Juliette wrote:Dovahkiin wrote:Juliette wrote:Now, you say there is no such thing as an Assault Rifle.
I said assault
weapons, assault
rifles are actual real things with actual real technical definitions. Assault
weapons are any gun that looks scary.
I was hoping you would go there. Good. What is the difference between assault weapons and assault rifles?
Is there no such thing as assault grenade launchers? Or .. just name it, you are imaginative enough. (And informed enough on the area of weapons to my knowledge.. - that is, I have not seen you being wrong on weapons before.)
Assault
weapons, as defined by stupid people making laws regarding things they know nothing about, is any gun that is scary. You know, guns that are black and have that evil thingy in the back that goes up.
That 'thingy in the back that goes up' in this instance, is called a barrel shroud. If you have half a brain, you should be able to see what's coming.
[youtube]9rGpykAX1fo[/youtube]
Watch the video before clicking the spoiler, the video is short and totally worth it. The interview is between a reporter dutifully doing his job as a reporter, a very rare occurrence, and really pressing the congresswoman hard for an answer to a question she can't answer. Whether you agree with gun control or not, you should be able to see how this reporter was doing an excellent job here by holding the woman accountable to the bill she introduced.
[spoiler=Barrel Shroud explanation]
That is a barrel shroud, it's sole purpose is to protect the user from burns caused by a hot barrel. Something that can easily be achieved with other parts that weren't banned under the law, including just a basic pair of Tillman gloves. It doesn't make the weapon any more dangerous, it doesn't help with accuracy. It's function, while a nice addition, is almost entirely cosmetic on a semi-automatic rifle and can be easily replaced with other, legal solutions.[/spoiler]
The definition of assault weapon is one that is ever changing, it can literally be applied to any gun. Even a potato gun. Since the original definitions were mostly cosmetic in the first place and since then the definitions have been expanded to include whatever gun congress/anti-rights people deem to be scary.
Assault rifle, on the other hand, was coined by Germans. Specifically Nazis. Ohhhh, scary. It must be evil cause Nazis! But no, it has a specific and technical definition that is based on the abilities of the weapon and not the cosmetic features the weapon displays.
The requirements for an assault rifle to be considered an assault rifle are as follows:
It must be an individual weapon with provision to fire from the shoulder (i.e. a buttstock);
It must be capable of selective fire;
It must have an intermediate-power cartridge: more power than a pistol but less than a standard rifle or battle rifle;
Its ammunition must be supplied from a detachable magazine rather than a feed-belt.
And it should at least have a firing range of 300 meters (1000 feet)
The rifle MUST meet all of these requirements for it to be considered an assault rifle. If it does not, then it is not.
The first assault rifle was called a Sturmgewehr, translated literally it means storm rifle, as in to storm or assault a position. Like a storm trooper. Storm was changed to assault in English cause 'Murica~.
[/spoiler]
