Hello Zak, I was really referring to semiautomatics with very large clips. I think that limiting magazine capacity would have a large impact on mass killings, but perhaps not crime.
One thing about very large magazines: totally not required for having fun at the shooting range. Large calibre ammunition is expensive. It is difficult to imagine someone firing off 100 rounds very quickly when for the cost of the ammunition they could buy their family dinner.
My favorite gun is my 22 Ruger very long barrel semi automation pistol. It has a 10 round clip, and since 22 ammunition is cheap, a clip costs me perhaps twenty cents. I know that a lot of people are down on guns, but when I go to the shooting range with my wife and friends, it is a lot of fun!
Magazines are a removable component, and many interchange between different types of gun, so what you really want to restrict is magazines, not guns. You'd do better to argue for that and leave "assault weapons" out of it lest you be put in the position of defending restrictions on barrel shrouds and bayonet lugs.
By the way, "magazine" and "clip" aren't the same thing. A clip is a device used to load an empty magazine with ammunition quickly. Some people will assume you are ignorant about guns in general if you use them interchangeably.
* I think that limiting magazine capacity would have a large impact on mass killings, but perhaps not crime.*
I think you're right about crime and wrong about mass killings. The VT shooter set a new record for the number of people killed, and he fired an average of ten shots per magazine, though some of his held 15. A person shooting unarmed victims can generally time his reloads so that it would be difficult for victims to rush him. A person using a gun in self defense likely has less opportunity to do so given that they're generally dealing with determined, armed opponents.
One thing about very large magazines: totally not required for having fun at the shooting range. Large calibre ammunition is expensive. It is difficult to imagine someone firing off 100 rounds very quickly when for the cost of the ammunition they could buy their family dinner.
My favorite gun is my 22 Ruger very long barrel semi automation pistol. It has a 10 round clip, and since 22 ammunition is cheap, a clip costs me perhaps twenty cents. I know that a lot of people are down on guns, but when I go to the shooting range with my wife and friends, it is a lot of fun!