It's time to stop saying "Assault Weapon"

[Guns and more]

I don't own an assault rifle, but I do have "America's rifle"

 

[SDDL-UP]

Semi-automatic Christmas tree - I LOVE IT! LOL!

I'm not really afraid of "assault rifle", the term allows me the opportunity to explain to people that "You know they aren't talking about REAL assault rifles don't you? They are talking about any semi-automatic firearm." A little education can only help things.

As far as magazines, I call 10 round magazines "Clinton mags" because that's part of his legacy, selling our Constitutional rights down the river, and he can have it as long as I'm around to call them CLINTON MAGS.

 

[Gungnir]

Actually I thought further.

Let's not try to eliminate assault weapon let's embrace it.
Weapon - anything used against an opponent, adversary, or victim
Assault - a sudden, violent attack; onslaught
(Websters)

So examples.
After cooking my steak, I sat and ate it using my assault weapon, and assault weapon.

I got in my assault weapon, drove the the local store.

I nailed the 4x4 (this could also be an assault weapon, but confused the sentence) to the post using my framing assault weapon.

I sat on my swivel assault weapon in front of my assault weapon and typed an email message to my Mom.

Isn't the English Language beautiful?

 

[Lightninstrike]

Its a 5.56mm rifle, or a .223 cal rifle or a 7.62mm rifle or........

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

It's time to stop saying "Assault Weapon"

Absolutely agreed. The pro-choice forces don't allow their opposition to hang the tag "Baby Murderers" on them, do they?

 

[Harve Curry]

I'm fond of the word firearms because it best describes all of them and the word arms is in our 2nd Amendment.

 

[Rimmer]

Always bothered me this terminology thing.

It's a firearm, nothing more. Anything else and you’re just feeding the anti movement, like it, disagree, whatever.

 

[The Foo]

Sport Utility Rifle is win.

 

[expvideo]

Sport Utility Rifle

Nope. Sounds too cool. Anything that sounds cool is something that the media will adopt and make it sound evil.

I suggest "modern rifles". It's to the point and doesn't have any romanticism to it. Besides, saying that we should ban modern rifles sounds bad. It doesn't roll of the tongue well. In fact, it is laced with so much truth that the media would refuse to say it.

We need to stop calling things "Tactical". "Tactical" is the new "Assault" and the media is going to tear us apart with that word worse than they did with "Assault".

 

[gregormeister]

My mini-14 is a semi-automatic sporting rifle but in the hoplophobe realm it is an AW. People are afraid of what they don't know and exploit these terms at any attempt they can.
I think the gun manufacturers should start putting these facts on their advertisements. A SAW gun and a 240G are assault weapons not a semi auto Bushmaster that is just a rifle.

 

[louie19]

The best way is probably to use technocratic terminology to minimize the emotion involved.

So instead of "assault rifle" for an M4-style AR-15, use "semi-automatic BATF-compliant rifle." Obviously it can't be bad if it the BATF has approved it, right?

 

[MT GUNNY]

Its a matter of standing up for our Rights, Educating the Uneducated, Voting in the Right People, Writing Your Reps, Making your Voices Heard, Fighting The Media Bias!!! Changing the Names of Firearms Will not help, They will always Find a way to make them Bad!!

 

[muddywatters]

I like sport utility rifle.

 

[KarenTOC]

newbie opinion

There are:
Rifles
Handguns
Magazines
That pretty much covers it.

I'm a newbie, and have no more firearms knowledge than a lot of antis (and probably a lot less than some). I can't tell a shotgun from a rifle without a label. And magazines? For weeks after joining THR I'd open magazine threads expecting to see subscription offers or reviews of articles

Unlike the antis, I'm trying to learn. Rifles, handguns, magazines. Simple. Simple is good. I can remember simple.

Most of the definition of "assault weapon" posted earlier was like a foreign language to me. But that's not all bad. Now if a a suspected anti ever asks me my opinion of "assualt weapons" I know I can say "I don't know what an assault weapon is. Please define it for me." And if they can't define it adaquately, maybe they'll realize they don't even know what it is they're so vehemently against.

btw: is a shotgun a type of rifle? It wasn't listed in the above quote; hence the confusion (see? told you I'm a newbie.)

 

[JohnL2]

I think it all starts with the parents. Then the education system.
Hopefully kids are taught early on to think and be responsible, instead of having their heads filled up with shrill, alarmist, fearful nonsense.

I think the NRA would be smart to propose youth firearms safety classes. Let's face it, extremely few of us are raised on the farm anymore where we'd be out taking care of field pests with daddy's shotgun then coming home for dinner.

 

[Gungnir]

A shotgun is not a type of rifle although it can sometimes have a rifled barrel (just to confuse the issue)

Oh and don't confuse a Clip with Magazine either

 

[Owen Sparks]

Simply call them what they are...

MODERN FIREARMS.

 

[zxcvbob]

How about "Homeland Defense Rifle"?

 

[Mello]

National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) placed federal restrictions and controls on assault weapons.

I have never held one in my hands.

 

[JR47]

A SAW gun and a 240G are assault weapons not a semi auto Bushmaster that is just a rifle.

Actually, both the SAW, and the M240B are Machineguns, not Assault Weapons. Even under the DoD definitions.

 

[CRDNLPLT]

Homeland Defense Rifle - HDR has always been my favorite. I like the "std capacity" magazine thing...hadn't heard that before.

 

[JShirley]

I know what an "assault rifle" is (selective fire, moderate power cartridge), but am utterly unsure what an "assault weapon" is...unless you mean the Shoulder-launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon (SMAW).

 

[Boba Fett]

I know what an "assault rifle" is (selective fire, moderate power cartridge)

Thing is, that definition does not really fit either. Not all "selective fire, moderate power cartridge" guns are "assault rifles."

Example: Dragunov SVU-A a selective fire sniper rifle which comes in 7.62x54mm http://world.guns.ru/sniper/sn19-e.htm


That's part of the problem with calling firearms "Assault Rifles" is that too many firearms get lumped into the category because the definition is rather vague.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assault rifle


So, again, I agree that we should just call them what they are (handgun, rifle, pistol, revolver, brand name, etc.). Be specific and hold others (especially anti-gun types) to the same standards of being specific.

 

[dirt_j00]

There are:

Rifles

Handguns

Magazines

and Shotguns.

I like this & think I'll stick with it.

If/when someone says, "yeah but it looks so _ (evil, black, big, small, tactical, urban, bad, etc.)", I'll explain that my guns don't like being stereotyped.

 

[JKimball]

I disagree.

The 2nd amendment is all about Assault Weapons.

Lets embrace that and educate the public accordingly and then an AWB will be seen for what it is: a blatant violation of our constitutional rights.