Taking a page straight out of 1984, Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary changed the definition of assault rifle to fit pro-gun control talking points by adding “a rifle that resembles a military assault rifle but is designed to allow only semiautomatic fire.”
A whipping boy for gun control advocates, the AR-15 and its cosmetic features generate polarizing emotions among the gun control crowd. Add a little bit of fearmongering and sprinkle in some ambiguous political language, and you have the recipe for a national disinformation campaign.
For starters, “assault weapon” is a politically invented term gun control advocates have used over the past few decades to instill fear among the general populace, aided, of course, by the lap-dog media who enjoy creating lurid images of gun owners toting “military grade” weapons. To add even more confusion, media talking heads use terms like assault rifle and assault weapon interchangeably.
The term assault rifle actually refers to a military firearm with selective fire, meaning it can fire in both a semi-automatic mode where the trigger needs to be pulled to fire each round; or in automatic mode where it operates like a machine gun. AR-15s do not possess such option and can only be fired as a semi-automatic.
But alas, facts don’t jive well with sensationalist media figures and demagogic politicians hell-bent on advancing an anti-gun crusade at all costs.
No soldier in his right mind would go into battle with a AR-15 when given the opportunity to use a real military firearm such as the M4 Carbine or the M249 machine gun. Those are actual weapons of war, whilst the AR-15 is a gun designed for the shooting range and remains a top choice for home defense.
Of all individual activities in the United States, the right to bear arms has stood relatively strong in the face of the unprecedented levels of government intervention over the past century. However, Second Amendment supporters currently face a completely different political scenario where this precious right now hangs in the balance.
Our founders enshrined the 2nd Amendment not because they were bloodthirsty hicks but because they understood that gun ownership is a bulwark against excessive state coercive power.
A self-reliant people must be capable of defending themselves and their families from dangerous predators. Gun rights are essential to our system of limited government and individual liberty. And for the gun grabbers that is precisely why they want to confiscate your guns.
“To be more specific, it’s about whether power should lie with the people or with the government. Gun ownership puts power into the hands of the people and therefore they are less dependent on the government. Owning a gun at the time of need gives the law-abiding gun owner the ability to make the decision as to whether the use of force is lawful, right, and justified. The American Left doesn’t believe ordinary citizens have the ability to make such decisions, hence their love affair with gun control.” Red State, Real Reasons Liberals Hate Guns
Source: The Latest Panic Over Assault Weapons, Jose Nino, the Mises Institute; Please Stop Calling the AR-15 a Weapon of War by Peter Suciu, National Interest.
