4 ms·
The second one is an "Assault Weapon", not Rifle. This is why it was called the Assault Weapons Ban. See [0], "a United States federal law which included a pro
by DuskStar 4y ago
The second one is an "Assault Weapon", not Rifle. This is why it was called the Assault Weapons Ban.
See [0], "a United States federal law which included a prohibition on the manufacture for civilian use of certain semi-automatic firearms that were defined as assault weapons".
"The Act prohibited the manufacture, transfer, or possession of "semiautomatic assault weapons," as defined by the Act."
0: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Assault_Weapons_Ban https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Assault_Weapons_Ban
- skissane 4y agoPeople use the term "assault rifle" to mean "assault weapon rifles". It is a very widespread usage, including by politicians and the news media. It is also a very logical usage – it is simply shortening the phrase by dropping "weapon", which is kind of duplicative given it includes "rifle". Yes, this contradicts with the older military usage of the term "assault rifle" – but different people use words in different ways, language evolves, and insisting other people are wrong for using words differently from how you do is just ignorant linguistic prescriptivism.
- DuskStar 4y agoSometimes, specific terms matter. Federal law is one of those times. Especially gun law, because getting it wrong means the ATF shoots your dog and you go to club fed.