5 ms·

I believe that writing legislation for assault rifles is trickier than for semi-autos, because the latter is a more properly defined type. That is, we talk abo

by Isamu 8y ago

I believe that writing legislation for assault rifles is trickier than for semi-autos, because the latter is a more properly defined type. That is, we talk about assault rifles as if they were easily defined but they can be functionally the same as sport rifles but with different grips, and the larger default magazines.

jki275 8y ago
Assault rifle is a defined term, it comes from the German Sturmgewehr, and it has been used since WWII to mean a select fire military issue weapon. As a side note, they’ve been heavily restricted in the US for civilian ownership since 1986, and manufacture for civilian ownership has been banned since 1986. As a result, the supply is very limited and the cost for a civilian legal M16, for instance, hovers around 20 thousand dollars. I believe one has been used in the commission of a crime in that time period since 1986, and the transfer and sale and even movement of them is also heavily restricted and subject to a BATF background check and a local sheriff approval. Of course you’re misusing the word to mean anything that looks scary or looks like it might be a civilian legal non select fire rifle, but we’re scientists, we ought to do better. The 1994 “assault weapon ban” didn’t ban any assault weapons. It also catapulted the Republicans to power and destroyed the Democrat party for nearly 20 years as this is America and we don’t like people pretending parts of our Constitution don’t exist.
- Isamu 8y ago
  >Assault rifle is a defined term It is not precise enough, that is my point. You can take an assault rifle and manufacture a sport version that removes military convenience features but is still as deadly. Not so with the auto or semi-auto designation. They are right to focus on magazine size in legislation. Also ammo type.
  - jki275 8y ago
    All guns are deadly. That's what they're designed to be. Guns are not a sport toy, their purpose is to kill things. That's what makes them useful. The problem is not "how deadly" a gun is.
  - kgunnar 8y ago
    "Assault rifle" is a rather precise term that means it is capable of firing more than one round with a single pull of the trigger, has detachable magazines, and is chambered for an intermediate cartridge. If anything, it is more precise than "full auto" which encompasses other types of firearms as well. The ambiguity comes in from the more recently coined term "assault weapon" that is rather similar to "assault rifle" but means something different. Some would say this similarity was intended to confuse the matter and provide the connotation of military "machine guns" when using the term to the general populace. And to further cloud the issue, there is no universal definition for "assault weapon" when used to refer to certain firearms. Generally it is used to define cosmetic features rather than any real functional differences.
    - Isamu 8y ago
      I know the US Army has a precise definition for an assault rifle, but I'm not so sure there is a good legal definition, and that's what I'm talking about. This holds true for New Zealand. If anything the US Army definition is probably too precise and would cast a net probably not broad enough. Also the "selective fire" of assault rifles means you can select either semi-auto or full auto, which I think should be preferred terms in legislation. That is, you ban weapons that are automatic or semi-automatic (or both.) And again, the particulars of the magazine.
      - jki275 8y ago
        Automatic weapons (and select fire weapons) have been heavily restricted in the US since 1986. It's not a US Army definition, it's been an internationally defined term whose use in this way dates to WWII. It's not a new thing. Banning magazines is ridiculous. Banning cosmetic features as the "AWB" in 1994 did is even more ridiculous -- it's intellectually dishonest.

by Isamu 8y ago

jki275 8y ago

Assault rifle is a defined term, it comes from the German Sturmgewehr, and it has been used since WWII to mean a select fire military issue weapon. As a side note, they’ve been heavily restricted in the US for civilian ownership since 1986, and manufacture for civilian ownership has been banned since 1986. As a result, the supply is very limited and the cost for a civilian legal M16, for instance, hovers around 20 thousand dollars. I believe one has been used in the commission of a crime in that time period since 1986, and the transfer and sale and even movement of them is also heavily restricted and subject to a BATF background check and a local sheriff approval. Of course you’re misusing the word to mean anything that looks scary or looks like it might be a civilian legal non select fire rifle, but we’re scientists, we ought to do better. The 1994 “assault weapon ban” didn’t ban any assault weapons. It also catapulted the Republicans to power and destroyed the Democrat party for nearly 20 years as this is America and we don’t like people pretending parts of our Constitution don’t exist.

Isamu 8y ago
>Assault rifle is a defined term It is not precise enough, that is my point. You can take an assault rifle and manufacture a sport version that removes military convenience features but is still as deadly. Not so with the auto or semi-auto designation. They are right to focus on magazine size in legislation. Also ammo type.
- jki275 8y ago
  All guns are deadly. That's what they're designed to be. Guns are not a sport toy, their purpose is to kill things. That's what makes them useful. The problem is not "how deadly" a gun is.
- kgunnar 8y ago
  "Assault rifle" is a rather precise term that means it is capable of firing more than one round with a single pull of the trigger, has detachable magazines, and is chambered for an intermediate cartridge. If anything, it is more precise than "full auto" which encompasses other types of firearms as well. The ambiguity comes in from the more recently coined term "assault weapon" that is rather similar to "assault rifle" but means something different. Some would say this similarity was intended to confuse the matter and provide the connotation of military "machine guns" when using the term to the general populace. And to further cloud the issue, there is no universal definition for "assault weapon" when used to refer to certain firearms. Generally it is used to define cosmetic features rather than any real functional differences.
  - Isamu 8y ago
    I know the US Army has a precise definition for an assault rifle, but I'm not so sure there is a good legal definition, and that's what I'm talking about. This holds true for New Zealand. If anything the US Army definition is probably too precise and would cast a net probably not broad enough. Also the "selective fire" of assault rifles means you can select either semi-auto or full auto, which I think should be preferred terms in legislation. That is, you ban weapons that are automatic or semi-automatic (or both.) And again, the particulars of the magazine.
    - jki275 8y ago
      Automatic weapons (and select fire weapons) have been heavily restricted in the US since 1986. It's not a US Army definition, it's been an internationally defined term whose use in this way dates to WWII. It's not a new thing. Banning magazines is ridiculous. Banning cosmetic features as the "AWB" in 1994 did is even more ridiculous -- it's intellectually dishonest.