Light automatic Rifle Sturmgewehr 44 (courtesy wikimedia.org)

The People of the Gun know what a real assault weapon is. Everyone else, not so much. Or, in fact, at all. Check out these answers to the question “In just a few words, how would you describe an assault weapon?” from a recent Reason-Rupe Public Opinion Survey:

  • A SEMI AUTOMATIC
  • ONE THAT HAS MULTIPLE BULLETS
  • FULLY AUTOMATIC FUNCTIONING MILITARY WEAPON SPECIFICALLY USED FOR MILITARY FUNCTION
  • A MACHINE GUN
  • A WAY TO TAKE OUT A LOT OF PEOPLE WITHOUT HAVING TO RELOAD.
  • MULTI-CLIPS. BIG CLIPS WITH A LOT OF BULLETS
  • SOMETHING THAT CAN KILL AND HURT PEOPLE REAL BAD MAKE THEM BECOME DISABLE OR LOOSE THEIR LIFE
  • IS LIKE SOMETHING THAT HOLDS MORE THAN 15 ROUNDS AND CAN BE RAPID FIRE
  • ANY GUN IS AN ASSAULT WEAPON
  • MACHINE GUNS A GUN WHERE YOU CAN PUT IN A MILLION BULLETS
  • A MORE POWERFUL GUN

