4 ms·
"assault rifle" has a particular meaning, and generally specifies that it be capable of multi-round firing on a single trigger pull, which is a useful and meani
by ObviousScience 12y ago
"assault rifle" has a particular meaning, and generally specifies that it be capable of multi-round firing on a single trigger pull, which is a useful and meaningful distinction in weapon operation.
I think you're referring to "assault weapon", which was a buzz-word for anything that scared people during the last major gun debate.
- AnthonyMouse 12y agoYou're completely right about the definitions (and it's probably not worth getting any further into the gun control debate to argue about whether "multi-round firing" is any more harmful in practice than "pull the trigger more than once"). But it doesn't really change the point; a firearm that isn't an "assault rifle" or an "assault weapon" is still a completely effective killing tool. There is no way to make a generic tool that can only be used for authorized purposes. The tool has no way to determine what purposes are authorized.
- ObviousScience 12y agoOh, I agree with your point. I just try to correct the language (and complain about it) when I see it used, because people picked "assault weapon" to conflate things that aren't assault rifles with assault rifles. Setting aside merits of the ban, the ban on assault rifles actually targeted a particular technology to ban. We could (in principle, I don't really want to) have a discussion about if that technology makes a difference in the effectiveness of a weapon. The "assault weapon" ban was just meaningless cosmetic features because people felt scared. I don't necessarily agree with all the gun legislature out there, but if we're going to make it, it should at least be specific and about specific technologies rather than nebulous surface appearance.