Is it dangerous to use the term "assault weapon"?

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tyme

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Now that the ban has expired, is it unwise or dangerous to use the terms "assault weapon" and "semi-automatic assault weapon"? They're defined different ways by different people and by different states.

What about a letter-writing campaign? Anyone wanting to help can go to the main THR library page and run the default google news search, then pick two or three articles that misuse the term and write letters to the editor explaining why the term "assault weapon" should not be used.

Quick link to google results:
assault weapon (singular)

Searching for plural "assault weapons" is not recommended because most of the occurrences talk about the assault weapons ban, which may be obnoxious but is not a misuse of the term.
 
Maybe letting everyone know that higher firepower weapons being legal does not cause problems, is a good thing. It will make repealing other gun laws easier. If "assault weapons" do not cause problems, why would machine guns?
 
I had some kid call, ask if we had any assault weapons...I said no, just some AR 15s...he got way to confused for me :)

WildassaultweaponsdontexistAlaska
 
To most non-gun people I know, 'assualt weapon' = 'full auto', 'AWB' = 'no one can buy machine guns', and 'semi-automatic assualt weapon' = either 'huh?' or 'right-wing gun nut'.

I would use with some caution, esp. with non-gunners. Around here, I think most people won;t have any problem with assualt weapon being used to describe an M4 or AK.

As for your idea, use a new news story. If you pick an old one, they'll know that someone has chosen to nuke them with responses, and in all likelyhood will ignore it.

Anyway, JMHO.
 
I kinda like Kel-Tec's nomenclature. They refer to their 'kinda M-16" as a "Sports Utility Rifle."

I like that. Yeah, my AK clone is a "sports utility rifle."

It has a lot of utility, and I use it for shooting sports.

Beats 'poodle shooter'.
 
The term "assault weapon" does not, nor has it ever had, any place in firearms nomenclature. It is a legal term that originated as a propaganda tool that was invented by the anti-gun lobby to scare people. The term "assault rifle" is a valid one, but it does not cover rifles that many modern gun owners have been allowed to own in their lifetimes.

Anyone who is of a pro-gun ownership standpoint who throws the term "assault weapon" around is doing themselves and other gun owners a disservice.
 
pro-lite.bmp


"Assault Weapon" Can mean almost anything.
 
AW= A Loaded Word - the Left's Specialty

I never have used that term in conversation, except as a jest with a fellow aficionado. I call em "rifles" or "weapons." Period.
 
Back in the 1980s..

When the importers, distributors and sellers of semi-auto sporters started referring to them as "assault weapons" in their ads, the die was permanently cast, I fear.
 
I call Godwin!

"Assault Rifle" is a loose translation of "Sturmgeschuetz" which is the name that Adolf (yes, THAT Adolf) himself bestowed upon the selective-fire weapons firing a medium-power cartridge, when he decided to allow their mass production.

There's a technical term involved here, as well as a translation. In ordinary civil society, an assault is a nasty crime. In military operations, an assault is a technical term describing a certain kind of quick-and-violent attack.
Not quite the same thing.

"Assault Rifle" may have an exact definition, but "Assault Weapon" could mean anything, from a flint knife on and up to to thermonuclear bombs.

Edit: Changed "may be a close translation " to "may have an exact definition."
 
YES!!!!


It is dangerous, unfortunately, it will be tough to reverse over 2 decades of this misnomer.


Read my signature at the the bottom. Those who set the definitions, win the debate. We will always lose when we use the word high-cap. Everytime. It as if we are asking for something we don't need.


Assault Weapon, as we all know, as we have all beaten to death already, means nothing. Assault Rifle or Assault Pistol is differnent story as we all know.


We need to change the debate. No more high-cap magainzes, they are standard capacity. No more assault weapons, assault is a BEHAVIOR, not a function or feature. They are semi-auto rifles.


I like my new semi-automatic rifle, with standard capacity magazines. I just built it. What is it? In older terms, it is an AR-15, with 30 rounders.


Which sounds better? Not only which sounds better, but isn't one a little more accurate to the reality of the FUNCTION of the rifle?
 
Assault Rifle" is a loose translation of "Sturmgeschuetz" which is the name that Adolf (yes, THAT Adolf) himself bestowed upon the selective-fire weapons firing a medium-power cartridge, when he decided to allow their mass production.

There's a technical term involved here, as well as a translation. In ordinary civil society, an assault is a nasty crime. In military operations, an assault is a technical term describing a certain kind of quick-and-violent attack.
Not quite the same thing.

"Assault Rifle" may have an exact definition, but "Assault Weapon" could mean anything, from a flint knife on and up to to thermonuclear bombs.

Edit: Changed "may be a close translation " to "may have an exact definition."
Click to expand...

Actually Orthonym, 'assault rifle' is not a translation of Sturmgeschutz but of Sturmgewehr. And while the term was coined on his watch I don't know if he had anything to do with it. He seems to have been somewhat against giving individual troops automatic rifles, as a result of his WWI experiences.

A Sturmgeschutz is a tracked selfpropelled gun mounting a large caliber gun (tank gun or howitzer) in a fixed or casemate hull mount. While the best known types were built by nazi Germany, other powers (Italy, Russia) also built them. They generally aren't available to the general public in a working state, even with the AWB gone. Quite a pity really, they'd be wonderful at getting through traffic or handling demolitions.

Cheers,
ErikM :evil:
 
[sarcasm]Ok Mr. I just have to be exactly right! You act like this is the DU and you have to have your facts 100% right! :rolleyes: [/sarcasm]

There is nothing more refreshing that a the thought of rolling thorugh morning traffic in a tank. :evil:
 
I don't recommend using the term "assault weapon".

The simple reason is that if you concede how the terms of the debate are framed, you've more than half lost the debate.

The term is rife with loaded meaning:

Assault: Either a criminal or military activity, plays right into the hands of the "no civilian needs ___" crowd.

Weapon: A device whose purpose is killing and destruction, again playing into the hands of the gun bigots.


Assault Weapon: A magnificently loaded term, that has no place in an informed person's vocabulary, except when criticising the term and its underlying context.
 
Why not just refer to whatever firearm is in question by its make or model? If speaking in the generic, autoloading or self-loading rifle is tehnically accurate and not particularly loaded terminology.
 
Those who control the language control the debate.

Whatever term is selected we must be consistent and ban the use of "assault weapon" from our language.

I like "sports utility rifle" or "utility rifle" for short.

We make fun of Josh Sugarman for fuzzing up the lingo so he and his can infuse a term with their meaning.

We are guilty of being overly specific and overly technical in descriptive terms.

The idea is communication. Terminology can not hinder communication. Descriptive is good. Simple is better.
 
"Assault Weapon" is a term invented to describe a class of firearms banned by the 1994 AWB.

The ban no longer applies, therefore there aren't any more "assault weapons".

To be more explicit: "Assault weapons are defined as firearms banned by this law. The law no longer exists, therefore since no weapons are banned by it, there aren't any more assault weapons."

-Ogre
 
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