https://www.ammoland.com/2021/03/crow-should-be-called-out-over-lies-or-ignorance/#axzz6qWXhhEXdCrow Should Be Called Out Over Lies Or Ignorance
United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- For someone who touts his service as an Army Ranger on his Twitter bio, Representative Jason Crow, there can be one of only two explanations for this Tweet from March 26: He is either ignorant of what is actually legal for people to buy, or he is brazenly lying.
I grew up a hunter and served as an Army Ranger.
I didn’t take my deer hunting rifle to Afghanistan, nor did I take my assault rifle deer hunting.
Don’t be fooled by the gun lobby. The type of gun matters.
Weapons of war have no place in our communities.
— Rep. Jason Crow (@RepJasonCrow) March 26, 2021Let’s dispense with the first possibility real quick: Crow, as an Army Ranger, should have been expected to be intimately familiar with the firearms used in combat. For most, it would have either been the M4 carbine or the M16 rifle. Here’s what the Army’s Acquisition Support Center says about the M4:
“The M4 series 5.56 mm Carbine is a compact version of the M16A2 Rifle and is equipped with a collapsible stock, an adaptor rail system and a backup iron sight. The M4A1 is fully automatic and incorporates an ambidextrous fire control selector.”
And what is the M16A2 rifle? Well, the 2001 Weapon Systems Handbook the Army put out has a good description on page 249 of the PDF at the link in this paragraph:
“A lightweight, air-cooled, gas-operated rifle. An improved version of the M16A1, the M16A2 incorporates improvements in iron sight, pistol grip, stock, and overall combat effectiveness. Accuracy is enhanced by incorporating an improved muzzle compensator, three-round burst control, and a heavier barrel; and by using the heavier NATO-standard ammunition, which is also fired by the squad automatic weapon.”
So, either way, Crow was carrying a firearm that can fire more than one round with a pull of the trigger.
According to the National Firearms Act of 1934, that makes them machine guns, and they are regulated very strictly. Fully automatic firearms require a tax stamp from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and that is $200. But you don’t even get to pay it without jumping through a ton of hoops.
Your typical AR-15 rifle, which doesn’t just come in 5.56mm (one look at the Rock River Arms website shows many caliber options, some of which are just fine for deer hunting), is semi-automatic only. That means one pull of the trigger fires one bullet. It is not the same thing Jason Crow was carrying when he deployed to Afghanistan.
Now, Jason Crow claims he goes deer hunting in his tweet. So, he likely got his deer rifle from an FFL. Or it was handed down, but even then, he had to buy ammo, and it was likely done at a gun store. Did Crow not even think to ask about the AR-15s there if he was so worried about “weapons of war” being for sale in America? It seems his ignorance if it is that, is quite willful.
The more likely conclusion, though, given how prominent the Second Amendment debate is in the country, is that Crow knows the truth, but wants to pass a ban on modern multi-purpose semiautomatics so badly that he’s willing to tell lies to do so. That is something we cannot allow to stand.
Second Amendment supporters should contact their Representative and Senators and politely urge they oppose any semiauto ban. They also should support the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action and Political Victory Fund to ensure that the current anti-Second Amendment regimes in the House, Senate, and White House are defeated at the ballot box as soon as possible.