Here's today's pop quiz….
Who buys more Kalashnikov AK-47 semi-automatic assault rifles?
A) The Russian army and Moscow police.
B) The average, gun-toting American Joe Six-Pack.
It's a trick question because, according to a riveting (ricocheting?) article in The New York Times, the Izhevsky Machine Works factory in Russia sells an equal amount to each.
In fact, according to Maksim V. Kuzyuk, a board member of Izmash, which manufactures the deadly weapons, the company is focusing ALL of its marketing efforts on the United States. Maksim (or, Maxie to his friends and family) says, “Typically, the American family will have five or six short- and long-barreled guns.” Clearly, the Codys are NOT keeping up with the Jonses.
Don't get me wrong. I understand the need for weapons in the home. We face unprecedented threats to security including, but not limited to:
– Marauding herds of Al Qaeda-trained deer.
– Home-grown Ground Hog supremists, who are likely to waddle into any park at any time and wipe out the entire squirrel population.
– Those seemingly nice people from Jehovah's Witnesses who tell you they're trying to peddle copies of 'The Watchtower', when they're actually plotting a home invasion.
According to the Times articles, Americans are buying so many assault weapons from Izmash that they're enabling the factory to re-tool and build a next generation rifle, designated the AK-12, and intended for use by the Russian army. Talk about foreign aid! But, not to worry, American gunsmiths don't see their funding a foreign country's construction of new and more sophisticated assault weapons as unpatriotic. Owen Martin, a NH-based gunsmith, says the absolute avalanche of AK-47s in the U.S. is actually helping to keep the prices low. Ah, the beauty of free enterprise.
I'd go on, but we have a minor infestation of mice on the fifth floor and, having just received shipment of my very own AK-47, I have some unfinished business to attend to. Go ahead, Mickie and Minnie. Make my day.
Thanks for the comment, Ames. Just a guess here, but I’ll bet the NRA doesn’t publicize the fact that American sales of AK-47s have enabled the makers to build a new generation of assault weapons. Nothing very Red, White & Blue about that.
An AK in the home is a bit over kill as far as i’m concerned. That’s some serious fire power for a home owner. I didn’t realize the enormous demand our fellow americans have in wielding this infamous assault rifle. If only Kalashnikov was able to profit from his invention, he would have been a very wealthy man. Communist states had no patents back then, he did it simply for the good of mother Russia. Then you have Eugene Stoner who invented the M16 assault rifle, he certainly made out well on his patent.
Gaetano, I would keep at least a country mile’s distance between you and this wacko friend of yours (who clearly isn’t the Shakespeare of the Far Right). I’m obviously aware of the wild accusations about Obama and socialism before, but never have never them used as justification for owning an AK-47 before today. Does your friend expect Obama hit squads to come crashing through his front door? Thanks for sharing but, man oh man, it’s scary to think people like this not only exist, but number in the millions. Btw, tell him the Wermacht was the name for the German Army, which had nothing to do with the hyper-inflation that ruined the Weimer Republic and led to the rise of Adolf Hitler. In addition to learning basic spelling and grammar, your Kalashnikov-wielding buddy should take a basic course in world history.
I asked a friend of mine who owns an AK-47 why he would buy one…his answer…
Because I can! Other reasons: Obama, Socialist, Communist, Fascist, Progressives, Nazi’s, and an assortment of do gooders, that have infiltrated every aspect of our society. Bernanke and the Fed, who have the printing presses running at full throttle. It is not so unrealistic that we could be on the verge of Wehrmacht style inflation, and all the instability that it will create. The price of gold/silver, and the lack of faith in all paper money. Do you think the Europeans have solved their Sovereign Debt crises? There are endless reasons why I would take the trouble to own a gun. I never thought I would, but the “Times they are a changing”. It’s like any insurance policy, you hope the need for the policy never accurse, but when it does, you are great full that you have it.
Agreed, Shannon. I wonder what the world view of America must be? I’m sure they see us as a completely out-of-control, gun-happy bunch of cowboys straight out of Deadwood, Tombstone and Dodge City circa 1880. There’s no need for AK-47’s in the home. None. And, in the meantime, our dollars are enabling Russian gunsmiths to create a next generation version of the deadly weapon. There ought to be a law against this sort of lunacy.
Nice post. I completely agree. I am all for people being able to protect their homes, but what happened to smaller guns or even a good old fashioned baseball bat?
I was reading an article the other day, where a woman stabbed her fiance with a kitchen knife. One of the first comments was “Oh no, we should outlaw all kitchen knives” making fun of the recent rise of debate over gun control. Multiple comments along similar lines continued after it.
I don’t know how people misunderstand the difference between an assault rifle and a kitchen knife. Someone stabbing someone out of the blue isn’t really preventable. Allowing people access to assault rifles with any amount of ammo they can buy is. We are not being overly cautious, we are being practical. At least in my opinion.