Rittenhouse found not guilty

[Dice]

AR15 is not a military style rifle, it does not have the full auto feature the M16 it was modelled after had. You can get a rifle that has the same features that looks like the traditional hunting rifle (wood furniture etc)

It is a Military style rifle. That is different from a Military rifle, of course, and thus has some of the functionality stripped from it to allow its sale to civilians, but everything about it, its shape, its feel, the hand grip, it's all made to the stylings of a weapon of war. I am sure you can get firearms that are used in hunting that have the same function but are not the same style. Those are not the ones these people are drawn too. They do not have the appeal of LARPing as a powerful man defending whatever against some perceived threat against people protesting the police.

Sometimes what you do to something, how you make it look, the story you tell of it make all the difference. The early Ford GT's (mid 2000's) used a standard engine pulled out of a ford pick up. Modified to all hell yes, but still the same engine. The same function in a different form. Hardly appealing to the same groups though and definingly not advertised as the same. Just because they share a core and can do the same thing, get you from A to B did not make them the same.

Saying that you can get an AR15 made for hunting does not help these people's cases any. Because it points out that they (as we all knew anyway) seek out the version of this gun made to look like a combat weapon, not a tool. (Which, as a person who lives on farmland, is what I view guns to be) You dam them with your excuses, not redeem them any.

[Chulanowa]

Plus, of course, there's not a whole lot of whitetail deer in the streets of Kenosha, I wouldn't think.

[Azy]

I grew up with a father who liked to hunt.  His deer rifle of choice was a fairly powerful one.  I remember my parents having an argument over it because one, he spent quite a bit of money.  Two, she felt it was overkill.  Was in an AR15?  Nope.  It was a 30-06, and to me as a kid it didn't look much different than my mother's .22 when it was in the gun case.  From what I have been hearing from people who know what they are talking about, and some of it was in the video I linked earlier, there are 30-06 models that pack more of a punch than the AR15, however, they do not resemble a military weapon, so they don't look as intimidating.  Around here in redneck territory where the first day of deer season is practically a national holiday, a .22 is the standard hunting rifle.  It does the job just fine, and doesn't pulverize the meat.  Because my dad was a hunter I know full well that unless you're killing just for the thrill of killing, you want certain weapons for certain animals, and where you hit them is also important.  Anyone who is a hunter will tell you that if you hunt with an AR15 you're either stupid or just killing for the thrill of killing, because that will fuck your meat up.     

[CriminalMindsFan]

I agree with the outcome of both his trial and the other one in Georgia.

[elone]

I grew up with a father who liked to hunt.  His deer rifle of choice was a fairly powerful one.  I remember my parents having an argument over it because one, he spent quite a bit of money.  Two, she felt it was overkill.  Was in an AR15?  Nope.  It was a 30-06, and to me as a kid it didn't look much different than my mother's .22 when it was in the gun case.  From what I have been hearing from people who know what they are talking about, and some of it was in the video I linked earlier, there are 30-06 models that pack more of a punch than the AR15, however, they do not resemble a military weapon, so they don't look as intimidating.  Around here in redneck territory where the first day of deer season is practically a national holiday, a .22 is the standard hunting rifle.  It does the job just fine, and doesn't pulverize the meat.  Because my dad was a hunter I know full well that unless you're killing just for the thrill of killing, you want certain weapons for certain animals, and where you hit them is also important.  Anyone who is a hunter will tell you that if you hunt with an AR15 you're either stupid or just killing for the thrill of killing, because that will fuck your meat up.     

I don't usually get into these discussions, but no one hunts deer with a .22. Just not powerful enough. Rabbits maybe, deer, no. A 30-06, and I have one, was used as a military weapon from WWI and WWII and others. Also a good hunting rifle.  Has a long range. It is not the rifle that will destroy meat, it is the bullet type. I have used firearms since I was probably 10 years old. Lots of teaching and lots of supervision. I carried an M16, a .45 and a .38 pistol in the army. Whole different ballgame. At any rate, a AR15 type rifle is just not necessary to hunt. There are a lot of other rifles that are just as effective or more so. It is the look of the AR15 that attracts people, and its ease of use, and its rapid firepower even when not fully automatic. Can't even be used on deer where I live, nor can a .22. Both are illegal for deer. Some other animals they are ok.

[Azy]

I don't usually get into these discussions, but no one hunts deer with a .22. Just not powerful enough. Rabbits maybe, deer, no. A 30-06, and I have one, was used as a military weapon from WWI and WWII and others. Also a good hunting rifle.  Has a long range. It is not the rifle that will destroy meat, it is the bullet type. I have used firearms since I was probably 10 years old. Lots of teaching and lots of supervision. I carried an M16, a .45 and a .38 pistol in the army. Whole different ballgame. At any rate, a AR15 type rifle is just not necessary to hunt. There are a lot of other rifles that are just as effective or more so. It is the look of the AR15 that attracts people, and its ease of use, and its rapid firepower even when not fully automatic. Can't even be used on deer where I live, nor can a .22. Both are illegal for deer. Some other animals they are ok.

