Regarding some of the misinformation being spread in this thread...

As far as purchasing a fully automatic weapon legally... it's pretty rare and very hard to do.

Modifying a semi-automatic firearm to make it fully automatic is not very difficult for the mechanically inclined using some basic and reletivly inexpensive tools.  However, the majority of regular gun owners would never do such a thing because a) it devalues the firearm, b) if it's done wrong the firearm might be rendered unusable, and finally c) it is very illegal and cause for a person to lose quite a bit up to and including their concealed permit (if they have one) as well as their freedom for a while.

As far as "needing" a semi-automatic weapon either a rifle or a handgun, that's just personal preference.  As an example, I own several different rifles that range from muzzle loaders, to lever action, bolt action and semi-automatic.  I enjoy shooting each and ever one.  The lever action rifle that I own happened to be my great-grandfather's saddle rifle that he carried in the late 1800's and early 1900's (Winchester 30-30).  In fact, it was the very first rifle that I used for hunting at the age of 10.

The same could be said regarding handguns.  I own both revolvers and semi-automatic handguns and enjoy firing each one.

Regarding "silencers" or "suppressors", that accessory could be purchased for a wide variety of weapons.  People buy them for various reasons, but I can assure you that their purpose is not to "avoid detection when making a hit".  I personally don't own any since I am accustomed to wearing both hearing and eye protection when I shoot.  As someone pointed out earlier, pop off a few rounds with no hearing protection on and your hearing will be diminished.

Finally, one other argument that you hear from "anti gun" activists who are very much uninformed is the capacity of a firearm.  Again, this is a matter of preference.  When out shooting, sometimes it's inconvenient to reload during sessions so magazines with extra capacity are convenient.  I also purchased extra magazines for some of my semi-automatic firearms as well as some speed loaders for some of my revolvers just for this purpose.

The bottom line is, we already have laws on the books that regulate gun control.  Further laws would not prevent the tragedy of this past weekend or any of the other tragedies in the past.  All more restrictive laws would do is make it more difficult for somebody like me, a sport shooter to enjoy one of my hobbies.

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