They won’t like your politically incorrect, self-loading rifle either
A discussion of terminology: Assault rifle, modern sporting rifle, assault weapons. I don’t think it matters anymore what we call them. It used to. And, believe me, I’ve spent a lot a of time distinguishing between the made up term assault weapon and the misused term assault rifle for years. But I think we’re passed that. Doesn’t matter anymore. The AR-15 is now mainstream and the most popular semi-auto firearm out there. Sure, it’s technically wrong to call them assault rifles or assault weapons but I don’t think that distinction matters much in the political discourse. Unless we start calling them baby-killing, hippie-punching purveyors of death or something, it won’t make one wit of difference. The anti-gunners will lie. And they will still lose.
That we’re even having this debate means we’re winning.
November 3rd, 2011 at 9:41 am
I agree. Why waste time debating semantics when we could just ask them to show us where the piles of dead baristas in Starbucks are being kept.
November 3rd, 2011 at 9:47 am
I’m not keen on killing babies but “hippie-punching purveyors of death” would be a selling point to me, I must confess.
November 3rd, 2011 at 9:54 am
I was discussing the issue with somebody who called an AR-15 an “Assault Rifle”. I pointed out the lack of select-fire. We prattled for a bit. He finally said:
“What do you call an AR-15?”
I responded “A Rifle”. (You COULD substitute “Carbine” too, I guess)
November 3rd, 2011 at 9:57 am
I disagree. What you call it is important.
Otherwise, we’re going to be discussing the best places to get 15 round clips for our Glocks, and that’s a road we shouldn’t be traveling!
November 3rd, 2011 at 9:59 am
It doesn’t help that the uninitiated think the “AR” in the name means Assualt Rifle. If I am not mistaken, the “A” stands for Armalite.
But the point is well made. It really doesn’t matter anymore.
November 3rd, 2011 at 10:26 am
I used to have this argument with people all the time who wanted to call paintball guns “markers” because that would protect them from people who didnt like firearms.
It didn’t, as in the end, its a gun, and to them, they have either an irrational fear of a certain shape of an object, or they have a desire to control others and the idea of a gun puts them out of reach of that power.
November 3rd, 2011 at 10:40 am
I completely agree with Robb Allen on this.
words have power.
Those who would disarm us for their safety know this.
“Cop Killer Bullets”
“arsenal”
“weapons cache”
“high capacity magazine”
“assault weapon”
November 3rd, 2011 at 11:53 am
“Unless we start calling them baby-killing, hippie-punching purveyors of death or something, it won’t make one wit of difference.”
Pffft, I have “This machine punches hippies” written on all my AR-15s, and AR-180s.
November 3rd, 2011 at 12:14 pm
I, myself, am proud to own a couple HPRs.
November 3rd, 2011 at 12:28 pm
I too would buy the “hippie puncher”. HP-15?
November 3rd, 2011 at 12:35 pm
When people question why I want to own “assault weapons” I often ask if they have “assault knives” in their kitchen drawer.
The they are tutored that “assualt” refers to an offensive military tactic or a criminal offense.
November 3rd, 2011 at 1:00 pm
“past”
November 3rd, 2011 at 1:29 pm
Yes, HL, actually the whole AR prefix denotes ARmalite. Check out the AR-24
November 3rd, 2011 at 2:11 pm
Hey, you all don’t be Hating! One can punch Hippies with Moisen-Nagants, Remington 870’s, Glock 19’s with a 33 round Magazine, 1911’s, J-Frames…..
November 3rd, 2011 at 3:06 pm
NPR rolled out a new one just today. Referred to a walking-gun as a “Semi-Assault Rifle.”
Border truck drivers, beware.
November 3rd, 2011 at 5:25 pm
“…won’t make one wit of difference.”
I think you want “whit” as in “a very small amount”. To wit; It won’t make a whit of difference.
November 3rd, 2011 at 9:38 pm
TomcatTCH, you left out the latest Brady-ite buzzphrase: “High-Capacity Assault Clips”.
Can hardly wait to see what PSH-inducing phrase they come up with next.
November 4th, 2011 at 3:12 pm
I especially liked the ‘heat seeking incendiary rounds’ LOL
November 4th, 2011 at 3:25 pm
People, please!
It’s EVIL Baby Killing.
Good babies have nothing to fear.
November 6th, 2011 at 7:18 pm
Reminds me of my dad….thinks “assault rifles” should be banned. Take him to a local demo shoot, Springfield Armory is there. He happily popped off some rounds with thier M1As because they look just like the M-14 he carried in the Army back in the ’60s (he served Stateside).
Dad: That was fun, haven’t shot one of those in years.
Me: I thought you wanted ‘assault rifles’ banned.
Dad: But those weren’t ‘assault rifles’.
Me: But guns like that are what the anti-gunners mean when they say ‘assault rifle’.
Dad: But they aren’t machine guns!
Me: They know that….