  • HIGH POWERED ARM THAT ARE MEANT TO BE USED IN WAR AND TO TARGET MANY TARGETS
  • ANYTHING THAT SHOOTS MORE THAN ONE BULLET AT A TIME.
  • AN ASSAULT WEAPON IS SOMETHING THAT COULD CARRY A LOT OF FORCE AUTOMATIC
  • SOMETHING THAT HAS A SCOPE THAT CAN KILL A BUNCH OF PEOPLE IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME
  • SOMETHING THAT SHOOTS MORE BULLETS PER SECOND OR MINUTE. RAPID FIRE
  • DANGEROUS
  • HIGH ROUND OF AMMO AND DOES MORE DAMAGE THEN A REGULAR GUN
  • SEMI AUTOMATIC
  • ONE THAT CAN FIRE OFF RAPID ROUNDS LIKE THAT WITHOUT STOPPING TO RELOAD
  • ANYTHING THAT IS NOT A PISTOL.
  • ONE THAT YOU CAN KILL TWENTY PEOPLE WITH WITHIN MINUTES
  • ANY WEAPON USED TO COMMIT AN ASSAULT
  • AUTOMATIC WEAPON
  • SOMETHING WITH THE CAPACITY TO KILL MORE THAN ONE PERSON AT A TIME.
  • LIKE A MILITARY WEAPON.
  • SEMI AUTOMATIC SOMETHING THAT LOOKS A MILITARY WEAPON
  • A GUN WITH A CLIP WITH A LOT OF BULLETS
  • ONE THAT FIRE MANY BULLETS RAPIDLY
  • ONE THAT SHOOTS A LOT OF ROUNDS.
  • A GUN, WITH BULLETS THAT RAPIDLY FIRE
  • RIFLE
  • ONE THAT CAN FIRE MULTIPLE ROUNDS IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME
  • A WEAPON THAT IS CAPABLE OF SHOOTING 3 ROUND BURSTS OR FULL AUTOMATIC BURST ON A TRIGGER PULL
  • ANYTHING THAT COULD BE SWITCHED TO AN ASSAULT WEAPONS
  • FULLY AUTOMATIC ASSAULT RIFLE
  • ITS A GUN THAT HAS 30 SHELLS.
  • POWERFUL DANGEROUS NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND NOT USE IT FOR ANYTHING ILLEGAL
  • ANY WEAPON WITH A MAGAZINE WITH MORE THAN 6 ROUNDS
  • LIKE A MACHINE GUN
  • AUTOMATIC WEAPON
  • SOMETHING THAT COMES WITH HIGH CAPACITY AMMUNITION CLIPS
  • ALL WEAPONS ARE ASSAULT, THE MIND OF THE USER…
  • ANYTHING THAT CAN HOLD A MAGAZINE WITH MORE THAN TEN ROUNDS. ANYTHING AUTOMATIC
  • A PERSONS DEFENSE
  • A NUMBER OF ROUNDS THAT CAN BE FIRED WITHOUT RELOADING
  • WELL JUST WHAT IT SAYS THE WORD ASSAULT
  • SHOTGUN
  • AUTOMATIC MACHINE GUN
  • MILITARY TYPE FIREARM THAT IS DESIGNED TO TAKE THE LIFE OF ANOTHER HUMAN BEING
  • ANYTHING THAT CAN FIRE 20 ROUNDS OR MORE
  • AK 47
  • ANY WEAPON THAT WEAPON THAT CAN BE CONVERTED TO A FULLY AUTOMATIC WEAPON
  • ONES THAT CAN SHOOT LONGER BULLETS
  • A HIGH CAPACITY HIGH VELOCITY WEAPON
  • MORE THAN 30 ROUNDS
  • SOMETHING TO BE USED IN THE MILITARY
  • A WEAPON THAT WAS CONCEIVED ILLEGALLY
  • ONE THAT JUST KEEPS SHOOTING
  • DANGEROUS
  • HIGH POWERED GUNS
  • WEAPON THAT FIRES 100 BULLETS IN A COUPLE OF SECONDS
  • SOMETHING MADE FOR MILITARY USE HAS NO USE IN CIVILIAN POPULATION
  • ANYTHING THAT IS SIMILAR TO THE ARMS THAT ARE CARRIED BY THE MILITARY.
  • A KNIFE AND A GUN
  • A MULTI SHOT WEAPON DESIGNED TO KILL PEOPLE
  • A RIFLE THAT SHOOTS OR HAS AUTOMATIC CAPABILITIES OR CAN FIRE A LOT OF ROUNDS PER MINUTE
  • ANYTHING WITH A MAGAZINE THAT HOLDS OVER TEN ROUNDS
  • RAPID FIRE
  • REPEATED SHOOTING GUNS
  • MACHINE GUN
  • ANYTHING THAT FIRES AUTOMATICALLY, LIKE A MACHINE GUN.
  • NOT A HAND GUN, ONE THAT HAS A LOT MAGAZINES IN THEM LIKE AUTOMATIC WEAPON
  • WEAPON CAPABLE OF FIRING A LARGE AMOUNT OF AMMUNITION IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME WITHOUT RELOADING
  • A WEAPON THAT IS MEANT TO KILL A LOT OF PEOPLE QUICKLY
  • SCARY WEAPON THAT’S FROM A MOVIE
  • LIKE MACHINE GUNS OR SOMETHING THAT CAN WIPE OUT, LIKE IN THE CLASS ROOM THAT CAN WIPE OUT A LOT IN A FEW MINUTES
  • A HAND GUN
  • MILITARY TACTICAL WEAPONS
  • A WEAPON THAT IS CAPABLE FIRING MULTIPLE SHOTS
  • AUTOMATIC FIRE WITH A CLIP OF 15
  • ANYTHING THE KEEPS REPEAT SHOOTING.
  • SEMI OR FULLY AUTOMATIC MILITARY TYPE RIFFLE
  • ANY FIREARM THAT FIRES OVER 6 TIMES
  • ANY WEAPON USED TO PERFORM AN ACT OF VIOLENCE
  • MAGAZINE 20 OR MORE AND FULLY AUTOMATIC
  • SOMETHING THAT HOLDS THAT YOU CAN FIRE MULTIPLE ROUNDS AT A TIME IN QUICK SUCCESSIONS
  • THEY DANGEROUS
  • USED BY THE MILITARY
  • WHEN IT SHOOTS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF AMMO IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. LIKE 200 ROUNDS A MINUTE, SOMETHING THE MILITARY USES.
  • WEAPON THAT MEANT TO KILL MASSES QUICKLY NOT A HUNTING GUN ITS MEANT TO KILL PEOPLE
  • MILITARY STYLE
  • SIMILAR TO A MACHINE GUN
  • A BAD THING TO HAVE
  • IS A WEAPON UMM WHICH SOUL PURPOSE IS USE IN KILLING PEOPLE
  • ANY KIND OF GUN
  • THE POWER GOES BEYOND SELF PROTECTION AND DON’T HAVE TO OWN THAT TYPE OF WEAPON
  • ANY TYPE OF GUN THAT CAN FIRE OFF A LOT OF AMMUNITION AT ONCE
  • ANY GUN THAT HAS MORE THEN TEN SHELLS IN THE MAGAZINE
  • AN AUTOMATIC RIFLE LIKE AN  AK47 OR AN AR15
  • CONTAINS MORE THAN  10 BULLETS AT A TIME
  • BIG MORE THAN ONE ROUND THINGS LIKE AKS
  • FULLY AUTOMATIC RIFLE
  • ANYTHING MILITARY BASED.
  • AN AUTOMATIC WEAPON
  • ANYTHING THAT FIRES A BULLET.
  • KILLING MACHINE
  • A WEAPON THAT IS USED BY SOLDIERS, USED TO KILL AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE
  • IT’S FAST REPEAT GUN
  • A RAPID FIRE GUN, AUTOMATIC, CAN SHOOT 12 ROUNDS OR MORE
  • ANY WEAPON THAT SOMEONE USES WITH AN INTENT TO KILL
  • SOMETHING THAT CAN CAUSE DEATH TO SOMEONE ELSE
  • SOMETHING THAT FIRES RAPID BULLETS
  • SOMETHING THAT FIRES MULTIPLY ROUNDS
