Robert Hawkins SKS Assault Rifle

An SKS is not an assault rifle. Assault rifles are fully-automatic (think machine gun). An SKS is a semi-automatic weapon. Only one bullet is fired for each pull of the trigger.

I heard on the news that he may have stolen it from a family member. The SKS is a popular sporting rifle. It's used by many hunters.

 As for how he hid it, I'm not sure. Maybe it had a folding stock, he could have stashed it in the backpack that I heard he had. Or maybe he somehow hid it in a coat.

In fact, this is an assault weapon. A weapon does not have to be fully automatic to be considered an assault weapon. It was designed for Soviet military use. Its semi-automatic function makes it ideal for shooting multiple targets at range and fires the same round as an AK-47. This particular weapon WAS illegal to sell under the Federal Assault Weapons Ban that the Republican-controlled congress allowed to expire. The combination of the magazine capacity, bayonet mount, and flash suppressor are all indicative of the assault nature of the weapon. 

We don't know if the photo shown above and on the news site is the actual murder weapon itself, or a stock photo. The variants of this rifle are visually very different, and I won't be surprised if the actual rifle is a more modern variant using composite materials. Needless to say, this is an assault weapon that SHOULD be illegal. One does not need 30-round magazine capacity to hunt.

Lisa,

Short answer: Assault weapons aren't illegal. 

Omaha Police this morning said for the record that the weapon was an AK-47 variant, but other news media is still reporting it as an SKS. There's obviously some confusion about the model, but both of these assault weapons are technically legal, since the Federal Assault Weapons ban was allowed to expire in 2004. Expect plenty of disinformation and reactionary idiocy coming out of the gun-nut crowd.

Remember that the term "assault weapon" was created by legislators, therefore those attempting to avoid whatever bias is inherent there do not recognize the phrase as an actual nomenclature. Assault Rifle is a recognized term in the gun manufacturing business, assault weapon is not.

The SKS is not an assault rifle, although it does fire the same 7.62 x 39 round as the AK-47. However, only fully-automatic firearms can be called assault rifles. The term assault rifle was in the question, so that is what I responded to. Whether it was an assault weapon was not part of the question.

If the actual weapon used "composite materials" it will make the weapon look scarier, but not effect the deadliness to the weapon. Neither would the flash suppressor or bayonet mount, especially in this situation. As for composite materials, I heard one woman say the gun was very large, so I'm inclined to believe that it had its full wooden stock. But as Patrickk brought to our attention, it may have been a semi-automatic variant of the AK-47.

As for reactionary idiocy, all I wished to clear up was that the gun was not fully-automatic. Many hunters use the 7.62 x39 bullet to hunt deer. They use the standard 10-round magazines. If a ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines were to take place, I would support it. I would just buy a few before the ban took place.

Quiggles09:

A rifle is a weapon. An assault rifle is an assault weapon. Its not true that a weapon need be fully-automatic to be considered an assault weapon. An AK-47 variant restricted to semi-auto fire is still an assault weapon, designed to engage multiple targets at range in short time. In fact, competently fired semi-automatic weapons can be deadlier than fully-automatic weapons, which is why 3-shot burst is increasingly favored in military weapons. This is exactly why a Federal Assault Weapons ban is needed. Too many of these cheap Soviet Bloc knock offs can be modified to reduce the trigger pull and increase effective rate of fire. This, combined with the magazine capacity (30) makes the distinction between semi- and fully-automatic negligible. 

And just to be clear, I wasn't referring to your post when I mentioned reactionary idiocy (i.e. concealed carry should be allowed in malls, more guns is the solution, ect). However, I do think you are wrong about the reasonable classification of the weapons in question, and are employing a semantic argument. 

Its not true that composite materials don't make a weapon deadlier. They make it lighter to carry, easier to conceal and wield, and allow the shooter to carry more ammunition. The instance of a flash suppressor and bayonet mount put the lie to what this weapon is really for: warfare.

The combination of all of these features and factors make such a weapon a de facto weapon of assault, which is exactly how Hawkins employed it, apparently shooting some at range, firing many rounds. This is exactly why Congress banned such rifles, pistols, and associated accessories, because they constitute a weapon that is not for personal self defense or hunting, but for killing multiple people in short order. 

I agree that the lives of people who die violently should not be the subject of "disinformation and reactionary idiocy." Accordingly, I find it distasteful that "reactionary" calls for gun control and "disinformation" about a rifle's purpose highlight this discussion.

It is incorrect that the SKS and AK-47 are "not for personal self defense."  While they were originally designed for military purposes, those purposes would be, namely, to defend the life of the soldier and that of his fellow soldiers.  Simply ignoring potential uses of a rifle does not change the ambivalence of its function.  If borne by the noble, a rifle can save lives.  If borne by the malevolent, it can murder.

 I believe one of the original questions was "Why didn't anyone stop him?"  The answer, at its simplest level, is that they were unarmed.  It's hard to win a gun fight without a gun!

i think the entire event is very unfortunate, no matter what rifle hawkins used. in response to Patrickk, yes, the SKS was designed by the Soviets to <b>kill people.</b>  But, i would guarantee that the legal rifle's legal owner did not purchase it for that purpose. as already stated, the SKS is a popular deer rifle, and i have managed to take a doe with mine. yes, it may be an "assault weapon." nobody really knows what that term means, so it very well may be one. Assault rifle is a term though, that encompasses any rifle firing an intermediate cartridge, and capable of selective fire. SKS's are only capable of semi-automatic fire, and are not assault rifles.

also, the SKS is not a variant of the AK-47. they are completely separate rifles, and the SKS was designed two years before the AK-47.

ALL THAT IS BESIDE THE POINT

it does not matter whether hawkins used a semi-automatic SKS, a semi-automatic AK-47, or even if he used a singleshot .22 rifle. what matters is that he got the rifle. Since hawkins had been convicted of a felony, he could not legally own, use, or even touch a firearm, or ammunition. if he had owned any firearms prior to that charge, they would have been confiscated by the police. this means that the rifle used by hawkins was either stolen, taken, or bought on a no-questions-asked basis. those are things that we need to work to prevent. here in south carolina, and probably in every other state in the U.S., there are places you can go and buy old C&R rifles with no questions asked. There are some clauses that keep some of these no-questions-asked sales from being illegal, but most of them are illegal. if you try to legally purchase a firearm from an importer or a sporting goods store, you will always have an FBI background check performed, and in most states there is a waiting period as well. If hawkins had tried to purchase a firearm he would have been denied, and would have gotten a visit from a police officer, and been charged with another felony.

 I would bet that 95% of all non-domestic gun crimes are committed with stolen or illegal firearms. people who own guns legally don't plan on using them to kill people. We need to try to keep firearms out of the wrong hands. Right now, we are doing a pretty good job of that, but there are rare cases where some wacko like Hawkins gets a rifle and goes postal.

 I am deeply saddened by this tragedy, i just wish that people would realize that help is out there before they go and do something like this.

No you couldn't easily hide an SKS which is a modern infantry rifle and not an assault rifle by either military or legislative definitions.  Hawkins however used an AK-47 which although it was most likely de-miled (rendered a semi-automatic rifle) is an ausault rifle and which he stole from his step father.  This fact has been widely misreported, as technichal information concerning firearms often is.  There are many varients of the AK-47, some of which are more easily concealed.  The SKS, even as this discusion reveals, is not of particular interest to criminals of any variety.  Gun control advocates (who "profile" the poor as inherent criminals) have often targeted the SKS because of its low cost.