I hear people saying that you cant hunt with a semi-automatic weapon, therefore we don't need them. To begin this debate lets look at the definition of what a semi-automatic weapon is.

sem·i·au·to·mat·ic - Adj.
1. Ejecting a shell and loading the next round of ammunition automatically, but requiring a squeeze of the trigger for each shot. Used of a firearm.

Just like the M1 Garand, AR-15, Benelli Shotguns, most handguns, etc... It's in no way a machine gun. The media potrays it like that, a gun that fires multiple rounds with one pull of the trigger and can kill 30 people with. These are automatic weapons.

My reasoning for allowing citizens to have semi-automatic weapons are simple.

Let’s examine a hypothetical scenario. Don’t say it can never happen, because history has proven that wrong. Somehow, someway our nation turns into a tyrannical police state by someone who is hell bent on being a dictator. Now we have a situation.

No-Gun ban at all:
80 million legal gun owning citizens with machine guns, assault rifles and semi autos now have an advantage against the 200 thousand or so cops and 2 million or so military. Tyranny is crushed and order is restored.

No semi-auto ban:
People are more able to defend themselves and shoot back at the police and government who are trying to oppress them. The government has somewhat similar and a little more powerful weapons. This gives the citizens a fighting chance to fight off tyranny.

Semi-Auto ban:
Any one who’s ever fired a bolt action rifle knows that it’s not the best defense weapon, especially against people with superior fire power like the AR-15. So here we are in a tyrannical state. All the citizens have are a few bolt action rifles and maybe a few pump shotguns to fight against AR-15’s, SAW machine guns and M16’s. Citizens have a huge disadvantage.

Total gun ban:
Everyone is defenseless and put to work in concentration camps while their rights are sh!t on.

Should Americans be allowed all weapons or not?

I think we've progressed far enough that the need to be able to match firepower with the military is passed in the US. It's not unreasonable, therefore, to ban assault rifles, military explosives, etc. However, IMO there currently exists no Constitutional basis for such bans.

Well, if the argument for semi-automatic weapons is revolution, then I guess I would be against them, but only if the only argument was to revolt against the government.

Honestly I'm pretty undecided, I'm definatly against a total gun ban, I like having the option to go buy a gun if I felt I need to, why just a few blocks down my road a man killed his whole family then himself the other night, things like are the kind of thing that makes me think about buying a gun.

Yet that was the purpose of the 2nd Amendment...

Oh c'mon. America is a democracy. This means that we elect our president, not that the best outcome always occurs, but it is in no way a dictatorship. Also, the president doesn't make the laws. Congress does. The Congress is also elected and there are many congress members, all involved in making decisions. The chances of such a thing happening in the most powerful country in the world is very slim. More than 8,000 people die annually because of firearms in the US. Don't you agree that we should AT LEAST make gun ownership laws stricter?

Before WW2 the people voted for Hitler...

http://www.fff.org/freedom/fd0403a.asp

I have no real problem with semi-autos, I just think you need a better argument. Imagine for a seconed I'm a voter and you wish to get my vote and you get up there and tell me we need semi-automatic weapons in case we need to overthrow the government.
Well as resonable as that sounds, myself and alot of other voters will think your a loon. Not to mention whatever party decided to put you up for some office.

To suggest that a US President could usurp power in the same way that Hitler did is rediculous at best.

Tell that to the German people in 1939

Most dictators have taken over from very democratic, free nations. Cuba, Iraq, WW2 Germany etc.... I never said It would happen in America... its more a what if scenario.

No offense... but if the Government WERE to declare a war on it's people (which is somewhere near "impossible" and "plain old silly") you wouldn't stand a chance. Seriously, semi-autos and autos or not... the US has hardware none of these weapons can compete with. They are called planes.

Fortunately those need a human component and it is unlikely any soldier will take an order to fire on it's own people... especially civilians.

I simply protect the 2nd because we have the right to own guns. I'll probably never own one, but regardless... it's our right (as Americans) to have them. End of story.

With that said, I don't agree with weapons near schools or people owning fully automatic assault rifles. You simply don't need them for any utility purpose (defence, hunting, etc.) unless you plan to run up against some zombies...