By DAVID TRINKO

419-993-2150
dtrinko@limanews.com
P
ERRY TOWNSHIP An AR-15 semiauto-
matic rifle rests on one end of the table.
The black, sleek weapon by DPMS Fire-
arms has a collapsible stock, pistol grip and
flash suppressor. When politicians talk about banning
weapons, an intimidating firearm like this one often sits
nearby as a prop.
On the other end of the table sits a Ruger Mini-14.
Its a traditional hunting rifle with a deep brown wood
stock and dark, steely barrel. Its the kind of weapon
almost no one would dare suggest outlawing.
Aside from the stark contrast in their looks, theyre
the same rifle mechanically, Jim Yarger explained Satur-
day at the Lima Sabres rifle range east of Lima.
In Diane Feinsteins latest proposal, which never
got out of committee, she was going to ban the AR-15
and allow this weapon, which is the Ruger Mini-14,
said Yarger, the president of the Lima Sabres Shoot-
ing Association. Theyre the same exact caliber. They
fire the .223 round. Theyre both magazine-fed, semi-
automatic weapons.
Why would the federal government consider banning
Fighting over firepower
Americans may be more
tolerant on cultural issues, but
most still prefer the smaller
government of the
conservative ideology.
2013 MCT
What is your political
ideology?
50
40
30
20
10
50
40
30
20
10
92
07 08 09 10 11 12
03 13
Would you rather have
smaller government providing
fewer services or bigger
government providing more
services?
SmaIIer government
Bigger government
Source: Gallup poll of annual averages
on political ideology; Pew Research
Center poll of 3,019 adults; Sept. 12-16,
2012; margin of error: +/-2.1 percentage
points
Graphic: Judy Treible
Conservative
38%
Moderate
34%
LiberaI
23%
See FIREPOWER A9
AMANDA WILSON The Lima News
Jim Yarger shoots an M16 to clear up differences of automatic and semi-automatic weapons during a demon-
stration at the Sabres Shooting Range in Lima on Saturday morning.
Theyre the same exact caliber. They fire the .223 round.
Theyre both magazine-fed, semi-automatic weapons.
Jim Yarger, president oI the Lima Sabres Shooting Club, comparing an AR-15 to a semi-automatic hunting rife
Few mechanical differences found
between AR-15s, hunting rifles

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the AR-15 when an American icon has identical firepower
and fires just as quickly?
People think theyre bad, and theyre basing it on the looks
of the weapon, Yarger says, Nobody needs a military-style
weapon to defend themselves or go hunting, right?
Those additional features are really at the heart of the
debate about gun violence in America, says Ladd Everitt,
director of communications for the Coalition to Stop Gun
Violence in Washington.
Theyll tell you these features are pieces of plastic and
are merely scary-looking. Theyre just cosmetic, Everitt
said. Thats just nonsense.
The AR-15 became the symbol of a dangerous weapon
after gunmen used them in the mass shootings in
Aurora, Colo., and more recently in Newtown, Conn.
Someone purchased those weapons legally in each
case. After the U.S. Senate abandoned proposals this
week to expand gun background checks, the focus
could move on to ban specific types of weaponry in a
war waged in the court of public opinion.
If you hear the popular press, weve already answered
all the questions regarding gun control, said Bruce
French, a law professor at Ohio Northern University in
Ada. There are some measures coming before Congress
that are being defeated politically, not constitutionally.
Its pretty clear whatever they work out in Congress will
likely be found to be constitutional.
Defense of the AR-15
Larry James, treasurer of the Lima Sabres, doesnt
understand why some people oppose his AR-15.
Theyre easy to shoot. Theyre easy to clean, he said.
Whats really nice about the caliber is its easily available
because its used by the military and loaded a lot.
The AR identifies ArmaLite, the original manufacturer,
and not assault rifle, Yarger said, a term he described as a
media and political device.
The publics perception on them right now is bad
because of Aurora and Newtown, where the shooters
used AR-15s, Yarger said.
