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Assault weapon

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File:AR-15 Sporter SP1 Carbine.JPG
The Colt AR-15 carbine is a semi-automatic rifle chambered for fixed centerfire ammunition that fires one round each time the trigger is pulled. This particular model (like most) features a pistol grip, a flash suppressor, and an adjustable stock

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In the United States, assault weapon is a controversial term applied to different kinds of firearms.<ref name=Goode130116/> There is no clear, consistent definition. It can include semi-automatic firearms with a detachable magazine, a pistol grip, and sometimes other features, such as a vertical forward grip, flash suppressor, or barrel shroud.<ref name=Goode130116/><ref name=Babay121222/> Certain firearms are specified by name in some laws that restrict assault weapons.<ref name=Levs130131/> When the now-defunct Federal Assault Weapons Ban was passed in 1994, the U.S. Department of Justice said, "In general, assault weapons are semiautomatic firearms with a large magazine of ammunition that were designed and configured for rapid fire and combat use."<ref name=Levs130131/> The commonly used definitions of assault weapons are under frequent debate, and have changed over time.<ref name=Goode130116/>

The origin of the term has been attributed to legislators, the firearms industry, gun control groups,<ref name="Tartaro1995" /><ref name="GDBG2AWs2008" /><ref name="Blake130117"/> and the media.<ref name="Kauffman121218"/> It is sometimes used interchangeably with the term assault rifle,<ref name="Poole">Template:Cite book</ref> which refers to selective fire rifles that use intermediate cartridges.<ref name="Blake130117" /> This use has been described as incorrect and a misapplication of the term.<ref name="Poole" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, many news organizations ran stories about assault weapons, explaining their varying definitions and presenting varying opinions about whether they should be banned again at the federal level.<ref name=Goode130116>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Blake130117>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Lallanilla130117>Template:Cite news</ref>

Definitions and usageEdit

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Drawing from federal and state law definitions, the term assault weapon refers primarily to semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns that are able to accept detachable magazines and possess one or more other features.<ref name=Babay121222>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=BAW2004>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Koerner040916/> Some jurisdictions define revolving-cylinder shotguns as assault weapons.<ref name=SB23-2000>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="ConnJudicial">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Legislative definitions do not include fully automatic weapons, which are regulated separately as Title II weapons under federal law.<ref name=FedBan94/>Template:Refn A key defining law was the now-defunct Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994.<ref name=FedBan94>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At that time, the United States Department of Justice said, "In general, assault weapons are semiautomatic firearms with a large magazine of ammunition that were designed and configured for rapid fire and combat use."<ref name=Levs130131>Template:Cite news</ref>

Common attributes used in legislative definitions of assault weapons include:

Dictionary definitions vary from legal definitions. Dictionary.com defines "assault weapon" as "any of various automatic and semiautomatic military firearms utilizing an intermediate-power cartridge, designed for individual use".<ref>Definition of "assault weapon", Dictionary.com. Retrieved December 29, 2012.</ref> The Merriam-Webster Online DictionaryTemplate:'s definition is "any of various automatic or semiautomatic firearms; especially: assault rifle".<ref>Definition of "assault weapon". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved December 29, 2012.</ref>

History of terminologyEdit

The origin of the term is not clearly known and is the subject of much debate. In the past, the names of certain military weapons used the phrase, such as the Rifleman's Assault Weapon, a grenade launcher developed in 1977 for use with the M16 assault rifle,<ref>Jane's Infantry Weapons 1995–96, p. 219.</ref> or the Shoulder-launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon, a rocket launcher introduced in 1984.<ref name=AboutviaUSMC>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

One of the earliest uses of the term, or a similar term, in its current meaning was as part of an advertisement in The Hutchinson News (Kansas) in 1978 for the Valmets-7.62×39, the Colt AR-15, and the Wilkinson Terry carbine.<ref name=OED>Template:Cite OED</ref> Another was in a bill introduced by Art Agnos in the California State Assembly in April 1985 to ban semi-automatic "assault firearms" capable of using detachable magazines of 20 rounds or more.<ref name=Ingram850409>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Kavey851101>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Speaking to the Assembly Public Safety Committee, Agnos said, "The only use for assault weapons is to shoot people."<ref name=Ingram850409/> The measure did not pass when it came up for a vote.<ref name=Kavey851101/>

In 2013, The Washington Post, looking into the history of the term, wrote of the term: "Many attribute its popularization to a 1988 paper written by gun-control activist and Violence Policy Center founder Josh Sugarmann and the later reaction to the Cleveland School massacre in Stockton, California, in January 1989."<ref name=Blake130117/> Sugarmann had written:

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Other researchers have found evidence to suggest that the firearms industry itself may have introduced the term "assault weapon" to build interest in new product lines.<ref name=Richman130118>Template:Cite news</ref> Phillip Peterson, the author of Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Assault Weapons (2008) wrote:

