Editing Assault weapon (section)

===History of terminology===
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 rifle|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>{{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Marine Corps Fact File: Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon (SMAW) |url=http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/marinefacts/blsmaw.htm |publisher=About.com |access-date=May 8, 2014 |archive-date=July 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722130950/http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/marinefacts/blsmaw.htm |url-status=dead }}</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 [[KK 62|Valmets-7.62×39]], the [[Colt AR-15]], and the [[Terry carbine|Wilkinson Terry carbine]].<ref name=OED>{{Cite OED|Assault weapon}}</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>{{cite news |last=Ingram |first=Carl |date=April 9, 1985 |title=Restricting of Assault-Type Guns Okd by Assembly Unit |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-04-09-mn-27984-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131201034612/http://articles.latimes.com/1985-04-09/news/mn-27984_1_machine-guns |archive-date=December 1, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Kavey851101>{{Cite magazine |last=Kavey |first=Fred |date=November 1, 1985 |title=California: gun control's primary target |magazine=Guns & Ammo 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/> [[Josh Sugarmann|Sugarmann]] had written:

{{Quote|Assault weapons—just like armor-piercing bullets, machine guns, and plastic firearms—are a new topic. The weapons' menacing looks, coupled with the public's confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons—anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun—can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons. In addition, few people can envision a practical use for these weapons.<ref name="AWA1988conc">{{cite web |last=Sugarmann |year=1988 |first=Josh |title=Assault Weapons and Accessories in America |url=http://www.vpc.org/studies/awaconc.htm |publisher=[[Violence Policy Center]] |access-date=February 26, 2005 }}</ref>}}

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>{{cite news |last=Richman |first=Josh |date=January 18, 2013 |title=Assault Weapons: What Are They, and Should They Be Banned? |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_22396050/assault-weapons-what-are-they-and-should-they |newspaper=San Jose Mercury News |access-date=January 19, 2013 |quote=In fact, the term was introduced by the gun industry itself to boost interest in new lines of firearms.}}</ref> Phillip Peterson, the author of ''Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Assault Weapons'' (2008) wrote:

{{Quote|The popularly held idea that the term 'assault weapon' originated with anti-gun activists is wrong. The term was first adopted by manufacturers, wholesalers, importers and dealers in the American firearms industry to stimulate sales of certain firearms that did not have an appearance that was familiar to many firearms owners. The manufacturers and gun writers of the day needed a catchy name to identify this new type of gun.<ref name=GDBG2AWs2008>{{cite book |last=Peterson |first=Phillip |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fd9Qc0neMjYC&pg=PA11|title=Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Assault Weapons |year=2008 |publisher=Gun Digest Books |location=Iola, Wisconsin |isbn=978-0896896802 |page=11 }}{{dead link|date=October 2020}}</ref>}}

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>{{cite book |last=Lowry |first=Richard |year=2003 |title=Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years |url=https://archive.org/details/legacypayingpric00lowr|url-access=registration |publisher=Regnery Publishing |page=[https://archive.org/details/legacypayingpric00lowr/page/96 96] |isbn=978-0-89526-049-9}}</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>{{cite web|last=Tartaro |first=Joseph P. |title=The Great Assault Weapon Hoax |url=http://www.saf.org/LawReviews/Tartaro1.htm |work=University of Dayton Law Review |volume=20 |issue=2: Symposium, Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 |date=1995 |page=557 |access-date=January 3, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102110222/http://www.saf.org/LawReviews/Tartaro1.htm |archive-date=January 2, 2013 |df=mdy }}</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>{{cite news |last=Kauffman |first=Matthew |date=December 18, 2012 |title=In State with 'Assault Weapons' Ban, Lanza's Rifle Still Legal |url=https://www.courant.com/2012/12/18/in-state-with-assault-weapons-ban-lanzas-rifle-still-legal-3/ |newspaper=Hartford Courant |location=Hartford, Connecticut |access-date=January 2, 2013 |quote=The term 'assault weapon,' as used by the media, is a media invention. These are semi-automatic firearms that have military cosmetic characteristics. They look like our military firearms, but they're not.}}</ref><ref name="Washington Post, Blake, Jan. 17, 2013">{{cite news |last1=Blake |first1=Aaron |title=Is it fair to call them 'assault weapons'? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2013/01/17/is-it-fair-to-call-them-assault-weapons/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref><ref name="CNBC, Daniels, Feb. 21st, 2018">{{cite web |last1=Daniels |first1=Jeff |title=Definition of what's actually an 'assault weapon' is a highly contentious issue |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/21/definition-of-whats-an-assault-weapon-is-a-very-contentious-issue.html |date=February 22, 2018 |publisher=CNBC |access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref> [[Gun control in the United States|Gun control]] supporters use the term while [[Right to keep and bear arms|gun rights]] supporters generally do not use the term.{{cn|date=November 2022}}