In Defense of the Semiautomatic
One very valid reason to own a semiautomatic weapon would be to have inherited it from your father. I have his Winchester Model 63 .22LR semiautomatic rifle, which he took with him (and me) on squirrel-hunting outings during the 1950’s.
It’s a beautiful rifle: a joy to shoot, perfect for small game, plinking, or target practice. The weapon holds 11 rounds, which would be illegal in some states, and banned under certain “gun control” legislation proposals. It is also the same caliber (.22) used in the modern military.
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My father was not just an avid outdoorsman; he also thought of himself as a sportsman. His rifle could fire bullets in succession as fast as you could pull the trigger, but I never saw him do that. In fact, if he shot at wild game, it was rare for him to fire a second shot. The first round tested his marksmanship, and if it missed its mark, an animal had a lucky day.
I have never shot anyone with this or any other rifle, and to the best of my knowledge nobody has ever used the Model 63 to mow down a bunch of school children.
This is not to say that someone could not do that; but anybody so inclined would probably prefer the prestige of using a rifle that looks like those carried by 21st-century U.S. troops in combat.
My Dad served in the infantry in World War II, but he didn’t bring home an M1 Garand like the one he carried, or one of the 81mm mortars that he crewed and blamed for his deafness in one ear. He didn’t bring home any hand grenades, either. I guess he figured that he would rather live out his post-military years in a more peaceable country like the one he grew up in, instead of in a war zone where your neighbor is always a potential enemy.
