1. They’re not “assault rifles” by definition. Assault Rifles are capable of fully automatic fire. Modern sporting rifles are not.
2. Standard capacity magazines are 30 rounds. High capacity would be more than that but high capacity magazines have never been found to be a factor in murders with guns. It takes less than 2 seconds for anybody familiar with guns to change out a magazine. There is no indication magazine capacity was a factor in the shootings in Maine.
They’re not “assault rifles” by definition. Assault Rifles are capable of fully automatic fire. Modern sporting rifles are not.
The semantics game will not save us. They mean military style rifles with all the functions. Yes, a civilian AR-15 could be be easily substituted in military service with almost no loss of function. We will not win by parroting the assault rifle definition and “proving” that your Colt AR-15A4 is not select fire, and therefor, NOT an assault rifle.
As we spike the ball and think we win the debate, they will say, “yeah whatever, we want the AR you have.... whatever you want to call it”.
Hobbiests and shooters smugly declare victory when they want to ban 30 round clips. We ask about their en bloc clip and their AR Garand and think we won.
They couldn’t care less about lingo. They want the 30 round clips and the assault rifles and couldn’t care less what we call it.