—– Original Message —–
From: James D. Vilos
To: letters@
Cc:
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2004 3:10 PM
Subject: Assaut Weapons Op-ed

Larry, Here’s the Op-ed you said DesNews would print in response to it’s
editorial yesterday. Tell your editorial board they need to go shooting w/
“Pancho” Vilos so they can truly experience the joy of the right to keep and
bear arms – no kidding I can bring assault rifles, pistols and even machine
guns for their shooting enjoyment. I’ll show ‘em the cool CCW tactical
stuff, drawing quickly from concealment, shooting while moving, shooting
from cover, instinctive “point shooting” etc. We have a blast (pun
intended)! Tell ‘em to loosen up and stop being so stuffy. I promise you
it will increase their readership among conservative Utahns who are tired of
seeing anti-self defense rhetoric coming out of what should be a
conservative newspaper for a conservative citizen base. Snap out of it
boys, or may Fox News buy the DesNew out!!!!

Assault Weapons Have an Important Role in a Free Country
The Assault Weapons Ban is dead, but the unwarranted media hysteria
surrounding its demise is not. The Deseret News editorial on Monday,
September 13, stated, “As the nation spends unprecedented resources on
homeland defense, what sense does it make to remove a ban on weapons that
are neither instruments of hunting or sport? Do these weapons have any
place in civilized society?”
Your editors should ask that question of the Korean store owners
who defended themselves and their stores with semi-automatic AK-47 and SKS
rifles during the Rodney King riots. Los Angeles police units refused to
travel into areas where the rioting was particularly fierce. While other
store owners who dialed 911 lost everything, the Korean store owners
defended themselves, their families and their fortunes, even though greatly
outnumbered, with firearms we now refer to as “assault weapons.”
As one who spends hundreds of hours a year hunting and serving at
ranges during rifle and pistol competitions, I marvel at your editors’
uninformed assertion that these guns are not instruments of hunting or
sport! Hundreds, if not thousands of Utahns use these relatively
inexpensive, yet remarkably accurate rifles for hunting, plinking,
competition shooting, self defense and collecting. Keep in mind, the 1994
“ban” did not prohibit citizens with clean criminal records from possessing
semi-autos, it only banned manufacturers from manufacturing new guns with
prohibited features such as flash suppressors, retractable stocks and
bayonet lugs. The non “banned” guns have always had the same firepower as
the banned guns. Most of them are on the low end of the power scale, much
less powerful than most deer hunting rifles.
What many citizens do not know and what the media has never revealed
is that the federal government encourages U.S. citizens to improve their
marksmanship using high- powered semi-automatic rifles in a program
established by federal law known as the “Civilian Marksmanship Program.”
Citizens ranging in age from their early teens to long past retirement
participate in competitions throughout the United States. The whole emphasis
of the Civilian Marksmanship Program is to train citizens in the use of
“assault weapons” for homeland defense.
Another reason to encourage citizens to possess effective modern
weapons has not been addressed adequately by the media. Historical
documents reveal the Founding Fathers of the U.S. Constitution intended U.S.
citizens, as a whole, to better armed than their permanent (“standing”)
army. Daniel Webster explained, “Before a standing army can rule, the
people must be disarmed . . . The supreme power in America cannot enforce
unjust laws . . . because the whole body of the people are armed, and
constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be . . .
raised in the United States.” Switzerland and Israel not only encourage
their citizens to have semi-automatic weapons they train them to use machine
guns and keep them ready to use in their homes. This has not lead to chaos
in these nations. Switzerland has maintained its liberty for over 2,000
years based upon the philosophy of a well-armed citizenry. The Nazis
attacked other poorly prepared European nations but avoided the Swiss who
kept machine guns in their homes. Likewise there are many documented
accounts of Israeli citizens who have shot suicide bombers before they were
able to detonate their explosives. The right possess effective, modern,
hand-held equipment (not tanks, atomic bombs or jet planes) IS homeland
security.
Most of my students cannot hit a silhouette target with a pistol
consistently from a distance of greater than twenty five yards. However,
when I put a semi-automatic rifle in their hands, even inexperienced
shooters can hit the target consistently at long distances. During this
exercise “the light goes on” and they realize what a wonderfully useful
firearm these guns are in a free society where citizens are expected to
participate in their own defense and the defense of their country. That’s
why we are citizens, not subjects. Don’t criticize citizens for wanting
assault rifles until you have experienced the joy of shooting with one of
these “beautiful creatures.”
Assault weapons indeed have an indispensable place in a free society
as a means of self defense, defense of family, country and liberty as well
as for hunting, collecting and competition. An AWB is an unreasonable
infringement on the rights of law-abiding citizens and the U.S. House of
Representatives was correct in letting it expire.

Mitch Vilos
Attorney and Author of Utah Gun Law II: Pancho’s Wisdom

James D. “Mitch” Vilos
Attorney at Law Practice Concentrating in Accidents and Personal Injury, Insurance Law,
Medical Malpractice, Defective Products, Workplace Injuries (not Worker’s
Compensation), and Firearms Law (representation of gun owners in criminal
actions, and expungements).