Those additional features on AR-15s concern Everitt,
though. His organization supports the Assault Weapons
Ban of 2013 proposed by Feinstein, a U.S. senator from
California. The proposal hasnt gotten out of committee
yet.
That proposal mimics much of the Federal Assault
Weapons Ban from 1994, which expired Sept. 13, 2004. In
that federal law, semi-automatic rifles could only have two
specialty features, such as folding or telescoping stock, a
pistol grip, a bayonet mount, flash suppressor or grenade
launcher.
In Feinsteins proposal, a rifle could only have one of
those features.
The worlds not affected by scary looks. Its specific fea-
tures and what they do, Everitt said. Pistol grips, the spe-
cific purpose is to keep level and steady during repeated
fire. A flash suppressor is to disguise sniper fire at night.
A barrel shroud keeps your hand safe while firing round
after round so it doesnt heat up and burn your hand.
Those features dont make the gun any more or less
dangerous, James said.
The people who havent really fired guns or understand
guns are led to believe the way a firearm looks makes it
bad or good or whatever, James said. Different people
have different preferences. Not understanding it is why
theres a lot of discussion on it.
Arguing over magazine sizes
The speed someone can repeatedly fire a semi-automatic
rifle makes it just as dangerous as a fully automatic
weapon, Everitt said.
Its a nonsense argument that you cant hold down the
trigger so its safe, he said. You can fire as quickly when
you repeatedly press the trigger. Its highly insulting to
those who are victims of gun violence.
Instead, much of the debate centers on how many rounds
should be allowed in a magazine for a semi-automatic
weapon. The 1994 law only allowed 10 rounds per maga-
zine. Feinsteins proposal also used the number 10.
No one in the world needs more than 10 rounds at a time
unless youre hunting humans, Everitt said.
Finding the magic number can be full of peril. When New
York recently passed a law outlawing large magazine, it
settled on seven rounds. Unfortunately for New Yorkers,
few manufacturers made clips with a seven-round capacity.
Limiting the number of rounds is impractical, Yarger said.
Weaponry mechanics already limits them, he said, as any
magazine holding more than 30 rounds is unreliable, he
said. Magazines arent registered, dont contain serial num-
bers and last a long time, meaning the countrys existing
magazines could last dozens of years, Yarger said.
On Saturday, he demonstrated how quickly someone
could switch from one 10-round magazine to another. It
took 2.6 seconds. He noted Eric Harris, one of the Colum-
bine High School shooters, switched between 13 10-round
magazines, firing off 96 shots before committing suicide,
following the letter of the law on the previous federal ban.
You can clip two 10-round magazines together and do
a reload between them in under three seconds, Yarger
said. So what effect does outlawing anything bigger really
have?
Whats already illegal
Yarger looked down the range at a brown cardboard
target. Pulling his hearing protection over his ears, he lifts
the M16 up and aims it through its scope.
The M16 is a fully automatic machine gun. When
Yarger presses down on the trigger, bullet after bullet
fires out the barrel. Casings fly off to the side; bullets
stream toward the target. In seconds, he empties an
entire magazine.
Its illegal to sell and manufacture one now without
the governments permission. Owning one is a four- to
six-month process, including the local chief of police or
sheriff signing off on it and a thorough FBI background
check. An owner of an automatic weapon must accom-
pany it anywhere it goes and request permission to move
it across state lines.
Theyre such a protected weapon theyre seldom used
in crimes, Yarger said. Outlawing them brought the price
up to $20,000 for collectors, up nearly 10-fold compared
to what the police or military pay.
When you talk about machine guns, theyve been
licensed and registered since the 1930s, and as far as I can
remember there has never been a mass confiscation of
those, Everitt said.
Politicians must be very thorough in drafting any type of
gun control legislation, said French, who helped draft the
District of Columbias gun control statute.
If youve got the votes, youll have to put every gun you
want to allow into that legislation, French said. If not, be
ready to fight it in the courts.
FIREPOWER from A1
AMANDA WILSON The Lima News
Jim Yarger explains the differences between the semi-
automatic and automatic weapons that he has laid out
for a demonstration at the Sabres Shooting Range in
Lima on Saturday morning.