Gun worshiper wins semiautomatic weapon at church raffle in upstate NY

[SecularMotion]

An upstate gun nut went to church Sunday and walked out the winner of a high-powered assault rifle similar to the one used to slaughter 26 innocent people at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

But Ron Stafford, 42, an avid hunter and single father of two from Schenectady, said he didn’t see what’s wrong about owning a gun or a church giving away an AR-15 rifle.

“I believe it’s the right of the individual, I believe the church and our God-given rights and our rights to follow the Constitution go hand in hand,” said Stafford, who doesn’t even belong to Grace Baptist Church in upstate Lansingburgh, but made the 25-mile trek from his home for the gun drawing.

“I like to shoot,” said the Second Amendment zealot. “I believe that this shows the will of the people and what this country is all about.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/gun-worshiper-wins-gun-church-raffle-article-1.1731578

[NickB79]

1. And my subcompact Scion is similar to an Indy 500 race car

Because they both have an engine, seats and 4 tires.

Not to nitpick, but the gun raffled off is NY-SAFE compliant, which means it's about as far from the AR-15 used in Sandy Hook as a cap-and-ball revolver from the Civil War is from a Glock.

I mean, it will fire a bullet when you pull the trigger, but beyond that.....

[ForgoTheConsequence]

4. The only thing the law changed on these was aesthetics....

It's the same gun without pistol grips or adjustable stocks... So no, these guns are not that much different, the differences are just aesthetic for the most part.

You car comparison doesn't hold water.

[clffrdjk]

6. But wait I thought that the law

Was so very important and great. I mean every time we mentioned that the law only targeted aesthetics we were told no no it's about assault weapons.

[benEzra]

14. That's what gun owners have been complaining about since 1989.

these guns are not that much different, the differences are just aesthetic for the most part.

BINGO.

A civilian self-loading centerfire .22 is a civilian self-loading centerfire .22.

Which begs the question....why the fuck is the gun prohibition lobby so obsessed with outlawing rifle handgrips that stick out?

[rrneck]

2. This won't do.

Your OP's are too wonky. C'mon man! Get some hyperbole in there! Turn up the heat a little!

[Politicalboi]

3. May he find god with it

[SQUEE]

5. What next the National Enquirer,

or considering the OP, maybe even the Onion?
First you use Fox to fuel your dumps, now you rely on tabloids... Dam SecMo, your not even trying anymore.

[sarisataka]

7. Gun grabber tries to sell automatic weapons and missiles in CA

Yee discussed helping the agent get weapons worth $500,000 to $2.5 million, including shoulder-fired automatic weapons and missiles, and took him through the entire process of acquiring them from a Muslim separatist group in the Philippines to bringing them to the United States, according to the affidavit by FBI Special Agent Emmanuel V. Pascua.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-state-senator-leland-yee-arrested-in-federal-raid/
These would be the fully automatic versions of the high-powered assault rifle similar to the one used to slaughter 26 innocent people at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Why have I seen zero criticism of (suspended) Senator Yee from any on the GC side? Is it because he stated:

“It is extremely important that individuals in the state of California do not own assault weapons. I mean that is just so crystal clear, there is no debate, no discussion,” said Yee.

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/05/20/cbs-5-story-inspires-new-legislation-to-ban-bullet-button/

If every gun owner is expected to personally own the statements of LaPierre and Nugent, shouldn't every proponant of strict GC laws own the actions of Mr. Yee?

[wall_dish]

8. Sheesh!

After reading the linked article, I see how he's quite the hypocrite, he doesn't want ordinary californians to have these semi automatic weapons, yet he has no problem orchestrating the smuggling of fully automatic weapons and AA missiles.

[Jgarrick]

9. He appears to have adopted the position, "Guns for Yee but not for thee".

May he get that which he deserves!

[Eleanors38]

10. Ba-da-Boom. Tsshh.

[Lizzie Poppet]

11. Wow...could that "journalism" be any more biased and inept?

You're doing your credibility no favors posting that sort of twaddle.

[ileus]

12. I couldn't win an AR if I was the only person attending.

Congrats to Mr. Stafford for winning what's becoming America's rifle.


Hope it provides hours of fun for his family, not to mention they make great home defense carbines.

[NYC_SKP]

13. Well, which was it? A semiautomatic rifle or a "high-powered assault rifle", because it ain't both.

Two different animals.

A high-powered assault rifle is a select fire weapon with automatic or semi-auto capability.

I seek to educate people here.

Britannica will do:

assault rifle

assault rifle, military firearm that is chambered for ammunition of reduced size or propellant charge and that has the capacity to switch between semiautomatic and fully automatic fire.

Because they are light and portable yet still able to deliver a high volume of fire with reasonable accuracy at modern combat ranges of 300–500 m (1,000–1,600 feet), assault rifles have replaced the high-powered bolt-action and semiautomatic rifles of the World War II era as the standard infantry weapon of modern armies.

Their ease of handling makes them ideal for mobile assault troops crowded into personnel carriers or helicopters, as well as for guerrilla fighters engaged in jungle or urban warfare.

Widely used assault rifles are the United States’ M16, the Soviet Kalashnikov (the AK-47 and modernized versions), the Belgian FAL and FNC, and the German G3. (See also AK-47; M16 rifle.)

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/39165/assault-rifle