• Liz@midwest.social
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    4 months ago

    What? No it wouldn’t? They hand grunts 30 round magazines for a reason. They used to give them 20 round magazines for the same rifle. Minimizing administrative tasks is good for your soldier.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Soldiers are also trained in several different firing modalities that depend on teamwork. Those 30 rounds aren’t there just because “it’s easier”. I would sooner hand a militiaman a bolt action than a 30 round semi/burst capable weapon. They’d be less likely to blow through significant portions of their ammo load just because the wind made a tree creak. And before you say no, remember the cop that unloaded on his own car because of an acorn. We don’t arm units for their best person, we give them the gun that’s good enough for the lowest common denominator. The 2nd amendment doesn’t make everyone a line Infantryman.

      • Liz@midwest.social
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        4 months ago

        The US military would one million percent prefer the population be trained and familiar on the standard issue rifle than on any other platform. (Arguments of the quality training put aside)

        • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          Then we better start giving everyone burst fire weapons.

          No?

          The military is just fine with its irregulars using something else. We worked alongside locals running AK platforms for 20 years.

          • Liz@midwest.social
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            4 months ago

            Nobody actually uses burst fire. Does the Spear have burst fire? I haven’t looked too closely because I seriously doubt they’re ever actually going to make it the standard issue rifle.

            • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              We absolutely used burst fire in Iraq. The M7 is also capable of burst or auto depending on what they put in the trigger group.

              • Liz@midwest.social
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                4 months ago

                Aight, I’ve been told different from other folks who have deployed.

                Anyway, this conversation is way off the rails. The point being that, if you consider the original intent of the 2nd amendment to be the only thing protecting a citizen’s access to firearms, it would be much more correct to say the standard issue rifle would be the most protected firearm than any other.

                • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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                  4 months ago

                  I can show you video.

                  At any rate if you want to talk about standard issue, what’s wrong with a modified M1a Springfield that runs an internal clip instead of a magazine? Given the choice I’d give militia men a bolt action over an M7 but there’s no reason we can’t go in the middle.

                  The major issue with mass casualty shootings is the ammunition availability. And that’s the problem everyone wants to solve. We could also go all in on red flag laws, fixing the NICS loopholes, and universal background checks. And if those work then we don’t need to do anything with magazines. There’s really a few paths available here, but if the NRA and friends keep putting a stop to any reform at all then they’re all going to happen at once.

                  • Liz@midwest.social
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                    4 months ago

                    Oh, no, it’s not that I don’t believe you. Just sounds like there’s different opinions within the military on the usefulness of burst fire.

                    The M1a Springfield uses a totally different manual of arms than the M4/M16, especially when you fix the magazine.

                    If we’re trying to square the 2nd amendment with reducing mass shootings (a very small but spectacular number of gun deaths) everything you listed would improve the situation slightly and there’s little reason why we shouldn’t have them. I’d throw in a storage requirement requiring guns and ammo be kept behind a lock. But mass shootings are much more of a social phenomenon than anything else. We’ve had access to capable guns for a very long time and mass shootings only became a thing in the 90s. That is, it’s not inherit to humanity, it’s cultural. (This should be further evidenced by the fact that they’re all done by white guys.)

                    Now, that sounds like a cop-out, but it’s not. It’s saying that we know we can have a society with guns and without mass shootings because we used to have exactly that. Well, what did we have then that we don’t have now? Lower inequality, higher union representation, more accessible housing, less media saturation, higher minimum wage, fewer monopolies, etc. I would suggest reading Angry White Men by Michael Kimmel to get an idea of the kind of person and situation that produces mass shootings. There’s a racial component to it that won’t (and shouldn’t) change, but so much about our economic and social situation can change to get rid of mass shootings. Heck, even just Medicare for All would have a big impact, since it would make counseling free and accessible. Plus, all these social changes would have an even bigger impact in the other major areas of gun deaths, murders and suicides.