06-16-2016, 03:16 PM
(06-16-2016, 02:50 PM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: That's how you define 'assault weapon' and it's not wrong, Gunnar -- it's in line with how the Fed referred to 'assault weapons' when they banned fully-automatic firearms from being sold to civilians (with exceptions).In the US, the legal and political term "assault weapon" generally includes firearms that are semi-auto (1 bullet per trigger squeeze), have pistol grips, and have detachable magazines.
But, both fully-automatic and semi-automatic rifles are categorized as 'assault weapons' in some government legislation and by a lot of other sources.
I don't care about the subjective semantics -- that has nothing to do with addressing the problem of semi-automatic rifles with high capacity magazines/cartridges being legally sold by dealers to anyone who passes a background check and used too often to maximize the number of people mowed down in a limited amount of time.
The term "assault rifle" means a fully automatic (multiple bullets per trigger squeeze) selective-fire rifle, which uses intermediate cartridges and a detachable magazine.
The key difference between the terms is "weapon" versus "rifle." People who disagree are missing that seemingly-minor, but important, difference.