  • SOMETHING THAT SHOOTS MORE THAN ONE BULLET AT A TIME, LIKE AN AUTOMATIC, SEMI-AUTOMATIC
  • SEMI AUTOMATIC HOLDS A LOT OF AMMUNITION
  • AK47, ANYTHING THAT IS USED IN WAR.
  • RAPID FIRING
  • A WEAPON THAT AIM TO KILL. THIS ONE YOU DON’T STAND A CHANCE.
  • SOMETHING THAT SHOOTS AT A FAST RATE LIKE AN AK47 OR AUTOMATIC RIFLE
  • A GUN THAT FIRES MORE THAN 2 BULLETS AT A TIME.
  • SOMETHING THAT FIRES HIGH CAPACITY AMMUNITION.
  • ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN KEEP PULLING THE TRIGGER AND THE BULLETS KEEP COMING OUT
  • VERY DANGEROUS
  • LIKE THE ONES THAT THEY IN THE TIME OF WAR
  • AUTOMATIC AND HIGH CALIBER
  • AN ASSAULT WEAPON IS STRICTLY A MILITARY WEAPON.
  • MILITARY STYLE; HIGH CAPACITY
  • A GUN
  • SOMETHING THAT HAS A CLIP AND CAN SHOOT MANY ROUNDS
  • RIFLE PROTECTION PISTOL
  • A WEAPON THAT CAN FIRE ROUNDS RAPIDLY
  • A WEAPON CAPABLE OF CARRYING MORE THAN 10 ROUNDS, AND FIRING THEM AT A MORE RAPID PACE.
  • LIKE BRACE KNUCKLES, KNIFE, METAL PIPE, GUNS…
  • MILITARY TYPE HARDWARE WITH MORE THAN 10 BULLET MAGAZINES AUTOMATIC FIRE
  • CAN BE ANYTHING USED TO OVERPOWER SOMEONE ELSE, IT COULD BE A GUN, A BAT, A STICK, OR ANYTHING.
  • SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE USED FOR MILITARY USE ONLY
  • 10 SHOTS IS ENOUGH. A RIFLE WITH TEN SHOTS.
  • ANY SEMI-AUTOMATIC WEAPON THAT CAN RAPID FIRE.
  • A GUN
  • ONE THAT SHOOTS MORE THAN ONE BULLET AT A TIME. A MAGAZINE THAT SHOOTS RAPIDLY.
  • ANYTHING USED IN A CRIME TO HURT SOMEONE
  • ANYTHING THAT IS AUTOMATIC REPETITIVE FIRING
  • A GUN THAT WILL RAPID FIRE
  • THE MULTI-MAGAZINE CLIPS
  • A RAPID FIRE HEAVY AMMO LIKE MILITARY
  • ANY MILITARY STYLE WEAPON THAT FIRES MORE THAN ONE ROUND WITH A PULL OF THE TRIGGER
  • DANGEROUS
  • HIGH CAPACITY MAGAZINES
  • MACHINE GUN
  • IT’S JUST THAT AND ASSAULT WEAPON.
  • ANYTHING THAT IS AUTOMATIC FIRING
  • LIKE A MACHINE GUN OR SOMETHING.
  • ANY GUN IS AN ASSAULT WEAPON
  • ANY KIND OF WEAPON
  • A WEAPON THAT IS DESIGN TO PROVIDE MAXIMUM DAMAGE BEYOND WHAT IS NEEDED FOR HUNTING AND PERSONAL PROTECTION
  • GOOD
  • ANYTHING THAT HOLDS 30 ROUNDS OR MORE
  • HIGH CAPACITY MAGAZINE, JUST LARGE MAGAZINES
  • FULLY AUTOMATIC WEAPON
  • SHOOTS MORE THEN 6 TIMES
  • ONE THAT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE RELOADED AFTER 2 SHOTS
  • ANYTHING THAT CAN SHOOT 15 OR 20 ROUNDS
  • ANY WEAPON DESIGN TO KILL SOMEBODY
  • ONE THAT CAN FIRE MANY BULLETS WITHOUT RELOADING
  • FULLY AUTOMATIC AND HIGH CALIBER RIFLE WITH HIGH CAPACITY MAGAZINES
  • A WEAPON THAT CAN SHOOT MORE THAN TEN ROUNDS
  • VERY DANGEROUS IN SOCIETY
  • RAPIDLY THAT FIRES A LARGE AMOUNT OF ROUND WITHOUT RELOADING
  • A GUN
  • I THINK ANY WEAPON THAT CARRY MORE THEN 4 OR 5 BULLET IN A WEAPON
  • SOMETHING THAT IS QUICK FIRE AND HAS MORE THEN SIX ROUNDS IN IT.
  • SEMI AUTOMATIC WEAPON CLIPS RAPID FIRE. DESIGNED FOR OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE.
  • ANYTHING CAN BE AN ASSAULT WEAPON LIKE KNIFE FRYING PAN HAMMER BOARD.
  • A WEAPON THAT SHOTS VERY FAST THAT HAS A MAGAZINE THAT HOLDS A LOT AMMUNITION AT ON TIME
  • A WEAPON DESIGNED FOR MASS KILLING
  • HIGH REPETITION LARGE CAPACITY MAGAZINE AND SIZE OF AMMUNITION
  • ANYTHING THAT SHOOTS CONSECUTIVELY
  • PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS GUNS, I DON’T KNOW THAT MUCH ABOUT GUNS BUT THEY SEEM KIND OF WICKED
  • SHOOTS A WHOLE BUNCH OF TIMES
  • SOMETHING THAT THE POLICE CARRY AND THE TROOPS.
  • A GUN THAT IS MEANT FOR MILITARY USE AND HAS MULTI BULLET MORE THAN 15 ROUNDS
  • FULLY AUTOMATIC AND LARGE MAGAZINE CLIP
  • THREATENING AND POWERFUL
  • NO DIFFERENT FROM ANYTHING THAT CAN CAUSE HARM TO ANOTHER, ITS NOT THE WEAPON ITS THE INDIVIDUAL, WE NEED STRONGER BACKGROUND CHECKS.
  • LIKE THE GUNS THEY USE IN THE ARMY-MACHINE GUNS
  • ANY GUN THAT AUTOMATICALLY FIRES WITHOUT HAVING TO RELOAD
  • I WOULDN’T
  • ANY WEAPON THAT GOES BEYOND TRADITIONAL HUNTING OR LEISURE WEAPON
  • SOMETHING THAT CAN HARM THE HUMAN BODY.
  • SOMETHING THAT SHOOTS A CONTINUAL STREAM OF BULLETS
  • TO KILL A LOT OF PEOPLE AT ONCE
  • ITS A TOY FOR PEOPLE WHO ENJOY FIRING THEM AND GUN COLLECTORS
  • ANYTHING WITH RAPID FIRE SOMETHING YOU USE FOR HUNTING YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE IN THE HOME
  • THINK OF A AR15 M4.
  • A WEAPON THAT FIRES ROUNDS ONE AFTER ANOTHER.
  • ANY AUTOMATIC GUN THAT CAN HOLD MORE THAN 10 BULLETS IN A CLIP.
  • DANGEROUS
  • IT SHOOTS MANY ROUNDS WITH ONE PULL OF A TRIGGER. YOU DON’T NEED THAT MUCH POWER.
  • MAGAZINES MORE THAN 20 BULLETS AND AUTOMATIC FIRE
  • A FULLY AUTOMATIC WEAPON.
  • ONE THAT FIRES A HIGH AMOUNT OF AMMUNITION
  • AN ASSAULT WHILE I WAS IN THE UNITED STATES MARINES___
  • ASSAULT WEAPONS THAT SHOOTS RAPIDLY AND AUTOMATICALLY
  • ANYTHING THAT SHOOTS RAPIDLY AND CAUSES A LOT OF DAMAGE.
  • SOMETHING BIGGER THAN A SUBMACHINE GUNS THAT SWITCHES FROM AUTOMATIC TO SEMI AUTOMATIC
  • SEMI-AUTOMATIC WITH MORE THAN A 10 ROUND CLIP
  • ANY TYPE OF GUN
  • FUNNY LOOKING GUN
  • A WEAPON A RIFFLE CALIBER THAT HOLDS UP  TO 30 PLUS ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION
  • SHOOTS MULTIPLE ROUNDS FAST
  • SOMETHING THAT KILLS PEOPLE
  • FULLY AUTOMATIC
