AnonymousBy an edhat reader
On Tuesday a friend was walking through Ellwood in Goleta found a loaded short barrel AR-15 laying in the grass. He pulled out the magazine and took the round out of the chamber and carried it back to the car and waited for a Sheriff’s Deputy to arrive. When the Deputy saw it he was shocked and said this gun is very illegal and there was some blood found on it.
I haven’t seen this reported anywhere, does anyone have information?
too bad he contaminated the evidence. Should have just stood nearby while deputy’s arrived!
Maybe he had to go to his car to get his phone and didn’t want to leave it alone. We don’t know the circumstances.
Why would he touch the gun? Leave it be and call the authorities, if youre going to call the authorities about it
the only thing he accomplished is he made himself a person of interest to the police
An AR-15 is also illegal if it has a barrel less than 16″, and it is not “featureless”. If it is not “featureless”, the magazine cannot be detachable. In The People’s Republic Of California, just about anything these days can send you to jail when it comes to firearms. I own three by the way…
SH MONK Maybe he should build a home and live next to the gun until a police officer happens to be hiking and discovers him.
What makes an AR-15 so dangerous it needs special rules?
If this is an honest question, then I’ll just throw in my 0.02. Unconverted and without a high capacity magazine, they’re just semi-automatic rifles with a design modifications that make them look intimidating and could prove of some ergonomic value to the shooter. Perhaps in the right hands this style of weapon provides a significant advantage. A Navy SEAL is probably more dangerous with a spork than I would be with an AR-15, given I have no experience with AR-style weapons. To me, dangerous is relative. The truth is common items such as pressure cookers, automobiles and chemicals (in my particular case) can dangerous in the right hands.
It’s a totally unnecessary weapon in a non-military situation. The short barrel length reduces accuracy. The ability to fire many rounds quickly is not needed for hunting, and in a self-defense situation is also overkill. The lightweight bullet is easily deflected by vegetation, and is not ideal for hunting because the high velocity and the aspect ratio of the bullet causes tumbling on impact and massive tissue damage. It is a weapon designed for the military, and has no place in civilian life in a civilized country.
It’s appeal is because of its appearance and military reputation, a crutch to the psyches of the wannabe machos.
AR15s don’t have special rules. Weapons are really just tools, and each has its own application, accessories, and nuances. For instance, I like to woodwork and have about five different saws: hand saws, band saw, circular saw, table saw, and jig saw. Each saw has a different application, unique saw blade, and specialty accessories. Same goes for weapons, including types such as the AR15 rifle or AR15 pistol. This weapon has no greater or lesser ability to “kill large groups within seconds” than other types. That’s uninformed. But ditto others: A weapon left unattended is very bad, and a loaded weapon is a tragedy waiting to happen. The reporting party did the right thing and let’s hope the LEOs get to the bottom of what happened.
Rogur What a bizarre response. you know cell phones dont have cords right? No reason for him to touch the weapon
@SIMPLETON: “This weapon has no greater or lesser ability to “kill large groups within seconds” than other types.” — I don’t need to be a “gun expert” to say you are absolutely wrong. Can a .357 revolver be modified to hold 40+ rounds and fire automatically? How about a shotgun? Stick to saws.
You are correct on the revolver as they are fixed for a number of rounds, speed loaders notwithstanding. But there are large magazines for some types of shotguns. And “automatic” is not legal in the US for most civilians. I presume you meant “semi-automatic”. My point is that each weapon has a specific use and application. Most gun owners own several types for several applications, as I do for saws. You would not use the same weapon to hunt ducks as you do deer. If you have questions or would like to learn more then you should visit a range or gun shop and educate yourself. Maybe we’ll bump into each other, which would be nice. Good luck and have a restful weekend.
It is nothing but a tool!!! When people realize that and look for underling conditions as to why a person wants to harm others then we will have a path to stopping violence!!!!!!!!
Leave it be what if it wasn’t there when he went back with the police?
