>>"assault rifles" are banned because they look 'evil', but
>> Grand dad's deer rifle, which has twice the range, twice
>> the power, and three times the accuracy is perfectly
>> acceptable since it looks more like a legitimate "tool"
>> than a "weapon".

Not being a "gun nut" (okay, okay, "firearms enthusiast"), I don't know what the rationale is behind banning assault rifles as opposed to hunting rifles, but I suspect it may have less to do with range and power than with the size of the magazine and the number of rounds you can fire without having to reload. (After all, if you're holding up a liquor store and I'm ten feet away with my hands in the air, do I really care whether your tool of choice is accurate up to 200 yards on a windy day? <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> )

Also, paradoxically, the fact that the hunting rifle has greater range and accuracy means that the person carrying it is more likely to have a "legitimate" use for it (i.e. hunting); if it can take a 30-round clip, but isn't accurate or powerful enough for hunting, then people might consider themselves justified in asking what you use it for? <img src="images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />