And finally, here is an interesting article sent out by our friends at
NSSF:

Semi-Automatic Firearms Fact Sheet
NEWTOWN, Conn. -- The first semi-automatic rifle was patented (1878) by
John Browning in the years following the Civil War, about the same time
modern photography was being born, before radio and television were
invented. Semi-autos were commercially available to the public, through
the Sears catalog among other places, at the turn of the last century,
and for many decades before the US military ever adopted its first
semi-auto rifle, the M-1 Garand in the days preceding WWII.
Semi-automatics are simply modern design firearms, the rifle using the
force of the expanding gas from a fired cartridge to load the next
bullet to be fired. The 1994 "Assault Weapons" ban limited certain features
on semi-automatics that made them appear similar to fully automatic or
machine guns, and semi-autos manufactured today comply with all these
restrictions of the law.
It is important to remember that no semi-automatic rifle, pistol or
shotgun -- no firearm at all for that matter -- can be sold at retail
without the buyer passing a background check conducted of police records by
the FBI, and that includes such sales at gun shows. No other product
sold in America is as tightly regulated, and gun shops, wholesalers and
firearm manufacturers all must be licensed by the federal government as
well as meet all applicable state and local requirements to operate in
business.
Finally, firearms capable of firing a single shot accurately at
distances up to 150 yards have been in civilian hands in America since before
there was a United States. Some 80 million Americans are likely to have
such a firearm safely stored in the home, and each year millions enjoy
the recreational use of such products in a safe, legal, and responsible
way.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has for more than 40
years been the trade association for the makers and sellers of firearms,
ammunition and associated products, and a foremost promoter of the safe
and responsible enjoyment of such products as well as the safe storage
of firearms and ammunition. Learn more about NSSF and firearm safety at
www.nssf.org.
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COPYRIGHT 2002 by National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc.
Permission is granted for broadcast, publication, retransmission to
e-mail lists, WWW or any other copying or storage, in any medium, online
or not, if 1) the text is forwarded in its entirety, including this
paragraph, and 2) no fee is charged.