Just a short diary here to remind/inform people that semi-automatics are very dangerous, if not more so, than fully automatic weapons.
The "we shouldn't ban guns/rifles because they are only semi-automatics" argument doesn't hold water as any gun owner or military personnel will readily acknowledge.
The reason should be fairly obvious: accuracy! The first round out of the barrel may find the target, but the recoil causes the barrel to rise and all subsequent rounds are highly, yes highly, UNlikely to hit your target from a fully automatic weapon.
Why do you think they developed the 3-round burst in the first place? Why do you think military personnel qualify on 40 targets on the semi-automatic selection?
It's to improve accuracy and killing effectiveness while conserving ammo. It's one of the first things your drill sergeant tells you at basic training.
Bottomline, semi-automatics are arguably even more dangerous than fully automatics. I'm not necessarily calling for a ban on all semi-automatic weapons, but regulating them has merit.