I was in my LGS the other day when I happened to see Gun Digest’s Buyers Guide to Assault Weapons on the shelf. That got my ire up pretty quickly, mainly because the term, “assault weapon” is meaningless. It’s like referring to my glass as a “drinking glass,” or my plate as an “eating plate.” The simple fact is that whatever you are using to attack another person with is an “assault weapon” of one sort or another. The term, “assault weapon” has been adopted and used by the anti-gun crowd to demonize a specific sub-set of semi-automatic firearms that are arguably less dangerous than many other rifles . . .
So, I was pretty annoyed when I saw a book published under the auspices of of a company that gets most of its revenue from 2A supporters use this inflammatory and inaccurate term. After all, we should be working to eliminate, not perpetuate this sort of thing.
Then I realized that this book was, in fact, not new. It had been published back in 2008 – long before the latest batch of anti-gun rhetoric hit the political world. It was just another case of a company trying to cash in. That said, The People of the Gun need to be more careful. If we use the language of the anti-gunners that’s been forced on us, it becomes part of the lexicon and only makes our jobs tougher. Thanks for nothing, Gun Digest.
At the end of the day, they’re a publisher trying to make a profit.As such the title choice is engineered to get attention, not to reflect absolute truth of a topic.Plainly ,the gamble worked .Even if an anti buys the book to write an academic essay against firearms ownership,the company makes money.
My “weapon” is not limited to mere assualt
yeah but “death guns” doesn’t quite have the same ring.
I don’t know who buys these things anymore anyway. They’re invariably two years out of date and so superficial as to be useless.
Aye…we all need to be anti-newspeak.
Double plus good Brother!
Hmmm, but I do have beer glasses.
I’ve had whiskey d!ck before.
I have magazine clips.
Are you making a collage?
Hey-O!
I prefer the term “battle rifle” that’s more accurate as to what I own… deal with it.
Agreed, battle rifle is the preferred term. I’m off to have a chicken bird sandwich.
Every man has a potential assault weapon in his pants.
It’s not worth much if it’s out of ammo.
…or if it’s shooting simmunitions…
… Or if its prone too negligent discharges…
Or it its a “short barreled rifle”
I’m on a roll here!
As with any weapon, it’s the skill of the wielder that matters most…
I think they only have so long to continue exploiting that loaded term. More and more people are starting to see all guns as assult weapons, but at the same time the term then loses its meaning. Ironically (according to this theory of mine) it may be our own indignation at the use of this term that prevents this natural transition (think n word)
Therefore, I propose we embrace the term “assault rifle” to the point of using it as a term of endearment for each other.
Unfortunately, as with the “N” word, it only loses meaning when the right people use it. I defy any non-black person to wade into a group of black people and start throwing that particular slur around. You’ll find it does have a meaning, very quickly.
“The right people using it”
Right, it should have all the attendant prerequisites; only POTG can call other POTG “assault rifle.”
Gun grabbers use it, and we fly off the handle like they just called us the n word.
Spread the word!
Wassup my assault rifle?!
I don’t know, I’m starting to think we should embrace it. The use of the term doesn’t make there case any more correct or factual – and it might just infuriate them! Assault Weapon, like the term gay, can be owned, used, and subsequently rendered meaningless once again. To some degree resisting it make it more threatening. JMHO
What happened to the TTAG post of some months back that said: “Yes, they ARE military-type/like weapons. SO WHAT?”
Give me a moment, I’m writing a reply with my ink pen…
Why don’t we just embrace the military terminology and call “assault rifles” carbines?
Because they are not all carbines. That just kind of muddies the water.
So called ‘assault weapons’ have a full auto selector switch,other wise they are a semi auto rifle or carbine.The term ‘ASSAULT WEAPON’ was coined by our old buddy of war Adolf Hitler and was his naming of the first ww2 select fire,hand held semi/full auto gun called the’STERMGAVEHR [soory for the spelling]
I butter toast with a tactical survival knife. Eating bread & butter is a tactic that helps me survive.
Sometimes I open letters with a combat paper cutter dagger. Battling paper cuts is serious business.
When I go to the shooting range, I often take lead & gunpowder, and a lead-projecting machine.
Well at least she didn’t shout “fire”.
So I haven’t seen any of the pro biker comments above address why they think it is alright to ride without license plates, creating an illegal roadblock, inciting and initiating violence against a stopped vehicle? All of which are illegal in any state. Any of the commenters above defending the bikers care to answer these facts?
I love reviews. The politics feed my desire for daily content, but I’m a gun and gear review junky. Please keep the reviews coming, from writers on staff or user submissions.
However, I do have a suggestion. I believe this would really benefit the Armed Intelligentsia greatly. If TTAG could provide an aggregate link of previous TTAG posts deconstructing gun control arguments, debunking statistics, and countering idealogy and philosophy in one giant, pro-2A mega post easily accessible from the sidebar.
How many of us have been in online arguments with someone, and want to refer to one one of RF’s posts but just can’t seem to find it? Or spend a while digging through the site’s search function? Hopping on and off Google for supporting evidence on TTAG and the wider web? Sometimes to no avail. And I’m sure Nick could come up with a clever method to get lots of Google pageviews with the right article name. It sounds like a project with a lot of work, but I’m sure RF could assign it one of steadfast and eager staffers. That’d be a great boon for the cause!
Anyways, keep up the good work. TTAG is my favorite blog. I hit F5 with utter abandon, on a daily basis. Yes… I have a condition.
66. Damn, that’s young. Cause of death?
Okay…so for those of us without a lawyer on speed-dial…are the state-appointed lawyers and good? How does one go about obtaining a lawyer?