From a purely technical point of view, the UZI is a highly specialized weapon with very specific and limited tactical applications. It is very good at what it does, but it's not much good for anything else. It is cheap and easily mass-produced, but goes for high prices in the US because of its appeal to certain fringe sectors of the gun culture.

The UZI is a compact, light and highly portable machine pistol suitable for unconcealed carry by security personell and police officers. It has a very high cyclic rate of fire capable of discharging it's entire magazine in less than a second; it is used as a short-barreled shotgun might be used (you can't miss with this baby!) to quickly neutralize a solitary attacker at very close quarters. Unlike Hollywood would have us believe, it cannot be used to mow down advancing ranks of enemy infantry. It also uses easily acquired and inexpensive standard handgun ammunition. As someone once put it "it's the perfect gun for killing someone in a phone booth".

Although this type of combat is very rare, even in Israel, the weapon also earns its keep as a standard service pistol, albeit a rather bulky one. When not in full automatic mode, it can be used as a police sidearm for engaging an armed opponent at relatively close ranges (say, a guy with a handgun across the street). The large magazine capacity and longer sight radius would give it an advantage over an assailant with a pistol. These two roles combined in one weapon, short range scattergun and police service weapon, make it an attractive option for a uniformed guard who might normally be armed with a revolver or automatic pistol. It also makes the UZI a poor choice as a battlefield or home defense weapon.

So the question remains, just why is the UZI so popular with civilian gun enthusuasts in the USA, where it is illegal to own one equipped with a full-auto mode? A variety of other weapons would be better suited for hunting, sport, self-defense, and even military applications (just in case you're planning your own little domestic insurrection). The answer is, of course, that the UZI is COOL. It is a menacing and and impressive little machine that fulfills some obscure psychological need in these pathetic yahoos.

It's not a second amendment poster weapon or of any interest to responsible gun fanciers. It makes no sense for any of the legitimate reasons you might want to own a firearm (except for the security guard mentioned above). It is just a toy attractive to gun nuts and criminals. And as long as the former are allowed to exercise their fantasies with it, the latter will always have them available, and the innocent will die needlessly in assaults or accidents.