Assault Weapons & Assault Rifles: The "Official" US Army Definition
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preparing to write my
column about the many definitions of assault rifle or
assault weapon, I wanted to be as accurate as possible. I had seen many
references to an "official" US definition, variously credited to the US
government, the US Army, the Defense Department, etc. The wording of
the quote varied, too. I just had to track down the truth on this one. In
the Indiana University main library, I found the source. It is Army intelligence document FSTC-CW-07-03-70 from November 1970, and was also published in later editions. The book is "Small Arms Identification and Operation Guide - Eurasian Communist Countries", written by Harold E. Johnson. It was prepared by what at the time was the U.S. Army Foreign Science and Technology Center of the Army Material Command. You can click on any scanned image above to see it for yourself. The quote itself is on page 67 of this edition in section III, part A, paragraph 68a, and reads as follows:
The paragraph concludes by adding:
So there we have the "official US Army definition": select-fire, full-automatic fire, and an intermediate cartridge. These are not the rifles we commonly see in the hand of gun owners today.
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More "Assault" Terminology Hope I’m not being too technical, but terminology is critical, and much of it is used incorrectly, creating very wrong impressions.Assault rifles have not been legal to manufacture for the civilian market since May of 1986. You can see page images from a U.S. Army publication containing the official definition of the term “assault rifle” here. It states, “Assault rifles are short, compact, selective-fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between submachine gun and rifle cartridges.” “Selective-fire” means that it can be switched between semi-automatic fire and fully automatic fire or a three-round burst. So an AR-15, being just a semi-automatic civilian rifle, is not an “assault rifle,” nor is it “high-powered” since its typical 5.56x45mm chambering is a medium-powered cartridge. The standard size of the magazine (often incorrectly referred to as a “clip”) is 20 rounds, but one is free to obtain fuller capacity magazines. The main advantage of higher-capacity magazines for those who use them for sporting purposes is simple convenience. Loading less often saves wear and tear on equipment and thumbs and allows more time to enjoy one’s shooting sport. Just another part of our right to keep and bear arms. “Assault weapon” is essentially a spurious term created or at least codified by the expired Federal “Assault Weapon” ban of 1994. Plus I think it’s bogus and harmful to our rights to include any mention of limits, “need” or “purpose” in relation to our right to keep and bear arms. It is simply one of the pre-existing natural rights specifically mentioned in the Constitution so that it would be “not be infringed.” The Second Amendment’s mention of the militia (defined by Federal law 10 U.S.C. S 311 as all able-bodied males aged 17-45) is there for emphasis, not qualification. Whether by design or by accident, incorrect terminology creates misinformation and unhelpful emotions which do not contribute to sound judgment or decision-making related to the issues. ###
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