Assault weapons definitions.
An assault rifle costs more. It kills people fancier.
Who ever wrote that definition has no idea as to what they were talking about, just like everyone else that refers to "assault" rifles.
There is no hard and fast defintion, but I'll give the rough definition.
True "assault rifles" are used by military forces and are capable of true automatic fire (i.e. one squeeze of the trigger can keep the gun firing until the magazine empties). Automatic weapons are not, in general, legal for civilian sale/use in the USA. There are people who do own fully automatic weapons (typically heavier machine guns) but they are subject to MUCH stricter and ongoing government scrutiny than other firearms owners.
The term "assault weapons" is a bit of a misnomer, largely driven by political considerations (or so the coverage of the issue would indicate). It refers to weapons like the AR-15, the Sig Sauer MCX (used by the Orlando nightclub shooter) or civilian versions of the AK-47.
While "assault weapons" have the external appearance of military-grade assault rifles, they do not have the same fully-automatic firing mode of military-grade rifles.
My reading of the evidence suggests that "assualt weapons" are not significantly more leathal than other weapons which do not resemble military-grade assault rifles. Hence, implementing some sort of "assault weapons" ban is unlikely to reduce the number or death toll of shootings (mass shootings or otherwise).
I DO think that there is a problem of people with an unhealthy anti-social attachment to guns purchasing "assualt weapons" because those people think such weapons make them look like a Total Bad-A$$ (much the same way some men buy Harley-Davidson motorcycles to "toughen up" their image). But that's a problem that needs to be addressed as a personal/social problem, not as a guns problem.
Great. Full automatic mode.
I rest my case and you have none.
From the Wikipedia entry on the term . . .
The term assault rifle is generally attributed to Adolf Hitler, who for propaganda purposes used the German word "Sturmgewehr" (which translates to "assault rifle"), as the new name for the MP43, subsequently known as the Sturmgewehr 44 or StG 44. Other sources dispute that Hitler had much to do with coining the new name besides signing the production order.[16] The StG 44 is generally considered the first selective fire military rifle to popularize the assault rifle concept. Today, the term assault rifle is used to define firearms sharing the same basic characteristics as the StG 44.
In a strict definition, a firearm must have at least the following characteristics to be considered an assault rifle:
Rifles that meet most of these criteria, but not all, are technically not assault rifles, despite frequently being called such.
For example:
The U.S. Army defines assault rifles as "short, compact, selective-fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between submachine gun and rifle cartridges."
I do fine it interesting that a much reviled leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party may have been the first to use/coin the term.
Here's a link to the complete article . . .
One has the word ass in it.
I don't know what the technical distinction is, or if there really is one. As far as I know, a rifle is any hand held gun with a long barrel, and the name comes from "rifling", or a twisting groove in the barrel that makes the bullet spin to stabilize it, thus increasing accuracy. An "assault" rifle makes me think of a gun that has a higher capacity ammunition holder, and can shoot faster, i.e. automatic or semi-automatic, and is possibly meant for more powerful ammunition, the overall effect meaning the weapon is more "deadly", in the sense that it would have a tactical advantage over slower firing, lower capacity weapons.
Damn!
I walked right into that one didn't I?
Good eye my friend.
Full auto mode?
You have no case other than that case of vodka you're surviving on.
Legally owned weapons that are capable of firing in full auto mode are as scarce as hens teeth. An autopsy is less invasive that the Treasury Department's background check if one applies for ownership. Don't believe that a legally-owned, fully-automatic weapon has ever been used in the commission of a crime in the USA.
As to "bad guys" getting full auto, or even auto-loading facsimiles if they're illegal . . . pretty sure that those kinds of weapons are banned in most of Europe but that didn't slow them down in France with that Charlie Hbdo thing, Denmark about a year ago or even that real piece of "work" in Norway back in 2011; a small number of the many examples. And if no firearms are available and the perpetrator is intent on doing harm with no regard for their own safety, there's always 50-pound bags of ammonia nitrate from the local farm and garden store, or even the neighborhood Home Depot. Just pack the trunk with that, some nails and rat poison, add a suitable detonator and drive into a big crowd. Instant evening news coverage, which is really what they want.
But you go right ahead and live in your little fantasy world there.
Hang on to your hat.....The Camo- crazies are about to pounce !
There is no such thing as an assault rifle. The term was made up by politicians in the 80s and the media started using it. They even convinced people the AR stood for assault rifle; AR represents the original manufacture from back in the 50s. Yes, the 50s. An assault weapon is an automatic weapon which means you hold the trigger down and it keeps shooting. Those are illegal to own in the USA. The AR-15 is the rifle that politicians and other fools continue to call an assault rifle. It isn't. What it is is the most popular sport and hunting rifle on the market. That's because of the things that be put on the top such as scopes and lenses. It is used in shooting competitions too. Just remember that machine guns are assault weapons. When you have to pull the trigger once for each shot that is a semi-automatic. BUT, contrary to what politicians and the media would have you believe in order to support more gun legislation, assault weapons are already illegal to own.
Assault weapons are illegal to own in the USA. The AR in the AR-15 sports rifle does not stand for assault rifle. That term was made up by politicians in the 80s. In your definition the important word is automatic. With an assault weapon you hold the trigger down and it keeps firing, like a machine gun.
You can't purchase an assault weapon in the USA. It is illegal to possess one.
And not completely correct. Wiki rarely is.
Yep. It's not rocket science.. And automatic weapons are illegal in the USA. It doesn't stop the idiots in Washington from continuing to say we have to get rid of the assault weapons. But people keep nodding their heads in agreement. It boggles the mind.
not much probably