  • IS WAR WEAPON — IT’S VERY DANGEROUS IN THE STREET
  • SOMETHING THAT HAS MULTIPLE AUTOMATED ROUNDS THAT COULD KILL MULTIPLE PEOPLE IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.
  • GUN AMMO
  • DANGEROUS; VERY DANGEROUS FOR PEOPLE THAT DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THEM
  • GUNS AND GRENADES
  • DANGEROUS
  • ANYTHING WITH MILITARY GRADE POWER, LARGE AMMUNITION CLIPS
  • SOMETHING BOUND THE NEED FOR QUICK SELF DEFENSE
  • A GUN THAT FIRES CANISTERS OF MULTIPLE BULLETS 25-30 IN RAPID SUCCESSION
  • A MILITARY WEAPON
  • ANYTHING THAT YOU PRESS THE TRIGGER AND MORE THAN 1 BULLET COMES OUT.
  • A WEAPON THAT FIRES MULTIPLE ROUNDS
  • LIKE A MACHINE GUN, INSTEAD OF JUST ONE BULLET, IT CAN SHOOT SEVERAL.
  • A RIFLE THAT COULD RAPID SUCCESSION
  • WEAPONS THAT ALLOW YOU TO SHOOT A LOT OF BULLETS IN SHORT PERIOD OF TIME
  • HIGH CAPACITY TO FIRE MULTIPLE ROUNDS
  • A MULTI-SHOT WEAPON WITH AUTOMATIC FIRING.
  • AN AUTOMATIC MACHINE GUN LIKE AN AK47
  • OUT OF CONTROL.
  • THEY HAVE MORE THEN TEN AROUND.
  • CAN SHOOT A LOT OF BULLETS IN VERY LITTLE TIME
  • HIGH CAPACITY AND THE OVERALL DESIGN OF THE PURPOSE OF THE GUN
  • THE MOVIE LIKE RAMBO, RAPID FIRE, GUNS LIKE THE PEOPLE IN THE ARMY HAVE
  • ANY FULLY AUTOMATIC RIFLE
  • MULTI SHOTS
  • FULLY AUTOMATIC WEAPON
  • SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN JUST KEEP ON FIRING AND FIRING
  • WEAPON THAT WILL FIRE MORE THAN 10 ROUNDS, CARRY MORE THAN 10 ROUNDS IN ONE CLIP
  • ANY KIND OF WEAPON THAT FIRE MORE THAN 10 ROUNDS
  • MACHINE GUNS SOMETHING THAT FIRES MULTIPLE ROUNDS WITHOUT TO RELOAD
  • TOO MANY ROUNDS TOO QUICK.
  • SOMETHING THAT REPEATS ITSELF
  • LARGE CAPACITY MAGAZINE AND LONG GUN
  • M16
  • SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN’T HUNT WITH
  • GUN HOBBYIST
  • GUN THAT WILL KILL MORE THEN 6 OR 8 TIMES A POWERFUL BULLET
  • DANGEROUS
  • A WEAPON THAT FIRES A LOT OF ROUNDS PER SECOND AND IS ABLE TO INJURE OR KILL A LOT OF PEOPLE IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME
  • ANYTHING THAT CAN SHOOT DOZENS OF ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION IN SECONDS.
  • FIRING MULTIPLE ROUNDS WITH A PULL OF THE TRIGGER
  • ANYTHING THAT IS PRETTY MUCH AUTOMATIC-AK
  • GUN
  • DEADLY, IT KILLS
  • JUST A RIFLE.
  • AUTOMATIC WEAPON HIGH POWERED WEAPON
  • SOMETHING THAT CAN SHOOT MULTIPLE ROUNDS
  • BAD DEFINITION OR TERM
  • A WEAPON THAT YOU CAN PULL THE TRIGGER THAT KEEPS GOING.
  • DANGEROUS WEAPON
  • A FULLY AUTOMATIC WHICH ONLY THE MILITARY HAS. NO ONE HAS AN AUTOMATIC. I’M NOT WILLING TO GIVE UP AN AR-15, WHICH IS A SEMI-AUTOMATIC WHICH IS NOT THE SAME
  • A WEAPON THAT FIRES OFF AT LEASE 15-30 ROUNDS PER MINUTE.
  • THE CLIP WILL SHOOT ONE SHOOT AT A TIME.
  • A WEAPON SIMILAR TO MILITARY WEAPONS, IN LOOKS ONLY. BUT ARE NOT
  • PROTECTING AND DEFENDING…
  • A RIFLE OR SUB MACHINE GUN NOT JUST A SEMIAUTOMATIC WHEN YOU PULL THE TRIGGER IT KEEP FIRING AND HOLDS MORE THE SEVEN ROUNDS
  • A VERY DANGEROUS OBJECT
  • ANYTHING THAT WILL SHOOT MORE THAN 18 TIMES IS MEANT TO KILL OR MAIM.
  • BEING FULLY AUTOMATIC
  • A GUN THAT HAS 100 BULLETS
  • ANY WEAPON USED TO KILL PEOPLE
  • SOMETHING THAT IS SEMI-AUTOMATIC
  • WEAPON THAT SHOOTS LARGER CALIBER BULLETS-100 BULLETS IN 10 SECONDS
  • GUN
  • IT WOULD BE A LARGE CALIBER GUN THAT SHOOTS A LARGE AMOUNT OF BULLETS
  • AUTOMATIC WEAPON
  • A GUN IS A GUN
  • ONE THAT PUT OUT A FEW BULLETS MORE WITH OUT RELOADING MILITARY STYLE
  • JUST HAVING THE WEAPON
  • LARGE MAGAZINES THAT SHOOT MANY BULLETS
  • ONE THAT KILLS FAST AUTOMATIC
  • ITS A DANGEROUS THING.
  • LIKE A MACHINE GUN
  • ANYTHING LIKE A SUBMACHINE GUN
  • ANYTHING THAT IS USED IN WAR AND MILITARY
  • HIGH POWERED SEMI AUTOMATIC RIFLE ABLE FOR FIRE AND CARRY MULTIPLE ROUNDS
  • ANYTHING THAT IS NOT USED FOR HUNTING
  • WHEN IT HAS A LARGE MAGAZINE OF AMMUNITION
  • DOING MORE WITH AMMUNITION
  • ANYTHING SEMI AUTOMATIC OR AUTOMATIC
  • ANY THING THAT IS SEMI AUTOMATIC WITH A DOZEN BULLETS OR MORE
  • SOMETHING THAT SHOOTS MORE THAN ONE BULLET EVERY 5 SECONDS
  • GUNS ARE GUNS ALL IN HOW YOU RESPECT THEM BOILS DOWN ON HOW WE RAISE OUR CHILDREN
  • A HIGH CAPACITY RAPID-FIRE GUN
  • ANYTHING THAT IS FULLY AUTOMATIC AND THE MAGAZINE CAN SHOOT 20 ROUNDS OR MORE CAN BE CONSIDERED AN ASSAULT RIFLE
  • ONE THAT SHOOTS MORE THAT 6 OR 12 ROUNDS
  • ANYTHING THAT CARRIES MULTIPLE ROUNDS
  • ANY TYPE OF WEAPON THAT HAS MORE THAN ONE ROUND OF FIRING
  • FILTHY
  • ONES THAT ARE CARRIED IN THE ARMY
  • FULLY AUTOMATIC
  • LONG RANGE FIREARMS
  • ANYTHING THAT CAN FIRE A LARGE NUMBER OF BULLETS RAPIDLY
  • YOU PULL THE TRIGGER AND MULTIPLE BULLETS COME OUT
  • I WOULD DESCRIBE AN ASSAULT WEAPON AS A FULLY AUTOMATIC WEAPON LIKE AN MACHINE GUN
  • SOMETHING THAT SHOOTS SO MANY BULLETS AND THERE IS NO CONTROL.
  • A MULTI FIRE ITEM
  • AUTOMATIC OR SEMI AUTOMATIC
  • LIKE ONE I CARRIED IN VIET NAM. THEY ARE A DISTINCTIVE TYPE WEAPON. THEY ARE SHORT BARRELED AND HIGH AMMUNITION CLIPS.
  • ANY DEADLY WEAPON
  • WEAPON DESIGNATED FOR MILITARY USE
  • A FULLY AUTOMATIC RIFFLE, HAND GUN
  • AUTOMATIC FIRING
  • A GUN CAPABLE OF RELEASING A FAIRY LARGE NUMBER OF ROUNDS IN A SHORT TIME