My mother did.  I remember the fight they had about this, and my dad said a lot of the things you just did to justify his weapon of choice.  Like I said, a .22 rifle is popular choice of hunting rifle here where I live.  All I can really say is what I've been told by others, because I myself don't hunt.  But my dad did say the goal is to take down a deer in one shot nice and quick.  If you don't and it runs, first of all, you have to track it down if you want to recover it.  The other problem is that while the deer was running its body was pumping adrenaline, which makes the meat tougher and taste more gamey.  That is what my dad said, and he was a hunter most of his life. 

A friend of mine has a friend who owns an AR15, and he told me that that gun is a fairly small caliber.  That alone makes it not ideal for deer hunting.  I have another friend who was a marine, who has told me blowing away a cardboard target with an M16 is awesome for stress relief, and helpful in an actual war zone, but not much else.     

[Oniya]

But my dad did say the goal is to take down a deer in one shot nice and quick.  If you don't and it runs, first of all, you have to track it down if you want to recover it.  The other problem is that while the deer was running its body was pumping adrenaline, which makes the meat tougher and taste more gamey.

I've had another hunting friend tell me the same thing.  Whatever you use, take it down quick.

[Cosmo_ac]

Just an article I found on the use of .22 for deer.

https://www.grandviewoutdoors.com/big-game-hunting/whitetail-deer/can-you-hunt-whitetail-deer-with-a-22

That said, I also think it is illegal in most states in the US to use .22's for deer hunting.

https://huntingsage.com/can-you-hunt-deer-with-22/

[Azy]

https://www.pgc.pa.gov/InformationResources/MediaReportsSurveys/Documents/2020_July_Agenda.pdf

If I read this right, in Pennsylvania, it is legal, but not generally recommended.  This probably a more recent thing as well because it looks like part of it was that there were many deer that were just injured and not recovered over the years.     

These centerfire rifle calibers are currently lawful but largely inadequate for deer and bear hunting. Beyond the calibers already mentioned, there are many .22 caliber centerfire cartridges which were designed for varmint or predator hunting, although some would argue they are adequate for deer hunting under the right circumstances.

[Mellific]

Plus, of course, there's not a whole lot of whitetail deer in the streets of Kenosha, I wouldn't think.

I mean, there are deer all over the Midwest. In fact, Wisconsin is ranked #1 for whitetail deer, specifically.

Kenosha might be a more populated area. But that doesn't keep the deer away, necessarily. I'm in the Midwest and I often see deer off the highway, in the grass.

[Valerian]

Wisconsin native here. Kenosha  has a population of 170,000+ people, and the protests were in the downtown area. I would bet real money there were no deer for several miles. The reason Wisconsin ranks so high in deer population is because of the northern areas of the state where humans tend to be much fewer and farther between.

[Mellific]

To be fair, I missed why the whitetail deer thing was even brought up. I just saw something that needed to be corrected and commented.

If anyone was arguing that Kyle Rittenhouse was in Kenosha during the protests in order to hunt deer... obviously, that's not true. However, I do believe that he previously traveled from Illinois to Wisconsin in order to hunt deer and shoot at various objects (spoiled food, empty cans, whatever) at his friend's property. I believe he also mentioned going to the shooting range in Bristol a few times for trap or skeet.

But, ultimately, Kyle was too young to be carrying a gun. He didn't have a FOID card (which you're required to have in IL in order to carry or purchase guns). The problem is that the judge in the case threw out the charge against him for being a minor and carrying a gun. I don't understand why he threw that out, since Kyle clearly did break that law... but there you have it.

[Kurogane]

I'm wondering if anyone can use this precedence now and go to Wisconsin from any state, bring lots of guns and bullets, attend rallies, shoot some people "in self defense", and be free from liability. Or does your skin color matter, in such cases?  I'm also wondering what the history of rulings are from the judge that threw the case out. Is there any clear evidence of discriminatory bias?

[Leon Weber]

Are there people really here defending Rittenhouse for illegally possessing a firearm that was loaned to him from a friend?

You can't legally loan a firearm to someone except for legal sporting purposes such as hunting and being at a shooting range to shoot targets, meaning the weapon transfer was illegal and he was in possession of an illegal firearm and his friend illegally transferred a firearm. In order to legally transfer a firearm the transfer has to be overseen by a legal FFL holder, at least to my understanding of gun laws which seeing as I own several firearms, have bought firearms from out of state, and own NFA weapons is at least good enough to know that this whole thing was a shitshow.

Secondly, having a plastic bag thrown at you is not assault, its physical harassment at worst. Whether or not the men in question were felons is irrelevant, what people seem to fail to understand is that whether or not they were guilty of crimes is irrelevant because Rittenhouse doesn't get to be judge jury and executioner. Thats not how the law works.

Thirdly, any objective analysis of Rittenhouse being there, and his behavior therein suggests that he went there with the intention of using that firearm. He has a history of violence, and he was walking the streets alone with his rifle, why would you walk around a city actively in the middle of civil strife with a gun thats not registered to you? To protect someone elses business? Lmao thats some uuhhh, shaky grounds.

The kid wanted to use his rifle, he created a situation in which he believed he could get away with it, and he did.