my reply to someone else because much of it is relevant here too.
I didn’t mean to suggest that there was something without any of those drawbacks, so I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear about that.
I’m not going to propose a one size fits all solution.
But I think people should consider the situations they are most likely to find themselves in, and make considered decisions.
I don’t think guns are likely to be the best choice very often.
I’m not that interested in discussing what I do personally for safety, because every situation is unique.
My question is for someone passionately arguing against keeping a gun for self defense, with the implication being it’s law, and so regardless of training and care and personal circumstances.
The pro-gun crowd doesn’t just blanket recommend guns for everyone in every situation either, so my question is specifically about how those worst case defensive scenarios are envisioned by people who eschew the idea of personally owning guns.
I live in Canada, it’s illegal in Canada to carry anything outside your home for the purposes of defense against humans. (But if you have something with you for a different reason you’re allowed to use it). This makes my personal preparations somewhat irrelevant to Americans.
That’s not really me. However, I do think that guns aren’t a very good defense investment. I think a lot of other, more practical, preparations get overlooked because guns are fun.
I have a colleague that lives in Buffalo NY. When the pandemic hit, he and his wife bought 10 guns. When I spoke with him in 2023 they had never fired any of them.
What you’re saying about blanket recommendations is not really true. My boss, a real actual person that I respect (for other reasons), believes that every adult in the country ought to own a gun.
But again, I’m not who you’re looking to engage, I’m not opposed to the idea of personally owning a gun.