AR-15 shoots .223 and unless it has a more than 10 round mag it is NOT illegal.
Now if someone made it full auto or it had a 40 round mag, now that would be illegal here.
Kind of like making a “prison shank” from a spoon.
What if he didn’t have his phone on him should he just stand there and yell? SHMONK How would you do it if you did not have your phone on you which I’m sure you take everywhere with you..
The Guy did the right thing, Release the Mag and empty the chambered round. Gun Safety First. Yes, there are many responsible gun owners here in Santa Barbara , Not all Ar-15s are 223. You also have 556. If you have a 556. you can use 223. rounds. But if you have a 223. it is not advised to use 556. rounds cause it can get stuck and not eject the casing after being fired. Safety first. Always. Good job to the citizen who turned the firearm in.
Ar-15’s are dumb and shouldn’t be legal. We should radically change what guns can be purchased as no one needs an assault rifles (and those that do, are the ones we should probably be stopping from having them)!
So…should we ban the Ruger Mini-14? Magazine fed, and the same caliber (.223). Also, very few crimes are committed using a so-called “assault rifle”. I think people that are ignorant about firearms, are just put off by the aesthetics of the Armalite Rifle (AR).
Again. The Second Amendment has NOTHING to do with hunting. Why do anti-2A people always talk about hunting?
Is there such a thing as “overkill” when it comes to defending your family and yourself? And, stop talking about hunting. It has NOTHING to do with the Second Amendment.
Yep… we should also ban the Ruger Mini-14! And after making many of these guns illegal, make the guns still legal harder to get. Any other questions CWAZNY?
The rough equivalent is the National Guard? The driving force behind the Second Amendment was for American citizens to have the ability to protect themselves from a tyrannical government. The National Guard is part of the government. Just look at the tapes on their uniforms, i.e., U.S. Army (National Guard) and U.S. Air Force (Air National Guard). Having the National Guard is not a replacement for excercising your 2nd Amendment rights. And, it doesn’t pertain to a “well-regulated militia”. It pertains to a citizen’s right to bear arms.
And, please show me a single-action revolver with a fixed-box magazine loaded by a stripper clip, or any magazine for that matter. My God! Why do people that know the least about something, always talk so much about those thing of which they know little to nothing? Again. The 2nd Amendment has nothing to do with hunting or target shooting. Amazing!!!
Yeah… you don’t need an AR. No one needs them. And the ones that do… definitely shouldn’t have them. That’s a win for all. I’m sure you could learn to live with just a shotgun, right? We all agreed automatic weapons and grenades were bad… let’s go ahead and update that list and add a lot more that’s no longer aloud! That’s a Win-win that only a kinda nutty fringe would disagree with. You can have a gun… just smaller ones… with less capacity for mayhem… let’s join the rest of the civilized world on this one…
Well… Since I spent 6 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, I’m sure that I’m quite a bit more familiar than you about “modern military power”. You seem to be ignoring some words yourelf such as, “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”. You all like to ignore that little bit of text…
Semper Fidelis doesn’t mean having a blind allegiance to the government. “Always Faithful” pertains to Corps and Country. The government isn’t the Country. Please know what you’re talking about before you say anything.
Guns are for sissies and snowflakes.
I certainly don’t have all the answers…but some answers/questions are pretty easy. Let’s just got ahead and not change the clock in November, everyone hates it…dark at 5pm…it sucks! Easy !!!
Next – people don’t need assault weapons …for the exact reasons you state… I DONT WANT YOU (or anyone) HAVING THE FIREPOWER TO KILL LOTS OF PEOPLE AS YOU FIGHT OFF OUR GOVERNMENT. Easy Easy.
Would listing sites of mass shooting events in America be helpful or “better reasoning”…because we kind of have a disproportionate amount in this country!!!!
In the event I did have to “fight off our government”, what do you propose I use to protect myself? I torch and a pitchfork?
