Why is Kevlar not discussed in gun control?

kozmic

kozmic

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Not to give the anti-gun folks something else to harp on but, why are kevlar and other forms of body armor so easily available to the general public? It seems like a lot of the shooters involved in these deadly rampages were wearing some form of bullet resisting clothing.

Not to pretend to understand the minds of these shooters but I have think the use of body armor must embolden them to some extent. Perhaps even to the point where it may become a deciding element on weather or not to commit these shootings.

Yet it is only briefly ever mentioned in the news articles and reports I've seen after these tragedies. With all of the hype over gun control, why is body armor given so little notice by both the gun-grabers and the media in general?

I might be missing something but I have never seen the merit of owning any form of body armor. Is the stuff out there military surplus or high tech or what? Who else but the occasional prepper is buying it and for what? Am I correct to assume there is no registration or record of any sale (other than by the merchant for his usage)?

Anyone have any thoughts of why this seems to fly under everyone's radar?
 
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Well, why shouldn't an honest American Citizen be able to buy kevlar? The guy that dreamed it up was a pizza delivery man.

I've been in some cities where a prudent convenience store clerk should wear it.

In a lot of states it's already against the law for someone to use body armor in the commission of a crime. The bad guys just don't pay attention to it.

I pulled a Second Chance Vest off a member of an outlaw motorcycle club thirty years ago. The guy was dead. The vest was stolen during the burglary of a cop's home in Texas.
 
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well ... that's something I rather like being available
if you take the US population versus DHS round count ... thats 5 per person.
if theres anything at all to the tinfoil hat club ... kevlar just might be handy.

seriously though, this stuff finds itself into a good many things.
Composite structures, fishing line, some car and truck tires.... Just don't make sense to regulate it
 
Kevlar and plates are good for a host of things other than stopping bullets. Both are effective against knives and brute force. Not to mention that protective clothing and armor are not used to kill people (unless you use the SAPI plate to rearrange someone's face). Most of the shooters wear dark clothing too, and use vehicles to get to their kill zones. But we don't attribute the color of clothing and cars to the method or madness of a shooting massacre. We shouldn't even really attribute guns to a shooting massacre, it should be laid squarely on the sole item responsible for the massacre: the perpetrator.
 
In my state, Minnesota, legislators are working to author a bill requiring (surprise, surprise) permits to purchase body armor. This would require a permit fee of course, creating a new revenue stream. It is simply one more knee-jerk response that will do nothing but make things harder on us all who actually follow the law. I am getting tired of being punished for the acts of scum criminals. Not sure if this bill will gain any traction but the fact it is being considered says enough.
 
So let me get this straight. You want to create ANOTHER priviledged group? Those who can buy body armor, and those who can't? And just how would you determine who goes into which group? Who's life is more important than someone elses?

(BTW. I made Kevlar for about 35 years before I retired. You want to get rolled eyes, and quickly corrected. Just use the term "bullet proof" around the marketing people. :D

"IT'S NOT 'BULLET PROOF', IT'S BULLET RESISTANT! There is NO such thing as 'bullet proof'."

So, of course we made sure to say "bullet proof." :D )
 
It would seem to me to be hard for legislators to justify banning bullet and knife resistant body armor for law abiding citizens. They are going to deny ballistic armor for pizza delivery guys and cab drivers. I suppose there is always a pollyanna attitude among lawmakers who pas laws like "gun free" zones. They just assume that lawbreakers along with the law abiding will obey these laws.

It is simple really, the murderer already broke a dozen laws, so pass one more. (Spare me).

I admit I have looked into buying ballistic armor, but I haven't figured out how I would make use of it.
 
What a thing to ask.......

Hell, I remember when they was marketing kids school coats in Kevlar and more recently back-packs.

Law abiding folks ought to have whatever they feel they need,
not what some 'official' thinks we ought to have. That jest dumb.


.

When All The Honest Hard Workin Tax Payin Folks Are Gone...

Who's Gonna Feed Them Hogs?
 
SavageSmoker said:
In my state, Minnesota, legislators are working to author a bill requiring (surprise, surprise) permits to purchase body armor. This would require a permit fee of course, creating a new revenue stream. It is simply one more knee-jerk response that will do nothing but make things harder on us all who actually follow the law. I am getting tired of being punished for the acts of scum criminals. Not sure if this bill will gain any traction but the fact it is being considered says enough.
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I haven't heard anymore about that bill. I need to watch it closely cuz I have a kevlar vest. I bought it a decade ago from a LEO buddy. It was getting old and he needed to have a new one. I bought it to wear when I was snowmobiling thru the woods in a more competitively (read that as high speed) manner. I figured it was cheap and would work just as good as a racing vest. Perfectly legal to own, just can't use it while committing a crime.

Worked great, was a bit heavy.

HOWEVER... As those of you who snowmobile know, most trails run near Bars, etc and every 25-50 miles ya gotta stop to get "warmed" up. Imagine the looks I got after our group sat down in the bar/cafe and I took my jacket off and was wearing a kevlar vest.... :eek:

Never wore it sledding again.
 
There have been several threads about employees getting discharged after using a personal gun to fight off a robber. My son manages a convenience store in a somewhat shakey area. While I can understand why a company would prohibit you from fighting off armed robbers and opening them up to a costly lawsuit in case a bystander gets hurt, there is no reason I can think of that any company would prohibit an employee from wearing body armor unless it interfered with a uniform.

Ballistic armor is purely a defensive item. You cannot go to a market and say, "give me all the money or I will smack you with my bullet resistant vest".
 
jaykellogg said:
Ballistic armor is purely a defensive item. You cannot go to a market and say, "give me all the money or I will smack you with my bullet resistant vest".
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Well, you COULD if you were wearing plate armor. A SAPI plate will flatten your face pretty darn well. :D
 
venomballistics said:
well ... that's something I rather like being available
if you take the US population versus DHS round count ... thats 5 per person.
if theres anything at all to the tinfoil hat club ... kevlar just might be handy.

seriously though, this stuff finds itself into a good many things.
Composite structures, fishing line, some car and truck tires.... Just don't make sense to regulate it
Click to expand...
Back when I was young and crazy, I custom built a mountain bike for such things as getting huge air, falling off of mountains and jumping flights of steps and any other crazy things my buddies and I can think of. Part of the build included a Kevlar covered seat with Titanium rails. The bigger you went, the harder you crashed and one good crash would trash a seat, bending the rails and trashing the cover. I went through a few seats before I decided it was worth the added expense to get one with a kevlar cover. I did, however, manage to crash hard enough on it to put a hole in it. My buddies would joke about it. "That crazy Injun crashed hard enough to put a hole in a bullet proof seat."
 
dougb1946 said:
venomballistics said:
if you take the US population versus DHS round count ... thats 5 per person.
if theres anything at all to the tinfoil hat club ... kevlar just might be handy.
/QUOTE]

The army estimates that it averages one terrorist for every 250,000 shots.
Click to expand...

That would fit in with the "16 rounds and a reload" crowd.

Gee, I wonder what load they're shooting...:rolleyes:
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CajunBass said:
Just use the term "bullet proof" around the marketing people. :D

"IT'S NOT 'BULLET PROOF', IT'S BULLET RESISTANT! There is NO such thing as 'bullet proof'."

:D )
Click to expand...


^^^Right Thar Ya Go^^^

I had one of those Second Change Zylon years ago....

Hell, It wouldn't resist nothing. ;):D



.



We Thar Yet?
 
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