  • ANY WEAPON THAT CAN SHOOT A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF BULLETS THAT COULD KILL 10”S TO HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME
  • MILITARY USE ONLY
  • SOMETHING THAT WOULD SHOOT MORE BULLETS WITHOUT HAVING TO RELOAD
  • NOT HAND GUN, NOT RIFLE
  • AK47S AND 15S OR WHATEVER THEY’RE CALLED. THE GUNS THAT HAVE 20 OR 30 ROUND MAGAZINES.
  • A WEAPON THAT HAS MULTI CLIPS OF AMMUNITION
  • HAS MORE THAN 8 ROUNDS, SEMI-AUTOMATIC
  • MILITARY STYLE WEAPON
  • ANYTHING THAT WOULD BE USED IN A MILITARY FUNCTION
  • A MACHINE GUN
  • FOR PROTECTION ONLY
  • SOMETHING THAT THE MILITARY WOULD USE
  • HIGH POWERED RIFLE
  • A WEAPON THAT WHEN YOU PRESS THE TRIGGER IT AUTOMATIC FIRES AT THE TARGET AND STOPS WHEN IT’S RELEASED
  • SOMETHING THAT SHOOTS MULTIPLE ROUNDS PER SECOND
  • FOR ME AN ASSAULT WEAPON IS A WEAPON WITH THE CAPABILITY OF FIRING AUTOMATIC
  • A LOT OF BULLETS & A SMALL AMOUNT OF TIME.
  • BAD GUN TO HAVE
  • A GUN THAT FIRES MULTIPLE BULLETS BY PUSHING THE TRIGGER ONLY ONE TIME.
  • ANYTHING DESIGNED TO KILL OTHER HUMAN BEINGS.
  • ANYTHING THAT CAN SHOOT A LOT OF BULLETS
  • FULLY AUTOMATIC OR CAN BE CUT DOWN TO SINGLE FIRE AND HAS A LARGE MAGAZINE
  • A WEAPON THAT HAS MILITARY PURPOSE HIGH CAPACITY
  • A GUN OR A KNIFE
  • SEMI AUTOMATIC OR FULLY AUTOMATIC RIFLE WITH A HIGH CAPACITY MAGAZINE
  • HIGH POWERED WEAPON TO USE A LOT OR ROUNDS IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME
  • AK 47, SOMETHING THAT SHOOTS A LOT OF ROUNDS
  • SHOOTS RAPID ROUNDS
  • SOMETHING THAT FIRES MORE THAN TEN ROUNDS
  • A MACHINE GUN THAT FIRES LOTS OF ROUNDS PER SECOND
  • ANY WEAPON IS ASSAULTING EVEN A KNIFE ANYTHING THAT CAN BE USED TO ASSAULT SOMEONE
  • SOME TYPE OF GUN OR HANDGUN
  • SHOOTS RAPID FIRE WITH A CLIP OF 10 OR MORE ROUNDS
  • SOMETHING THAT HAS A CARTRIDGE THAT WILL SHOOT 10-20 ROUNDS AUTOMATICALLY
  • AUTOMATIC OVER SIX ROUNDS
  • MANY, MANY ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION
  • ANYTHING ANYBODY USES IN AN ASSAULT
  • TYPICALLY A SEMI-AUTOMATIC WEAPON. POSSIBLY A HIGH CAPACITY MAGAZINE.
  • ONE THAT HAS AN AUTOMATIC WEAPON THAT HAS MULTIPLE CLIPS AND FIRES BULLETS RAPIDLY
  • WEAPON THAT CAN KILL QUICKLY AND HOLDS A LOT OF AMMUNITION
  • VIOLENT REPEATING WITHOUT STOPPING
  • ANYTHING THAT CAN DO DAMAGE TO SOMEBODY
  • ANYTHING THAT FIRES MORE 10 BULLETS IN A SPLIT SECOND
  • PROTECTION
  • A GUN THAT HAS A LOT OF AMMUNITION THAT CAN BE FIRED QUICKLY.
  • ANYTHING THAT’S GOING TO KILL SOMEONE
  • SMALL CALIBER MILITARY FIRE ARM CAPABLE OF FULLY AUTOMATIC FIRE.
  • SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE MORE LIKELY TO BE USED IN MILITARY OPERATIONS.
  • HIGH HEEL SHOE ANYTHING DANGEROUS
  • PEOPLE OWNING GUNS ARE DEADLY
  • WEAPON THAT IS SIMILAR THE ONE THAT CAUSED THE TRAGEDY IN NEWTOWN
  • AK 47
  • A RIFLE CALIBER  AN AR OR AK
  • A FULLY AUTOMATIC WEAPON. SEMI’S ARE FINE.
  • A WEAPON USED TO HURT SOMEONE
  • AK-47
  • ANYTHING THAT SHOOTS IN RAPID SUCCESSION
  • A WEAPON THAT SHOOTS OFF MULTI AMMUNITION
  • JUST A SEMI AUTOMATIC WEAPON
  • A RIFLE MORE THAN ONE ROUND.
  • AN AUTOMATIC WEAPON THAT HAS RAPID FIRE WITH ONE SQUEEZE OF THE TRIGGER
  • MASS KILLING
  • DIFFERENT FROM WHAT THE NEWS DOES. IT IS A HIGH CALIBER WEAPON THAT IS FULLY AUTOMATIC.
  • IS A FULL AUTOMATIC WEAPON
  • ONE THAT SHOOTS MULTIPLE BULLETS IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME
  • AN AUTOMATIC GUN
  • AUTOMATIC OR SEMI AUTOMATIC
  • SEMI AUTOMATIC QUICK FIRE AMMO
  • A WEAPON WITH MILITARY FEATURES & PROMOTED AS A MILITARY WEAPON.
  • A GUN
  • KNIVES
  • POWERFUL
  • AUTOMATIC WEAPON
  • MACHINE GUN AK-47
  • SOMETHING THAT HOLDS A BUNCH OF ROUNDS
  • A GUN DESIGNED TO TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS
  • SOMETHING THAT FIRES LOTS OF BULLETS IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME THAT IS DESIGNED TO KILL A WHOLE BUNCH PEOPLE AT ONE TIME
  • AN AUTOMATIC WEAPON
  • RAPIDLY FIRES LARGE NUMBER OF ROUNDS
  • ANY WEAPONS USED MY MILITARY WOULD CONSIDER ASSAULT
  • ONE THAT SHOOTS MULTIPLE ROUNDS AND A FEW SECONDS
  • A WEAPON THAT CAN KILL MANY PEOPLE IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME
  • AK-47
  • A SEMI AUTOMATIC WEAPON. A MILITARY TACTIC THING CAPABLE OF HOLDING AN EXCESS OF 30 ROUNDS IN ITS CLIPS
  • ABILITY TO FIRE LOTS OF ROUNDS FAST
  • MORE ROUNDS PER MINUTE
  • SEMI AUTOMATIC
  • SOMETHING THAT SHOOTS MULTIPLE ROUNDS, SOMETHING MORE OF A MILITARY-TYPE GUN
  • ANYTHING THAT IS A GUN
  • AUTOMATIC OR SEMI AUTOMATIC, MULTIPLE ROUNDS IN THE CLIP MORE THAN 10.
  • SOMETHING THAT SHOOTS MORE THAN ONE DEER AT A TIME. THINGS FOR MASS KILLINGS.
  • MACHINE GUN SOMETHING THAT HAS RAPID FIRE
  • THERE IS NO DEFINITION FOR AN ASSAULT WEAPON ANY GUN, ANY KNIFE , ANY BASEBALL BAT  ANY GOLF CLUB IS AN ASSAULT WEAPON
  • RAPID FIRE WITH MULTIPLE CLIPS
  • ANY WEAPON IS AN ASSAULT WEAPON, AND THEIR OK JUST DEPENDS ON WHO OWNS IT
  • A WEAPON DESIGNED FOR MULTIPLE HIGH CAPACITY MAGAZINE
  • FULLY AUTOMATIC 30 SHOT CLIP
  • SHOTGUN AR15 M16
  • A GUN THAT FIRES MORE THAN 10 ROUNDS
  • COMPLETELY AUTOMATIC AND HOLDS MORE THAN TEN ROUNDS
