[Elsiejay]

A bit of help, pls. I have not ever seen an AR-15. In what sense is it an assault rifle? Is it capable of fully automatic fire? Are mind games beging played for nefarious purpose?

[TigersEye]

No gun they are talking about is capable of full-auto fire. No gun covered by the Clinton AWB was capable of full-auto fire. All full-auto guns were regulated by the 1934 Firearms Act and further by the ‘68 and ‘86 Firearms Acts. They have never been called “assault weapons” in U.S. law either.

[tumblindice]

The reason most gunowners’ lips curl when we hear or read the term “assault rifle” is because it is a rhetorical device. An “assault” is a bad thing, right? And especially if committed with a rifle!
They say ‘pro-choice’ and we say ‘baby killers, as an example. These are civilian versions of military carbines, but are only semi-automatic.
But ‘carbine’ doesn’t sound as scary as ‘assault rifle.’ The military doesn’t call its fully automatic versions ‘assault rifles’ I’m guessing because it sounds too, well, German: stuhrmgewehr. The term had its genesis in ... California, but most of you probably knew that or guessed it: the home of screwballs like Senator Fineswine and this chrome-dome,
leading ineluctably to the question we’re all pondering: What color is this douche going to dye his head for Easter?

[philman_36]

Semi automatic rifle without cosmetic changes...

Semi automatic rifle with cosmetic changes

It's still the exact same rifle (still only one bullet fires at a time when you pull the trigger) with a few after market add on parts that simply make it look different!

It's like adding an after market spoiler package to a car.

The car's engine doesn't have more horsepower. The car just performs better on the road due to aerodynamic changes.

Are mind games beging played for nefarious purpose?
Of course they are! Plain and simple...disarmament is the aim and the goal!

[smokingfrog]

Yes.

The term “assault rifle” comes from the literal translation of the name given to the first weapon commonly accepted to fit the definition. The MP-44, or Sturmgewehr as it was dubbed by Adolf Hitler (literally “assault rifle” in German), was a rifle designed by the Nazis in 1944 that delivered the firepower of a machine gun in a man-portable sized package.

Machine guns are highly regulated as a result of the 1934 National Firearms Act and the Gun Control Act of 1968.

Guns like the Browning BAR and the Thompson submachinegun preceeded the MP-44, but the BAR is a fairly large/heavy weapon, and the Thompson shoots a pistol cartridge.