From mpollak at panix.com Fri Apr 23 20:37:14 1999
At their worst, the gangs armed with automatic weapons
wandering our inner cities bear a passing similarity to armed
clans wandering countries where civil society has collapsed.
Do you think it's possible on this list for people to know one thing about guns before they present themselves in this way? Just one thing? I know it's difficult, because it's so tempting to just spout, but please: learn just one thing today. Ready?
AUTOMATIC WEAPONS HAVE BEEN MOSTLY ILLEGAL AND HARD TO GET IN THE US SINCE THE 1930's.
"Gangs armed with automatic weapons" sounds so much like "scary black men who will take my wallet and sell drugs to my three year old" that it makes me sick to even read the rest of your post.
Get a grip.
/jordan