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Meanwhile, many gun rights activists have put forward that the term was popularized by the media or gun control activists. Conservative writer Rich Lowry said that assault weapon is a "manufactured term".<ref name=LowryLegacy_p96>Template:Cite book</ref> Joseph P. Tartaro of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) wrote in 1994: "One of the key elements of the anti-gun strategy to gull the public into supporting bans on the so-called 'assault weapons' is to foster confusion. As stated previously, the public does not know the difference between a full automatic and a semi-automatic firearm."<ref name=Tartaro1995>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Robert Crook, executive director of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, said "the term 'assault weapon,' as used by the media, is a media invention."<ref name=Kauffman121218>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Washington Post, Blake, Jan. 17, 2013">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="CNBC, Daniels, Feb. 21st, 2018">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gun control supporters use the term while gun rights supporters generally do not use the term.Template:Cn

Differing state law definitionsEdit

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Seven states have assault weapon bans with different definitions and characteristics.<ref name=Nahmias121222>Template:Cite news</ref>

  • California defines assault weapons by name, by "series" (AK-47 or AR-15), and by characteristic.<ref name="CA_Law">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> A shotgun with a revolving cylinder is also defined as an assault weapon.<ref name=SB23-2000/>

  • Connecticut defines assault weapons as selective-fire firearms (including assault rifles capable of fully automatic or burst fire); semi-automatic firearms specified by name; and semi-automatic firearms with specific characteristics.<ref name=ConnJudicial/>
  • Hawaii defines and bans assault pistols.Template:Refn<ref name=CQR130308>Template:Cite journal</ref>
  • Maryland defines and bans assault pistols. It regulates 45 other assault weapons listed by make or model including copies, regardless of manufacturer.<ref name=CQR130308/><ref name="ATFStates31st">Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Massachusetts defines assault weapons as semi-automatic firearms with the same definition provisions from the expired federal ban of 1994.<ref name="MA_Law">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • New York had an assault weapons ban prior to 2013, but on January 16 of that year it passed the SAFE Act, which created a stricter definition of assault weapons and banned them immediately.<ref name="NY_Law">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="NYSAFEAct-PR">Template:Cite press release</ref><ref name=Berger130118>Template:Cite news</ref> The NY SAFE Act defines assault weapons as semi-automatic pistols and rifles with detachable magazines and one military-style feature, and semi-automatic shotguns with one military-style feature.<ref name="NYSAFEAct-PR" />

In Illinois, proposed legislation in 2013 would have defined the term "semi-automatic assault weapon" as any semi-automatic firearm able to accept a detachable magazine, but it was never brought to a vote.<ref>Acevedo, Edward J. (January 4, 2013). Amendment to Senate Bill 2899, Illinois General Assembly web site. Retrieved January 18, 2013. "In this Section: "Semi-automatic assault weapon" means: ... (C-2) a semi-automatic rifle or a pistol with the capacity to accept a detachable magazine, a muzzle brake, or muzzle compensator..."</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Illinois State Rifle Association said most of the state's firearms owners owned one or more guns that would have been banned under the proposal.<ref name=Chakraborty130103>Template:Cite news</ref> The NRA said the proposal would have restricted about 75 percent of handguns and 50 percent of long guns in circulation.<ref name=Chakraborty130103/> As municipalities, Chicago and Cook County bans certain firearms defined as assault weapons and have no provision for legal possession of firearms owned before their laws were passed.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Minnesota also defines certain firearms as assault weapons and regulates their sales.<ref name=CQR130308/> The State of Washington defines any semi-automatic rifle (except antiques), regardless of features, caliber, or magazine type, as a "semiautomatic assault rifle".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Distinction from assault riflesEdit

The term "assault rifle" is frequently used interchangeably with the term "assault weapon" but this use has been described as incorrect and a misapplication of the term.<ref name="Poole"/> The AP Stylebook suggests that newsrooms avoid the terms "assault weapon" and "assault rifle" instead using the term "semi-automatic rifle".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Part of the definition of "assault rifle", according to the Encyclopædia Britannica, is that it is selective-fire, which means that it is capable of both semiautomatic and fully automatic fire.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Civilian ownership of machine guns, including selective-fire rifles, has been tightly regulated since 1934 under the National Firearms Act and since 1986 under the Firearm Owners Protection Act.<ref name=Koerner040916/>

Cosmetic featuresEdit

Gun control advocates and gun rights advocates have referred to at least some of the features outlined in assault weapons bans as "cosmetic". The NRA Institute for Legislative Action and the Violence Policy Center both used the term in 2004 when the federal ban expired.<ref name=NRA040913>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=VPC040913>Template:Cite press release</ref> In May 2012, the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence said, "the inclusion in the list of features that were purely cosmetic in nature created a loophole that allowed manufacturers to successfully circumvent the law by making minor modifications to the weapons they already produced."<ref name=AWPS120521>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some reporters used the term in stories after the 2012 shootings in Aurora, Colorado, and Newtown, Connecticut.<ref name=Seitz-Wald130206>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>More cosmetic sources:

