First off, the ban is not an assault rifle ban (those have been illegal for many many years). It is called an assault weapon ban. Assault weapon is a media buzz word that could actually be used to define any weapon.

An assault rifle is a select fire weapon, which fires an intermediate round from a closed bolt system. None of the weapons covered in this ban meet that criteria.

Assault. A crime that occurs when one person tries to physically harm another in a way that makes the person under attack feel immediately threatened. Actual physical contact is not necessary; threatening gestures that would alarm any reasonable person can constitute an assault.

Weapon. A weapon is a tool which is intended to or is used to injure, kill, or a person, damage or destroy property, or to otherwise render resources non-functional or unavailable. Weapons may be used to attack and defend, and consequently also to threaten or protect. ...

So if I am holding a pen, and wave it at you while threatening you and you feel threatened then that pen just became an assault weapon. But those that do not understand weapons or how to use a dictionary made up their own definition. But then again, since it was not the weapon that caused the assault, it was not really the weapons fault was it. Note in the definition of weapon it says tool.

Once again, none of the weapons included in this ban meet this criteria.

A sniper rifle can only be defined as a scoped weapon that holds a 1 MOA group or lower. Anything higher can not be defined as a sniper rifle. But lefties do not seem to care about facts most of the time.

I shoot competitively in my spare time. A .338 lapua mag that fires .3 MOA comes in handy. It also comes in handy when hunting big game, accuracy counts when you are stalking a 1200 pound brown bear.

I own, and carry legally. I have my CCW and have for several years. I am not a criminal. I have never used a personal weapon in commission of a crime, and luckily, I have never had to draw it in defense of myself, my family or my property. No sane person ever wants to hurt or kill someone, but unfortunately it happens. Better to have something and not need it, than need it and not have it.

Someone spoke of alternatives earlier, but their post seems to be gone now. I will post them as I remember them.

A trained guard or personal protection dog (not a strassenhunde trained dog, they are not likely to bite without a suit or sleeve) can really protect you, but at the same time, they van end up being unreliably aggressive, so if you have small children and are not constantly paying attention to them you can have problems. An untrained dog is no better. An untrained dog is more likely to cower than defend. Fight or flight kicks in, and in dog language, if the threat is too great, it is always better to back down. Most dogs will not fight to the death, and they know when they are out matched. They know this by their opponents body language, and several other external keys as well as the size of the opponent. So bottom line is you can not rely on a dog as your only line of defense.

If he has a knife, he will more than likely be able to get one or two good strikes before you can knock him out, that is if you even can knock him out. If he has a gun, then you are done. Additionally, if they are on something, then you will more than likely not be able to take them down with a bat.

Years ago, I attemded a formal school called SOTG for less than lethal. One part of that school was receiving a level one spray with 14% OC spray. After being sprayed you then have to fight your way down the gauntlet. It honestly was not that hard. A determined attacker will not be stopped by OC spray.

Tazer's are a product name. Not the actual product itself. But anyway. These tools are ok. But not reliable with all attackers. Those on drugs, or those that have a high pain tolerance will only be slowed down. A determined attacker will not be stopped reliably by this tool.

I hope that this was an attempt at humor, I really do. But anyway. I stand 6'5" and weigh 240 pounds. I have been in the Marines for just over ten years, I am a black belt instructor for the MCMAP program. I have been studying mixed martial arts for the better part of two decades, I am an instructor at the MSOS, and I have several combat deployments under my belt. And while I would be more prepared to deal with an armed attacker than the average person (I am not trying to sound cocky), I would be at a major disadvantage if they were armed with a firearm. So the bad guy has one, I should have one too. Bad guys do not follow the law, so they will not give up their guns. Say he has a knife. Sure things would be more on level ground. But in a life and death situation, (to quote Major Holdridge) sometimes it is entirely appropriate to kill a fly with a sledgehammer.

Additionally. I use two weapons for home defense. In a finger locked safe on the side of my bed I have a Kimber Custom Covert II in .45, across the room I have a Class III (I am a collector and pay the appropriate yearly taxes on all my Class III weapons) M4. The only reason that Kimber is locked to my bed is because it takes me four seconds to unlock that safe and bring it to the ready, It takes me thirty seconds to get into my gun safe and pull my M4. Terminal ballistics are better with the M4 than the .45 (if anyone wants to question this please send me a PM and I will be glad to explain why that is), and the M4 is less likely to over penetrate. So there is less of a chance that there would be injuries to my family, It is much easier to hit the target when you are stressed with a rifle than it is a pistol.

Shotguns do not make good home defense weapons. Outside of ten feet anything more than 00 buck will not reliably penetrate flesh deep enough to hit major organs, and as such it is more likely that the attacker could continue with his attack. In a defense situation, your aim is to end the attack with as little harm to yourself or your family as possible. The only way to reliably incapacitate an attacker is to kill him.

I am sorry if this sounds morbid, I do honestly hold human life in the highest regard. But I hold my families life higher than that the one who attacks my family. If he wants to live to a ripe old age, then he needs to pick a different profession.

Stay safe, and shoot straight.

S/F
C-D-P