Irony in the anti-gun movement

When I was writing this article, it struck me. There is a bit of irony in some of the arguments liberals use to try to sneak in more gun control. Specifically, when liberals argue that restrictions are "not" about hunting or sporting guns, but instead are about "assault weapons."

Let's break that down. From the arguments made, the liberals are "fine" with guns that serve a "legitimate sporting use," or "commonly used for hunting," just not the "assault weapons." We are all familiar with hunting. Would it surprise anyone to know that one of the most popular hunting rifles available is the AR 15 and its variants? Of course, the AR 15 is the quintessential rifle targeted by liberals as being an "assault rifle."

Here's an article about the Remington R25 - which is an AR chambered for the popular .308, .243, and 7mm-08 hunting rounds. Standard AR15's are often used, where legal, for hunting - typically deer, feral hogs, and predators (such as coyote). The AR15 platform is inherently accurate, easily customized (good for adding scopes, bipods, or other tools), and they can be configured in many popular hunting cartridges - .223, 7.62x39, 6.8 SPC, 6.5, and others.

What about legitimate sporting uses? Let's examine that, too. The most common and popular types of competition are NRA High Power, USPSA, 3-Gun matches, and Cowboy & Western shooting. The last, Cowboy & Western Shooting, is typically done with old-fashioned guns - revolvers, lever-actions, and the like. However, the other types of competition use the exact kind of guns that are targeted by liberals.

NRA High Power (DCM and CMP matches are substantially similar)
These competitions focus on one of four main rifles: Pre-WWII bolt-actions (1903, and 1917 models), M1 Garand (a semi-automatic battle rifle), M14 (and the M1A counterpart - a definitive "assault rifle" by media standards) and the ever-famous AR15. Coincidentally, the AR15 matches are commonly the best attended.

So the "assault rifle" is also the most commonly used rifle in competition? Yep.

USPSA (also similar are ISPC and IDPA)
Also known as pistol competitions, all three organizations require use of pistols or revolvers at least 9mm in projectile diameter. The most commonly used pistols at these events are GLOCK's, 1911's, and other similar semiautomatic pistols. Preferred by competitors are pistols with higher capacity magazines, as most events require shooting many targets.

So the GLOCK, and "high-capacity" magazines that are being targeted now in the wake of the Arizona shootings, are the primary types of guns used in pistol competition?  Yep.

3-Gun matches
3-Gun matches incorporate pistol, rifle, and shotgun shooting into a single test of skill. These competitions are increasingly more popular, and the USPSA (mentioned above) is one of the main organizations to sponsor competitions.  From this page, one needs the following to compete:
- Serviceable semi-auto pistol in 9mm or larger caliber. (more pistols that liberals want to ban!)
- Serviceable semi-auto, or pump shotgun in 12 gauge with 20-21” bbl threaded for screw-in chokes.
- Serviceable semi-auto rifle in .223, .308, or 7.62x39 (AK) caliber. (more "assault rifles!")


So it would seem that legitimate (and quite popular) sporting use includes these particular guns that are coming under fire (pun intended).

Liberals don't want you to have guns of any sort. They want to take your freedoms away, and they are willing to do it piecemeal if needed.