20 June 2014

Quoting? Bill Ruger

The more than ten shots thing has been disputed by Tam.

Who has a copy of "The American Handgunner" September 1992, page 18?  He's reputed to have said:

"The best way to address the firepower concern is therefore not to try to outlaw or license many millions of older and perfectly legitimate firearms (which would be a licensing effort of staggering proportions) but to prohibit the possession of high capacity magazines. By a simple, complete and unequivocal ban on large capacity magazines, all the difficulty of defining 'assault rifle' and 'semi-automatic rifles' is eliminated. The large capacity magazine itself, separate or attached to the firearm, becomes the prohibited item. A single amendment to Federal firearms laws could effectively implement these objectives."

That's supposedly from "The Ruger Letter" dated March 30, 1989, sent out to Congress.  What I can't find is any reference to it in the congressional record, nor can I find a denial from Ruger.

From that and quotes from an NBC interview by Tom Brokaw;

"No honest man needs more "than ten rounds in any gun," and "I never meant for simple civilians to have my twenty- or thirty-round mags or my folding stock," and then said: "I see nothing wrong with waiting periods."

Quotes found on the internet.  But I remember being really pissed at Bill over the AWB back in 1992-94 and it wasn't about the size thing.  The quotes are oddly specific so finding a source to verify them is a matter of time and effort.

I lived through this shit.  "I heard it on the internet" is the same as saying I made it up.  Just because something is on the internet, doesn't make it true.  Just because something isn't doesn't make it false!

This should be easy for the bigger bloggers to get references to.  I know people hoard gun magazines, someone has that American Handgunner and a scanner.  But I don't think it's either of my readers.

Update:

I've found Neal Knox talking about it attributed to December 1, 1989.

Update Again:  Link from Tam.  I remember reading this before!  Better organized and cited than anything I've come up with.

3 comments:

  1. "I lived through this shit."

    Yeah, me, too. I got my first job managing a Type 01 'way back in '93.

    Did you not follow the link to Dean Speir's site I sent you? Ruger's proposal that he floated to Knox and then sent in a letter to Congress was for a 15-round limit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't seem to have gotten the link,

      What I am trying to track down is this NBC interview with Tom Brokaw. My brain says that I saw that interview and remembers Bill saying the no honest person needs more than ten shots. My brain is a liar, especially given the time frame. It's very near when I was in traction and drugged to the gills.

      Delete
    2. http://www.thegunzone.com/rkba/papabill.html

      Delete

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