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'kay, here are the answers and relevant sources for the questions I asked yesterday. The point of asking was to gauge your perception of firearms and their use in the USA, as what's reported on television and by the outspoken Brady Campaign is usually far from the truth. I didn't list answers for the opinion questions since they were...well, opinion.

1: What do these terms mean to you, if anything:
Assault rifle - Defined as a select-fire weapon chambered in an intermediate rifle catridge. Contrary to popular belief, semi-automatic rifles are not assault rifles.
Sniper rifle - Defined by the US Military as any rifle capable of 1 MOA accuracy; typically bolt-action or semi-automatic.
Assault weapon - There is no standard definition for "assault weapon". It is a redundant term commonly used to refer to any military-styled or derived weapon.
High-capacity clip/magazine - A larger magazine capable of holding more ammunition than is standard. For example, most 9mm pistols have a magazine capacity of ~15 rounds. A high-capacity magazine in this instance would be an extended 30-round magazine. In the USA, any magazine with a 10+ capacity is commonly (and mistakenly) referred to as high-capacity.
Gunshow loophole - This is a term coined to refer to the legal private transfer of firearms between individuals, which does not require a background check. Contrary to popular belief this is not an actual "loophole", as background checks have never applied to private sales of firearms.

2: When you hear "semi-automatic", do you think of:
a) One shot is fired every time the trigger is pulled
b) Three shots are fired for every time the trigger is pulled
c) The gun keeps firing until the trigger is released (machine gun)

3: As far as you know:
I) How many firearms are there in the USA?
There are an estimated 200 million guns in the USA as of 2007 ^{Source: Small Arms Survey 2007, Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Switzerland.}
II) How many people are killed with firearms each year in the USA?
The latest statistics I can find are from 2005: 12,352 people were killed with firearms that year. ^{Source: CDC [link]}
III) How many people defend themselves with firearms each year in the USA?
A 1993 survey showed that while there were 4000 gun related murders, 2.5 million crimes wre prevented through use of firearms.^{Source: 1993 survey by Gary Kleck, Florida State University criminologist. His findings were cited by the Supreme Court in their DC v. Heller decision.}

4: As far as you know:
I) What kinds of weapons are used most often by criminals in the USA?
Criminals usually use small-calibre handguns, ex. .25 ACP, .32 ACP .380 ACP, etc...^{Source: US Department of Justice}
II) How easy is it to get fully-automatic firearms/machine guns in the USA? Are they even legal?
Machine guns are legal in all but 8 states. Since the 1934 Act they've been heavily restricted, and no new machine guns can be imported or made for private ownership. In order to legally acquire a machine gun you need to be 21 years of age, do some ATF paperwork, and pay a $200 transfer tax. Also, since no new machine guns can come into private ownership, existing ones demand an exorbant amount of money (ex. a low-end automatic M11/9 sells usually sells for around $4000, whereas an automatic M16 is usually $15000.)
III) How often are machine guns used in crimes?
Legally owned machine guns have been used in two murders since the 1934 NFA act, and one was by a policeman who stole the weapon from his PD armoury. Another 8 crimes were committed related to machineguns, but these were trivial crimes such as failing to notify the ATF of an address change^{Source: Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms}

6: What do you know about ".50 caliber" firearms? The term ".50 caliber" simply designates the diameter of a bullet (.50 inches). There are many cartridges that use .50 caliber bullets, such as .50 GI (a handgun cartridge) and .50 BMG (a long range rifle cartridge). .50 BMG is usually reported in the news as being able to "shoot planes out of the sky", but this is untrue. While .50 BMG has been used in anti-aircraft applications, it is always fired rapidly from a mounted military machine gun. A common .50 BMG rifle in the United States is not capable of shooting down an aircraft. Attempting to do so would be like trying to stop a car with a .22LR pistol.

Hai, I was wondering what the general public thought about a few things. Please don't Google the answers, the whole point is to hear your perception of these things. >:

If you would be so kind as to answer a few questions, I will gladly bestow upon you an e-hug. :3

1: What do these terms mean to you, if anything:
Assault rifle
Sniper rifle
Assault weapon
Hi-capacity clip/magazine
Gunshow loophole

2: When you hear "semi-automatic", do you think of:
a) One shot is fired every time the trigger is pulled
b) Three shots are fired for every time the trigger is pulled
c) The gun keeps firing until the trigger is released (machine gun)

3: As far as you know:
I) How many firearms are there in the USA?
II) How many people are killed with firearms each year in the USA?
III) How many people defend themselves with firearms each year in the USA?

4: As far as you know:
I) What kinds of weapons are used most often by criminals in the USA?
II) How easy is it to get fully-automatic firearms/machine guns in the USA? Are they even legal?
III) How often are machine guns used in crimes?

5: I) Do you believe that civilians should have the right to carry concealed firearms?
II) How about if they have to take a state or federally approved training course first?
III) Do you believe that off-duty policemen should have the right to carry concealed firearms?
IV) Do you know of any statistics regarding misuse of firearms by policemen vs civilians?

6: What do you know about ".50 caliber" firearms?

As that one dude from that commercial that I forgot would say: WHAT'S IN YOUR WALLET? (apart from the obvious monies/butterflies)

I have:
My birth certificate
My SIN card
Blockbuster card
Rogers card
Ontario health card
Debit card
VISA credit card
TD Canada Trust business card
St. Clair College business card
Action Impact gun range card
Picture of =Larentia-Ariadne
Doc's orders to get blood work done
A key to my uncle's house
Two spent .308 Winchester shells
A Stolen Babies pin

And I still have plenty of room. Also, the sheet telling me to get blood work done is from August. I should go do that some time, eh? >:

It's Mikhail Kalashnikov's birthday today. :3 He's 89. I Wanna go buy one of his rifles and a couple bottles of his vodka this weekend in celebration.


Mikhail Kalashnikov and Eugene Stoner (R.I.P.) holding each other's rifles.

Kalashnikov's vodka. He said he wanted to be remembered just as much for his vodka as he will be for his weapons.

How be y'all? >:{D