Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. I think he may have had New York in mind.

All of the gun control in the state couldn't prevent some nut case from shooting up a shopping mall. So what do New York Democrats propose to do? Why, more gun control of course. This time they want to ban so-called assault ammunition.

"I realize you can't stop somebody from committing a crime, or committing a heinous act if they're really intent on doing it, but maybe you can slow it down," said Bill Reynolds, majority leader of the Kingston Common Council. "Obviously, real strict gun control doesn't make a lot of sense, but perhaps there is some wisdom in at least slowing people down from getting their hands on weapons of war and the ammunition for them."

Authorities say 25-year-old Robert Bonelli Jr. of Glasco purchased three boxes of 7.62-caliber ammunition for his Hesse Model 47 semiautomatic assault rifle at the Wal-Mart store next to Hudson Valley Mall in the town of Ulster an hour before he fire 50-60 shots inside the mall, wounding two people.

Authorities have said both the weapon, purchased at a local gun show, and the ammunition were obtained legally, but Reynolds and Ulster County Legislator Brian Shapiro of Woodstock said there should be tighter restrictions on the availability of the semiautomatic rounds used in the shooting.

Augh! Rounds of ammo are not semiautomatic. GUNS are semiautomatic. The rounds are the same for revolvers, semi-auto guns, and fully auto guns. It's a bit like saying we're having trouble with speeding so we're going to ban fast gasoline.

"These are assault weapons. They're meant for killing human beings, and ammunition for these types of weapons should not be available at Wal-Mart," Shapiro said.

What a crock. Guns are designed to expel a small projectile really really fast. Whether that means through a sheet of paper, a deer, or another human being is entire dependent on the person using it. And banning ammo is just another attempt at a backdoor gun ban. Especially considering the many different guns that use the same cartridge.