CT: Law Level 3 and 4

[snrdg082102]

Hello all,

I hope that December 25 brought everyone the best and that the New Year will continue the trend of mainly positive events.

While digging through the various world generation rules I finally noted a difference in the wording of the general description for Law Level 3. Which led to me think about Law Level 4 and light assault weapons.

CT
Law Level 3 states that "Weapons of a strict military nature (machine guns, automatic rifles) prohibited."

Law Level 4 states that "Light assault weapons (sub-machine guns) prohibited."

Wouldn't light assault weapons fall under Law Level 3 since they were designed for the military?

[mike wightman]

Since the law levels are definitely US biased I would say that law level 4 restricts smgs because historically you could mail order a tommy gun but it was slightly harder to get hold of military grade weapons.

It's also a calibre issue I would imagine - smgs firing pistol ammunition vs mgs and auto rifles firing rifle rounds fully auto.

[far-trader]

Yeah, I'd agree it's a caliber issue as much as anything.

A fine point of distinction might also be made between LL3 "Military", and LL4 "Para-Military" which often have SMG category weapons but not "Weapons of a strict military nature... "

[aramis]

Up through the 1980's you could easily get "pistols" with 100 to 200 round drums... sure, the action was fitted with a sear doing only semi-auto... but more than one manual said something like "Do not file this cam off. Doing so will cause the weapon to violate federal law."

[snrdg082102]

Evening Mike Wightman, far-trader, and aramis,

Thank you all for answering my question.

Maybe my issue is using the term "light assault weapon", which to my Navy trained mind is for a weapon used by the military.

[Icosahedron]

I view it as an issue issue.
Some weapons are issued ONLY to the military, others have wider use in law enforcement.

Submachineguns may be a bad example, but I'd define 'Light Assault Weapons' as the type of weapon issued to SWAT teams, Spaceport Security backup, etc. - tear gas, SMGs containing rubber bullets, assault shotguns, anti-riot weapons, counter-terrorism weapons - the sort of things the authorities might use to quell their own citizens.

LL3 stops the citizens carrying Army weapons.
LL4 stops the citizens carrying SWAT weapons.

[snrdg082102]

Hello Icosahedron,

Thanks for the reply and the suggested clarification makes sense to me.

Originally Posted by Icosahedron

I view it as an issue issue.
Some weapons are issued ONLY to the military, others have wider use in law enforcement.

Submachineguns may be a bad example, but I'd define 'Light Assault Weapons' as the type of weapon issued to SWAT teams, Spaceport Security backup, etc. - tear gas, SMGs containing rubber bullets, assault shotguns, anti-riot weapons, counter-terrorism weapons - the sort of things the authorities might use to quell their own citizens.

LL3 stops the citizens carrying Army weapons.
LL4 stops the citizens carrying SWAT weapons.