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Assault weapons, also sometimes called "black guns" or "black rifles",<ref name=WSJ090313>Template:Cite news</ref> are no more powerful than many other semi-automatic rifles legally used for hunting throughout the United States; they do not shoot faster or have greater range.<ref name=Harrison121220>Template:Cite news</ref>

Two scholars have written: "One problem inherent in the study of [assault weapons (AW)] is that the classifications of AW are based on cosmetic features of firearms... For instance, the Colt AR-15 series of semi-automatic rifles—the civilian version of the fully automatic M-16 rifle issued to U.S. soldiers—was subject to the 1994 AW restrictions, but the Ruger Mini-14 rifle was not banned. Yet, the Mini-14 is the same caliber, has a similar barrel length, the same semi-automatic action, and can use magazines that hold 30 rounds of ammunition. The only real meaningful difference between the two firearms is cosmetic: The AR-15 rifle looks more dangerous."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms industry trade group, states that the term assault weapon has been misapplied to many semi-automatic firearms because of their appearance and not their use in crime.<ref name="NSSF Facts">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Political and legislative issuesEdit

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File:US assault weapons bans.svg
U.S. states and territories that have enacted assault weapons bansTemplate:LegendTemplate:Legend

As of 2021, there are an estimated 16–44 million rifles from just the AR-15 family of rifles in civilian use in the United States.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Defunct U.S. Federal Assault Weapons BanEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act of 1994, more commonly known as the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, expired in 2004. It banned the manufacture or importation of certain semi-automatic firearms that it defined as "semiautomatic assault weapons", commonly known as assault weapons. Any firearms so defined that were already possessed at the time the law took effect were grandfathered in, and could be legally owned or transferred. Another aspect of the law banned the manufacture or importation of magazines that could hold more than ten rounds of ammunition, with existing magazines grandfathered in as legal.<ref name=FedBan94/>

The Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 defined certain firearms as assault weapons based on the features they possessed. This included semi-automatic rifles with a detachable magazine and at least two of these features: a pistol grip, a folding or telescoping stock, a flash suppressor or threaded barrel, a bayonet mount, or a muzzle-mounted grenade launcher. It included semi-automatic pistols with a detachable magazine and at least two of these features: a magazine that attaches outside the pistol grip, a threaded barrel, a barrel shroud, or an unloaded weight of 50 ounces or more. Additionally defined as assault weapons were semi-automatic shotguns with a rotating cylinder, or with at least two of these features: a pistol grip, a folding or telescoping stock, a detachable magazine, or a fixed magazine that can hold more than five rounds.<ref name=Koerner040916>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=FedBan94/>

The ban also prohibited 19 specifically named models of firearms, as well as copies of those guns. These included the AK-47, Uzi, Galil, AR-15, FN FAL, MAC-10, Steyr AUG, TEC-9, and Armsel Striker.<ref name=Koerner040916/><ref name=FedBan94/>

  • Ruger 10-22 (2).JPG

    This Ruger 10/22 rifle with a pistol grip and a folding stock was classified as an assault weapon under the Federal Assault Weapons Ban.

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    An Intratec TEC-DC9 with a 32-round magazine. This semi-automatic pistol has a threaded barrel and a magazine that attaches outside the pistol grip, two of the features listed in the Federal Assault Weapons Ban.

Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 billEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} On December 16, 2012, two days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Senator Dianne Feinstein said she would introduce a new assault weapons ban on the first day of Congress.<ref name="jamieson 121216">Template:Cite news</ref> Five days later, on December 21, Wayne LaPierre, chief executive of the National Rifle Association, held a news conference repeating the NRA's opposition to additional gun laws.<ref name="LaPierre121221">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Feinstein and Senator Richard Blumenthal held a separate news conference in response.<ref name="Feinstein-Blumenthal">Template:Cite AV media</ref> There, Feinstein said that it seemed to her "prudent" to register grandfathered assault weapons under the National Firearms Act (NFA).<ref name="Feinstein121221">Template:Cite AV media</ref> A two-page bill summary on the senator's web site also mentioned registering grandfathered assault weapons under the NFA,<ref name="Summ121226PDF">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but the text of the bill introduced to the Senate did not include that provision.

On January 24, 2013, Feinstein introduced S. 150, the "Assault Weapons Ban of 2013".<ref name="S150">Template:USBill</ref> The bill was similar to the 1994 ban, but differed in that it used a one-feature test for a firearm to qualify as an assault weapon rather than the two-feature test of the 1994 ban. On April 17, 2013, it failed on a Senate vote of 60 to 40.<ref name="simon 130417">Template:Cite news</ref>

See alsoEdit

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Explanatory notesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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