  • SOMETHING THAT IS USED FOR MILITARY PURPOSES OR SOMETHING THAT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE RELOADED FREQUENTLY
  • GUNS THAT KILLS PEOPLE.
  • THEY ARE TOO DANGEROUS AND SHOOT TOO MANY ROUNDS AT ONE TIME.
  • ANYTHING THAT IS RAPID FIRE MORE MILITARY THEN HUNTING
  • BIG KNIFE
  • SEMI-AUTOMATIC
  • GUNS THAT HAVE A CLIP
  • MILITARY RIFLE M4 M16 AK47
  • HIGH CAPACITY MAGAZINES THAT WOULDN’T BE FOR HUNTING PURPOSES
  • HIGH CAPACITY MAGAZINE SEMI AUTOMATIC RIFFLE
  • A SEMI-AUTOMATIC GUN THAT IS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO TAKE DOWN A SMALL GAME ANIMAL
  • ANYTHING THAT PRODUCES MULTIPLE BULLETS IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME WITHOUT AIMING
  • A WEAPON THAT USED INTO TO WARFARE A GUN THAT SHOOT MORE THAN ONCE AT A TIME ASSAULT USED FOR KILLING
  • AUTOMATIC HIGH POWER RIFLE FULLY AUTOMATIC
  • HIGH CALIBER AUTOMATIC A LOT OF ROUNDS AND TAKE DOWN SEVERAL PEOPLE AT ONCE
  • ANY OF THEM ARE BAD
  • ANYTHING THAT CAN FIRE MORE THAN ONE BULLET
  • ANY SEMI-AUTOMATIC WEAPON THAT HOLDS 5 TO 10 SHOT MAGAZINE.
  • SOMETHING THAT HAS RAPID FIRE AND LOTS OF ROUNDS
  • BASICALLY A SEMI AUTOMATIC WEAPON WITH A LARGE CAPACITY MAGAZINE
  • SOMETHING THAT’S AN AUTOMATIC WEAPON
  • ONE THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO LOAD TOO OFTEN AND CAN TAKE OUT A LOT OF PEOPLE
  • VERY TACTICAL WEAPON, USEFUL IN COMBAT. IF SOMEONE BREAKS INTO YOUR HOUSE YOU HAVE A RELIABLE WEAPON TO PROVOKE THEM TO LEAVE
  • A SAWED-OFF SHOT GUN OR UZI
  • I THINK THEY’RE THE ONE THAT HOLD A LOT OF AMMUNITION.
  • RIFLE.
  • ONE THAT IS A MILITARY WEAPON.
  • FULLY AUTOMATIC MACHINE GUN
  • THE ONE THAT SHOOTS 30 BULLETS PER MINUTE
  • ANYTHING MILITARY OFFICIALS OWN IS AN ASSAULT WEAPON.
  • ANY WEAPON THAT FIRES A LOT OF AMMUNITION FAST
  • MACHINE GUN THAT CAN REPEAT OR FIRE RAPIDLY
  • ANYTHING THAT HAS AN OPTION OF RAPID FIRE THAT IS USED FOR KILLING PEOPLE (IT HAS NO OTHER PURPOSE…NOT USED BY POLICE DEPTS. BUT COULD BE USED IN WAR.)
  • DANGEROUS
  • AUTOMATICS
  • ANYTHING THAT HAS MORE THAN 10 ROUNDS IN IT.
  • WEAPON NOT USED FOR HUNTING OR USED FOR TARGET PRACTICE
  • A WEAPON USED TO HURT AN INDIVIDUAL. ITS USED TO HURT ANOTHER PERSON.
  • FULLY AUTOMATIC
  • MILITARY GRADE, AUTOMATIC FIRE, ANYTHING THAT’S NOT A HUNTING RIFLE
  • ANYTHING THAT SHOOTS MORE THAN ONE BULLET WITH EACH PULL OF THE TRIGGER
  • ANYTHING THAT SHOOTS OVER 10 ROUNDS.
  • SOMETHING THAT SHOULD ONLY BE USED IN THE MILITARY NOT IN PRIVATE SECTORS
  • A FULLY AUTOMATIC WEAPON- A SEMI AUTOMATIC IS NOT AN ASSAULT- ITS A FIREARM
  • A GUN OR A KNIFE
  • ANY WEAPON THAT IS A LONG ARM THAT IS CAPABLE OF FIRING IN RAPID SUCCESSION BURST. SUCH AS AR15 AK47 MP5 ANY TYPE OF SEMI AUTOMATIC SUBMACHINE GUN.
  • SOMETHING LIKE A MACHINE GUN OR A RIFLE WITH A LOT OF BULLETS LIKE A CLIP
  • ANY GUN THAT HAS FULLY AUTOMATIC
  • ITS ANYTHING THAT FIRES MULTIPLE ROUNDS
  • MAGAZINE LIKE THEY HAD
  • HAS THE CAPABILITY OF NON STOP SHOOTING USING A LOT OF AMMUNITION WITHOUT HAVING TO LOAD
  • ANY GUN THERE IS
  • SOMETHING THAT CAN FIRE MORE THEN 10 ROUNDS AT PULL OF TRIGGER
  • ITS DANGEROUS
  • I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE TECHNICAL DEFINITION IS – ANYTHING FROM A KITCHEN BUTCHER KNIFE CAN BE AN ASSAULT WEAPON
  • ONE THAT USES MAGAZINES WITH MULTIPLE BULLETS AND THEY ARE MILITARY STYLE WEAPONS
  • A WEAPON THAT IS AS CAPABLE OF SHOOTING 10 TO 20 SECONDS
  • ANY TYPE OF RIFLE OR MILITARY MFG MACHINE GUNS
  • A GUN, KNIFE.
  • SOMETHING THAT CAN INJURE AN INDIVIDUAL CAN BE USED AS AN ASSAULT SHOULD BE UNDER CONTROL
  • A TRUE ASSAULT WEAPON IS A FULLY AUTOMATIC LARGE MAGAZINE THAT IS USED IN COMBAT AND IT HAS GOTTEN OUT ONTO THE PUBLIC
  • ANY WEAPON THAT IS USED TO HARM SOMEONE WHICH WOULD A KNIFE, GUN, CAR
  • AUTOMATIC HIGH CALIBER RIFLE
  • SOMETHING THAT FIRES MORE THAN 1 SHOT, LIKE MACHINE GUNS
  • ANYTHING WEAPON THAT CAN FIRE MULTIPLE ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION, IF IT CAN FIRE MULTIPLE SHOTS…
  • UNNECESSARY THING THE MILITARY
  • IT HOLDS MORE THAT ONE ROUND OF AMMUNITION
  • CLASSIFIED AS ASSAULT WEAPON WHERE IT IS MULTIPLE ROUNDS
  • ANYTHING BEYOND SHOTGUN
  • A DEVICE TO KILL PEOPLE
  • HIGH SPEED MILITARY WEAPON WITH HIGH CAPACITY MAGAZINE, AND VERY DAMAGING AMMUNITION OR BULLETS.
  • AN ASSAULT WEAPON CAN GO EITHER WAY YOU EITHER USE IT FOR GOOD OR FOR BAD
  • LIKE A MACHINE GUN
  • ANYTHING THAT IS MORE THAN A SINGLE SHOT AN AUTOMATIC AND SEMIAUTOMATIC
  • ANYTHING THAT YOU CHOOSE TO FEAR OTHERS
  • HIGH CAPACITY MAGAZINE
  • ANYTHING THAT IS NOT FOR HUNTING, ANY GUN YOU CAN CARRY WITH YOU
  • MY UNDERSTANDING IS FIRES MULTIPLE ROUNDS WITH JUST ONE PULL OF THE TRIGGER
  • ANYTHING THAT’S HAS THE CAPABILITY OF RAPID FIRE LIKE A MAGAZINE WITH 10 BULLETS OR MORE.
  • ANYTHING USED TO HARM ANYONE ELSE
  • BASICALLY THE SAME THE MILITARY USES LIKE AUTOMATIC MACHINE GUNS
  • A MILITARY GUN THAT CAN SHOOT A NUMBER OF BULLETS AT ONE TIME.
  • SEMI AUTOMATIC HIGH CAPACITY INTENDED TO KILL PEOPLE
  • IS A WEAPON THAT SHOTS MORE THAN MORE THAN TWO OR MORE BULLETS AT ONE TIME.
  • MILITARY COMBAT TOOL

