Guys like omalley & cuomo live in an echo chamber, surrounded by people of like opinion. As far as they can tell, everyone supports their position, because nobody who disagrees ever gets close enough to converse with them.
Anyway, back to the M1A vs. Garand discussion...I was seriously considering picking up one of the forged M1A receivers before the new law preventing purchase (but not possession) of them kicked in Oct 1, but decided that the only reason I was considering one was as a middle finger to those who backed the new law. Anything I could use an M1A for, a Garand (or derivative such as the Mini-G) will do just as well, with the added benefit that each Garand is a bit of history. I already had an investment in tools, spares, and technical documentation for the Garand, so it just didn't make sense to duplicate that supporting infrastructure for another platform. And then I went ahead and bought a 1903 with the money saved...
There is one benefit to omalley running for Pres: it gets him the heck out of our state!