Kindly comments on Minor, perspective changing facts - Less Wrong

38 Post author: Stuart_Armstrong 22 April 2013 07:01PM

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Comment author: Stabilizer 23 April 2013 01:41:14AM *  6 points [-]

Holy shit. You're not even kidding! Check out the definition here. Under the definition, it says that it includes (among other things) anything that is a 'destructive device' as defined here which in turn includes,

any type of weapon...by whatever name known which will, or which may be readily converted to, expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or other propellant, and which has any barrel with a bore of more than one-half inch in diameter...

This is so funny, it's not even funny.

Note: the above links say it's a U.S. Code prelim (i.e. some revisions might happen). But I found similar things here.

Comment author: Kindly 23 April 2013 02:04:43AM 2 points [-]

It's not that bad. At the very least, a destructive device must be "designed for use as a weapon" or else it doesn't count. I'm still not sure why these things (the definition seems to include most guns, although I'm not sure what the bore measurements imply) are called "weapons of mass destruction", though...

Comment author: Nornagest 30 December 2014 06:56:06PM *  1 point [-]

The bore measurement requirement excludes any guns of .50 caliber or under (or around 12.7 mm in metric) from the "destructive device" category for legal purposes, which covers most modern small arms. Aside from a handful of experimental or exotic weapons, the only real exceptions are a few Eastern Bloc heavy machine guns and anti-materiel rifles, which you'd have a hard time getting ahold of in the States anyway.

It's common for black powder weapons to have larger bores -- .5 to .8 inches were typical calibers for colonial-era muskets -- but they're excluded from the "destructive device" category by a separate provision.