 

 

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

127 COMMENTS

    • /facepalm indeed

      I sure hope most of those answers came from little kids… or my faith in Amercan intelligence is done for good…

      • It’s toast. I’ve heard similar from actual elected officials sponsoring gun control measures.

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  3. My definition is….. The pen/ typewriter/computer used to write new bills or laws that assault the Constitution.

  6. And once again we have confirmation that the public education system produces poorly educated fools.

    • I think it is more that gun owners keep hiding in the closet and do not educate others on firearms/take them out shooting. If we had more public outreach programs we wouldn’t have this problem.

      • I couldn’t agree more. I take friends and family shooting as often as I can. I always sit them down with the guns we will be handling and show them how to operate them safely and go over some basics. I also give them objective information about the guns. For instance I explain to them that my AR is exactly the kind of gun that many Dems want banned and explain that it is the most common type of sporting rifle yet one of the least commonly used in crimes. Such information is confusing because based on the information they get from CNN they think most of the above is valid.

  7. A quick glance over this list tells me one important thing. The antis are winning the culture war. Handily.

    • Too bad for the gun-grabbers that they are losing the war in the courts, public square, and pocketbooks of citizens who have stated emphatically that they like and will continue to exercise their right to keep and bear arms.

  8. Assault weapon: Weapons which complement Apepper weapons. Typically called condiments of war.

    • Of course the most important point is that there is absolutely no difference between an “assault weapon” and an “anti-assault weapon”, other than the use to which it is put.

    • EVERYTHING is NOT an “assault weapon”. This is a term propagated by propagandists intending to confuse and frighten people who do not know anything about firearms other than what their politicians feed them and apparently do not know how to search out the truth for themselves.

      An “Assault Rifle”, on the other hand, is a semi or fully automatic weapon using a cartridge designed for a hand-held rifle (as opposed to sub-machine gun which uses a cartridge designed for a pistol), using a detachable magazine and is intended primarily for military personnel conducting an ASSAULT against enemy forces. It may also be effective in a defensive posture, but this was not its original design criteria.

      • I thought an assault rifle had to be select fire, a strictly semi-auto rifle does not meet the definition.

        • An assault weapon will fire in either single shot, three round burst or full automatic. A semi Auto, although may look like the Military assault weapon fires a single round with each trigger pull, and is NOT considered an assault weapon. An by the way AR as in AR-15 does not stand for assault rifle.

  12. I always thought the definition of an assault rifle is a rifle that is capable of fully automatic fire. Like the M16A1 and the AN-94(which AFAIK has no exclusively semi-automatic version).

    Am I wrong?

    • Close. An “Assault Rifle” is a rifle that (a) is chambered for an intermediate rifle round, (b) feeds from a detachable box magazine, and (c) is select fire. “Assault Weapon”, however, is a phrase dredged out of some 70’s Army manuals for shoulder-fired rocket launchers and repurposed as a term to scare people who don’t know jack about guns.

      • Any shoulder fired, lightweight recoiless rifle, probably 30mm or larger designed for destroying tanks, hard targets, personnel, and light vehicles.
        That is the sole miltary definition of an assault weapon. SMAW, Javelin, Bazooka, M79 etc.
        so, yeah your right.

  15. Assault Weapon
    1. Any implement used as a tool for assault.
    2. US Military term for an automatic weapon in an intermediate caliber.
    3. A propaganda term applied to arbitrary firearms by anti-gun ownership interest groups, invented and proliferated in the late 20th and early 21st century.

    • No even developmentally delayed children couldn’t provide definitions as bad as most of these. This is probably the # Twitter tweet twits you can’t escape from on the YouTube machine.

  17. 30 rounds per minute. Am I wrong in assuming that a round every 2 seconds is SLOW or do I need a musket to not kill hordes of innocent people with a Kahr MK9?

  18. Those answers are pathetic. The correct answer is Nancy Pelosi’s mouth. It’s destroyed more lives and caused more chaos than all the AR’s in the U.S…… Do I sound bitter?

  20. My inner grammar Nazi just had a stroke. That’s a beautiful STG44 and ZF4 scope combo, though.

  22. I wish I could have unseen this.

    These “professionals” said they interviewed 1,000 people over a five day period in January. What they obviously didn’t ask during the survey was “Is your mommy or daddy home?”

  23. We all can laugh and feel smug, but some of these definitions are spot on. It matters what others think. We can play word games, and we can say there is no such thing as assault weapons or assault rifles…. or mock and call people stupid who use the term. To the general public it looks like an AR15, black, evil looking, something only used by military and has no other use except shooting people dead… High powered hunting rifles with pretty wood work, are far more powerful and accurate than a typical AR15. Bottom line the word “Assault Weapon” is not specific, too general and whatever you want it to be, so it serves no purpose at least for gun laws, since it is too vague and broad. However it does strike an emotional chord with people. We can’t laugh it away, but we should explain and educate with mutual respect. With that said some people are ignorant, always emotional and don’t give respect on both sides of the fence.

    • “Bottom line the word “Assault Weapon” is not specific, too general and whatever you want it to be, so it serves no purpose at least for gun laws, since it is too vague and broad. However it does strike an emotional chord with people.”

      I agree, hence it was chosen to push for bans, confiscations, and decrying of knowledgeable law abiding gun owners. Make no mistake, they are not going to give up on there push to ban and confiscate. The fact is “Hollywood” is a huge media empire that will be used to try and push the agenda further. People need to ban together and educate kids & adults regarding facts. I just saw a bunch of foreigners using links to Micheal Moore’s Bowling for Columbine Cartoon on YouTube as a reference to American History!?

      Time to flood all social media with real knowledge people.

  24. The definition I’ve always been told is a shoulder fired gas operated SELECT FIRE weapon of intermediate caliber. oh and select fire means more than 2 settings on the bang switch.

  26. Actually, I find it interesting. People truly have no idea. If everyone could point to a Colt AR-15, we would have a harder time to change their minds. But their recognition is all over the place. If we stop for a minute and appreciate that, there is a great message we should be crafting.

    THIS is an assault weapon. It is used by soldiers only. THIS is not an assault weapon. They may look very similar, but they function differently. It is used by millions of Americans every day. This includes regular civilians as well as police officers who call them “patrol rifles” which have mostly replaced shotguns in police cars because they have more ammo, are easier to shoot accurately, are less likely to damage unintended targets, and have more range than a shotgun. Those are the same characteristics that make these other weapons excellent for self defense for millions of American men and women.

    We are facing a whole host of poorly conceived concepts, but that is the good news. It is hard to change an opinion that is nailed down in something people can actually hold or point too. Much easier to change an opinion about a concept.

  30. “In just a few words, describe an assault weapon.”

    As of this afternoon, a Black Infinity G37 sedan.

  34. Ladies and gentlemen, you’ve likely just read the 2014 Associated Press Stylebook entry for “assault weapon.” This newspeak is double plus ungood.

  35. Obviously, the Reason-Rupe Public Opinion Survey included every ‘RUBE’ they could find. It is clear that most of the respondents had to think a little while before they could give a (wrong) response. In other words, they had never thought about what the words mean before. They have an opinion on something they know nothing about, and haven’t even spent much time thinking about it.

    What is an Assault Weapon? The words have no real meaning, because almost anything can be used as a weapon to commit assault – a fist, a foot, a knife, a spoon, a pencil, a pillow, a threatening voice, etc.

  36. Assault Weapon:

    A political weapon, loaded linguistically, wielded by the malicious or incompetent, and typically aimed at innocent or unaware persons; often used in conjunction with “high capacity magazine” quips.

      • “High capacity magazine” quips:

        1) poking fun at the baffling term “magazine clips”
        2) jab at attempts at clever snarks about mag capacity
        3) intentional mangling of words, satirizing the same by grabbers
        4) another tie-in of words-as-weapons theme
        5) observation that mags are demonized along w/ AWs

        Puns within puns. I didn’t overlook their terminology. 🙂

  39. I feel sad for America if those are the comments.

    “In just a few words, how would you describe an assault weapon?” Good! That was my favorite answer.

    I was going to say an Enfield during a mad minute is an assault weapon. I think Frankenstein and Reid would freak out and soil their depends if they witnessed that. OMG a bolt action that fires that fast! OMG!

