"Baghdad Bob" Ferguson Pushes For "Assault Weapon" Ban In Washington State

Washington State’s Democrat Attorney General is looking to exploit the deaths of three teenagers earlier this year. He’s using teen’s murder of his ex-girlfriend two others at a house party as an excuse to try to ban the most common rifles sold in the United States, along with most standard capacity rifle and handgun magazines.

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Spurred by the recent killings of three teenagers in Mukilteo, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson will propose legislation next year to ban the sale of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in Washington.

Ferguson announced his proposal Wednesday, flanked by the parents of a fourth Mukilteo victim, who was seriously injured, as well as dozens of Democratic legislators and officials.

The legislation, which has not yet been written, would ban military-style semi-automatic weapons — like the AR-15 rifle that police say was used by the 19-year-old alleged gunman in Mukilteo — as well any magazine that holds more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

“Military-style weapons are designed for killing people,” Ferguson said. “These weapons have no place in civilian use.”

“No place in civilian use?”

ar-15 shooter

Like most anti-gun politicians, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is directly and boldly lying to his constituents to push his own political perversions.

AR-15s are the single most common style of rifle sold in the United States year over year, and their ubiquity stems from the fact that the open source platform has found a wide range of roles in civil society.

A completely modular system, AR-15-style rifles are presently manufactured in roughly 30 different calibers, ranging from .177-caliber air rifles, to .22 LR rimfire rifles, to .223 Remington up to .50 Beowulf centerfire rifles.

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Here are just some of the many civilian uses of AR-15s.

AR-15-style rifles are common among competition shooters, using iron sights or optics depending upon the kind of competition.

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Competition shooter Jules with her 15-pound AR-15 National Match target rifle, “Thor” in long-range precision shooting events from fixed positions with iron sights.
Professional shooter Lena Miculek uses an AR-15 in 3-Gun competitions. Image via 3-Gun Nation.
Professional shooter Lena Miculek uses a lightweight AR-15 in 3-Gun competition at short to medium ranges. Her AR-15 weighs 1/2 to 1/3 of “Thor.” Image via 3-Gun Nation.

Others prefer a scoped AR-15 with a heavy barrel for medium-to-long range target shooting or small game hunting.

An AR-15 target rifle from AR-15.com forum poster Westford86.
An AR-15 target rifle from AR-15.com forum poster Westford86.

AR-15 variants are increasingly common in medium and large game hunting as well, as long as long-range target shooting.

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A Nemo Arms “Omen” in .300 Winchester Magnum is capable of long-range target shooting or hunting the largest of North American game animals. Image via galleryhip.com.
A Daniel Defense "Ambush" in 6.8 SPC caliber is purpose-designed for deer and other medium-sized North American game.
An Ambush Firearms 6.8 SPC caliber AR-15 is purpose-designed for deer and other medium-sized North American game. This one was featured in Deer & Deer Hunting.

AR-15s are also commonly chosen as self-defense/home-defense firearms, and many professional firearms instructors and coaches recommend the AR-15 because it offers low recoil, a standard-capacity 20-0r 30-round magazine, and can be used with bullets that fragment more readily and pose less of a risk of over-penetration compared to most common defensive pistol and shotgun cartridges.

A home defense AR-15 set-up with a white light for target discrimination and a red-dot sight for target acquisition. Image via Personal Defense World.
A home defense AR-15 set-up with a white light for target discrimination and a red-dot sight for target acquisition. Image via Personal Defense World.

And of course, the AR-15 is well-known as the “modern musket,” particularly well-suited above all other firearms for the purpose of contemporary militia use.

When the Founding Fathers spoke of a “well-regulated” militia, they did not mean “regulations” as in restrictions. They clearly used the then-common term “well-regulated” to mean something “in a state of proper working order.”

In the late 20th Century and early 21st Century, no other firearm better helps the modern unorganized militia (literally, everyone nor currently serving who could be drafted to serve or volunteer in military or militia service) than the AR-15.

AR-15s are the "modern musket" for contemporary militiamen. According to U.S. federal law, the modern militia is nearly everyone capable of being called to serve as a draftee or a volunteer. Photo via Defense Review.
AR-15s are the “modern musket” for contemporary militiamen. According to U.S. federal law, the modern militia is nearly everyone capable of being called to serve as a draftee or a volunteer. Photo via Defense Review.

AR-15s share a great degree of parts commonality with real assault rifles (military M4 carbines and M16s capable that can select between one shot per trigger pull and burst modes or fully automatic fire), including using the same magazines and 5.56 NATO ammunition, so that modern militamen can bring their own firearms if needed, and use spare parts, magazines, and ammunition from government stockpiles as needed.

The five million (or more) AR-15s in civilian hands more than doubles the number of those belonging to the U.S. government in the military and in federal law enforcement… and that is perhaps the real reason entities such as the Democrat Party and their allies in the mainstream media are so intent on targeting them with bans and restrictions, even though rifles of all kinds have been used in less than 300 homicides a year—a number that is declining steadily, I must add—in a nation of 320 million.

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Why does Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson feel compelled to lie about AR-15s and similar firearms? Why does he feel compelled to try to outlaw standard capacity magazines used by most common handguns and the best-selling rifles?

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It certainly isn’t about saving lives, as a prior ban on the federal level from 1994-2004 and several state and local bans have had no discernable impact on violent crimes, which typically involve 3.2 – 3.7 rounds fired (PDF).

It certainly wouldn’t have made any difference in the Mukilteo shooting Ferguson is using as his excuse to push his proposed ban.

The suspect in that shooting would have been more lethal in his limited attack if he had used any common bolt-action deer rifle or shotgun. 18-year-old Will Kramer survived the Mukilteo attack because he was shot with a small, intermediate caliber (not “high power,” as the media and politicians so easily lie) bullet. If Mr. Kramer had been shot in the same place with common deer hunting rounds such as .270 Winchester or .30-’06, or a shotgun using any common buckshot loading, he would not be here today.

baghdad bob

“Baghdad Bob” was the nickname for Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. “Bob” was infamous for his obvious lies and bombastic propaganda. Why Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has chosen to make similarly obvious lies about the most common rifles sold in the United States is anyone’s guess.

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What is certain is that he is attempting to seize liberty and infringe upon the rights of Washington’s citizens using a combination of thin arguments and outright lies, and that he and his anti-gun allies must be defeated.

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