Assault weapon bans are idiotic. All of them ban features that don't really make a gun more deadly. They just make activists and lawmakers nervous because they make the gun more scary in their eyes.

Most have historically banned cosmetic features, for the most part.

However, the latest trend is to use a far broader definition that tends to cover most modern sporting rifles as well as a lot of other things. Colorado's proposed bill is just one example.

Another can be found in the state of Rhode Island. 

Now, that bill is being ripped by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms via a press release sent on Thursday:

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms says legislation just introduced in the Rhode Island General Assembly to ban so-called “assault weapons” should be rejected, and is calling on its members in the state to demand as much from their elected representatives.

The bill, H-5436, targets virtually every self-loading rifle, regardless of caliber, capable of accepting detachable magazines. Only semi-automatic rifles of .22-caliber rimfire with tubular magazines would be exempt from the proposed ban.

“The authors of this legislation seem intent on banning every semiautomatic rifle possible, plus several models of semi-auto shotguns and various popular pistols,” noted CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “We’ve seen similar legislation in other states, all appearing to follow the same general formula, and they all amount to egregious efforts to erode the Second Amendment rights of law-abidiing citizens, without any reference to arresting and prosecuting armed criminals.

“It is distressing to hear state officials argue for bans on firearms based on their appearance, or their ability to accept certain accessories,” he continued. “Likewise, for the supporters of this bill to claim it somehow is aimed at gun safety is ludicrous. They seem to equate criminalizing firearms with gun safety, which strains common sense and will likely not prevent a single violent crime.

“When Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha declares in a prepared statement there is ‘no need’ for a private citizen to own a certain type of firearm,” Gottlieb commented, “one has to wonder who put him in charge of determining someone else’s ‘need.’ Besides, the Second Amendment is not about anyone’s ‘needs,’ it’s about rights. It is actually the cornerstone of the Bill of Rights.

“We’re encouraging Rhode Island gun owners and grassroots activists to vigorously oppose H-5436,” he concluded. “They should immediately contact their local representatives and ask for a ‘No’ vote, and send a message to the General Assembly that banning whole classes of firearms is not the way to reduce violent crime or tragedy resulting from negligence.”

The problem is that Rhode Island is one of the more anti-gun states out there. The fact that they didn't already have an assault weapon ban is really the most surprising thing about this.

But this measure does go way too far. I get that they're trying to encompass things like AR-15s in ways that make it impossible to build a version that circumvents the law, but this goes way beyond that. As Gottlieb notes, it includes a lot of shotguns and many handguns as well.

Those are also the handguns most popular for self-defense.

Essentially, the law would relegate you to 19th Century-levels of firearm technology, which is beyond ridiculous. Yes, bad people do bad things, but guess what? They'll still get their grubby little paws on semi-auto firearms if they want them. Unless you deal with crime prevention effectively, as well as addressing potential mass shootings before they happen, you're always going to have problems.

Yet because of this measure, should it pass, people will be at a profound disadvantage in self-defense situations. They're going to be outgunned significantly by just about anyone they find themselves up against.

Sure, the best move in a gunfight is to avoid it if at all possible, but when it's not, it's ideal to have the best gun you can. Rhode Island is considering making that impossible.