So are you bummed that you cant save up money to buy a rocket launcher or antiaircraft weaponry? Is that an infringement on your 2nd amendment right…because they would be pretty helpful in your fighting off the government fantasy! How dare that right be taken from you!!!!! It’s wrong…It’s your second amendment right…you should have unfettered access to the latest and greatest artillery!!!!!
Your argument seems to be that you need Guns and it’s your right to have guns to fight off the government . So, by extension don’t you think you should have access to bigger and better guns? What right does anyone have to tell CRAZY that he can’t get the biggest and best…
No. You guys love to list “sites”. Just give me the numbers from an unbiased source. Just don’t make stuff up, or get your information from some lefty lunatic website. Try the CDC. I want you to tell me out of all of the crimes committed with a firearm in this country, how many use a so-called “assault rifles”. And, once again, you’re lame. Why do you keep insisting that I want a rocket launcher or anti-aircraft gun? Never said any such thing.
We need to restrict all firearms, especially handguns and assault-type weapons. The key is to limit both firepower and concealability. Civilized nations around the world have done it. It’a especially hard for us because of gun worship culture and the sheer number of firearms, but we have to start somewhere.
Thats great!! So now that you have acknowledged that it’s good and right to limit ones access to any/all weopons…to infringe upon that 2nd amendment… let’s just go ahead and make that list A little more strict… ‘m’kay ….
Wow! Typical lefty tactics. Just twist around the words to fit your narrative. Kind of pathetic actually. Alright DUKEMUNSON and MACPUZL and all of the other lefties. You win. Come and get my guns. I’ll let you know where to come and get them…
I don’t know…
Pulse nightclub…the borderline… sandy hook… columbine… the sad thing is… the sites go on and on and on and on… but yeah… Guns.. hooray…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States
Are you saying those shootings didn’t happen…?
OH GOD!!! NOT YET ANOTHER LEFTY WEBSITE?!!!
And, of course, for total fruitcakes:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43231638
Because cons have courted the lowest common denominators in society for decades, science is now considered “lefty”.
So you are denying mass shootings have happened? Fake news????
Well, taking advice from countries that have largely eliminated the firearms problems we have might be a good idea, don’t you think? Ah, but you don’t – you just scream a knee-jerk reaction. You didn’t follow the link, because you’d see that it was showing the good old USA.
Okay. Once again. Just give me the percentage of crimes that are committed with so-called “assault weapons”. Stop saying that I’m denying that these shootings happened. Never said that.
There does seem to be a density problem here, characterized by upper case postings.
CWAZNY is making a spectacular argument for gun control! Thank you CWAZNY… keep this up and maybe we can, together , convince a few people on the fence to firmly come to the side of less guns and a safer society.
If you look at mass shootings, they are mostly carried out with semiautomatic short-barrel rifles, sometimes modified to shoot full auto or with bump stocks. Not too many mass shootings with bolt actions, but there are some. Many with semiautomatic handguns. That’s why we need better controls on all sorts of firearms, based on firepower and concealability.
You’ll notice that the states with the biggest problems have the loosest laws:
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/firearm_mortality/firearm.htm
Gun control works.
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-largest-dataset-we-have-shows-powerful-evidence-gun-control-works/page-2
Oh no! A mass shooting in Vienna, Austria? But, how can that be? They’re so enlightened, and have VERY stringent gun control…
CWAZNY – you are our guy on the inside!! Keep up the good work! If you can stay in character and stay committed with each post to the crazy gun loving fanaticism, together from opposite sides of the logical perspective can together achieve meaningful gun control. It’s going to be tough… but if you can just constantly keep bringing up your Ar-15, your dreams of fighting off the government and your steadfast denial of mass shooting events… we can do it!!!! Keep up the good work because god wants you to have that Ar-15… and the Vegas shooting on the strip was a hoax !!!!!
And, again, tell me where I denied that mass shootings have occured. Just like I’m not denying the mass shooting that occured in Austria last night. Just one of example of the country of your dreams when it comes to things like gun control.