  40. I find it humorous that the person who “reads TTAG” as I view this post is MAC. Because Sturmgewehr IS an assault weapon! 😉

  45. We all had a good laugh today with these popular misconceptions as to what a so-called “assault weapon” is. However, even among the People of the Gun proper, there can be great confusion. For example, and for a helluva a face palm moment, next time you’re at the range, the sporting goods store, the gun store, ask a random stranger or even the worker what the “AR” in “AR-15” means.

    Don’t expect to get the right answer, of course, since only a tiny percentage will know it. If you manage to get less than 90% coming back with the specific wrong answer of “assault rifle”, then consider yourself lucky.

    • I’ve known that “AR” in “AR-15” meant ArmaLite since I can remember. But then again I’ve been a military/gun nerd ever since I can remember. Too much History channel growing up I guess. (Before it got overpolluted with alien-crap shows, that is.)

  49. DUDES, SERIOUSLY? This just plain hurt my head. So much stupidity and fail in such a short span.

    This, from Americans?

    Jesus wept,

  50. Any weapon used to assault a person who does not have the ability to defend themselves. Includes frying pans, pens, keyboards,cameras, democrats, rocks and hammers.

  51. A lot of these answers are actually quite correct and show proper thinking. Such as “a gun, knife, car, anything used as a weapon”. “Assault weapon” is a silly little misnomer, with a superfluous descriptor; any weapon or object used as a weapon against a person is used to assault. Many people today are using “assault weapon” and “assault rifle” interchangeably, and so read the question of this survey as, How would you describe an assault rifle?
    As a side note (and I could write an entire article about it), I personally don’t think select fire is a good qualifier for what constitutes an ‘assault rifle’. When the Army noticed that fully automatic M14s were very difficult to control, they modified a lot of them to be semi auto only. Thus, we have a modern day, full power, combat-issued, genuine battle rifle that can be owned by any average citizen without a lot of paperwork. All up-to-date military rifles are assault rifles, and all free citizens in a free country have a right to own the most up to date military (small?) arms available.

  54. I have to believe that some of these quotes are snark from the pro-gun side. “Any weapon used to commit an assault”…indeed.

  55. Well that was just disconcerting…I think I’m going to drink a cup of warm milk and go to bed now. Thanks.

  56. Well this one actually makes sense, garbled grammar notwithstanding:

    “ANYTHING CAN BE AN ASSAULT WEAPON LIKE KNIFE FRYING PAN HAMMER BOARD.”

  57. These were some of my favorites before this survey was pulled out of another post a few days ago:

    * DANGEROUS

    * THEY DANGEROUS (There were at least a dozen variations on this answer, all just one or two words)

    * PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS GUNS, I DON’T KNOW THAT MUCH ABOUT GUNS BUT THEY SEEM KIND OF WICKED (I feel like this was a pro-gun person trolling)

    * ANYTHING THAT IS NOT A PISTOL (Anything ?!)

    * HIGH ROUND OF AMMO AND DOES MORE DAMAGE THEN A REGULAR GUN (But see, then you have to define a regular gun)

    * ONES THAT CAN SHOOT LONGER BULLETS (So… .22LR as opposed to .22 Short?)

    * ANY WEAPON USED TO PERFORM AN ACT OF VIOLENCE (There’s your pro-gun guy again)

    * A WEAPON THAT IS DESIGN TO PROVIDE MAXIMUM DAMAGE BEYOND WHAT IS NEEDED FOR HUNTING AND PERSONAL PROTECTION

    * SOMETHING THAT HAS MULTIPLE AUTOMATED ROUNDS THAT COULD KILL MULTIPLE PEOPLE IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME (Automated rounds? I want some of those!)

    * A FULLY AUTOMATIC WHICH ONLY THE MILITARY HAS. NO ONE HAS AN AUTOMATIC. I’M NOT WILLING TO GIVE UP AN AR-15, WHICH IS A SEMI-AUTOMATIC WHICH IS NOT THE SAME (This guy’s heart’s in the right place, but he’s still wrong)

    * FILTHY (Stop picking on me! I clean my guns when I want!)

    OK, that’s enough. There are hundreds of responses, and >80% of them are from people clearly gun-ignorant. This is why education is important, because most of them are operating from the wrong facts, and some of them could probably be swayed by a little knowledge.

    I’ll leave you with this one:

    * BIG KNIFE

  60. The info above is misleading. They didn’t have THAT long of a list and only a few responses were pertinent to guns. There were things like congressional approval, the economy, etc.

    • I don’t understand your point. Because the rest of the poll wasn’t mentioned this post is invalid?

  62. WTF?! Did anyone actually read all this? I can swear it was just a copy paste job. By the way, an assaulr weapon is a weapon that goes off on its own to beat up ex lovers, or current lovers, or lovers of any kind really. You know, any weapon that ‘just goes off’. . .

  63. Gee… wonder exactly how many were ever in the military… probably picked out a few… oh wait!, these were ALL CONGRESSmen and women…

  64. Does this really shock anyone…?

    You ever see Jay Walking on the Tonight Show…?

    Most people probably couldn’t point out Canada on a globe without labels.

  66. I honestly didn’t read the WHOLE list….I skimmed the bottom 1/3 or so because it seemed pretty repetitive….

    There’s so much wrong here I could write a book. The one, specifically, I latched on to was “fires more than one round every 5 minutes”

    I’m fairly certain that includes every gun EVER. Even a poorly trained revolutionary war soldier was capable of two shots a minute with a freaking musket.

    This is why the people of the gun are going to have a tough time winning the anti-gun battle. A good portion of the population of this country is totally ignorant about firearms, period. Ignorance is not stupidity, it’s just a lack of knowledge. This shows that our time would be better spent educating people that just dont know any better with the truth about guns (see what I did there?) than get into our eternal pissing match with the anti-gun ideologues, who are already too far gone.

  67. “In just a few words, how would you describe an assault weapon?”

    Any weapon used in an assault. Be it a fork, spoon, knife, gun, etc.

  68. i would love to meet the person who thinks anyone would go into battle with an ak47 or ar15 against an enemy armed with an ak74 or m16 and come out unscathed or even the winner (aside from hit and run, or ambush tactics)

  69. After skimming through it, I am generally seeing three types of answers.

    1) Machine gun/Fully Automatic or some variant of that. (People who actually know how a gun functions)

    2) People repeating whatever their state law is. (People who think they are informed and made an attempt to do research)

    3) Complete idiocy. (The uninformed idiots who pulled something out of their ass)

  71. Assault weapon = any firearm or other means of self defense held by a civilian.

    Source: The Democrat National Committee

  74. “In just a few words, how would you describe an assault weapon?”

    That’s easy. It’s a weapon used in an assault. Could be a knife, or a bat, or a pistol, or a rifle, or a pickup truck. Really, the possibilities are endless.

    Assault: A physical attack. So, if you’re attacking someone/something with it, I guess it’s an assault weapon. Doesn’t matter how scary it may or may not look.

    I’ve never really caught on with that term, even before I got into firearms. I’ve always identified the term AR as ArmaLite Rifle(which I believe was the original meaning) or Automatic Rifle(which I’ve taken as the generalized term). I had that debate with my dear old Dad once.

  75. Assault Weapon: any firearm that, when out of ammunition, can be used to beat an attacker into submission.

  78. I’ve used the following, attempting to show people how they have been lied to by the gun-grabbers, and educate them a little.

    “Assault weapon” — Definition:
    A fictitious category of firearm – invented for the purpose of deceiving members of the American Public who are not familiar with firearms.

    The meaning and use of the word “assault” is intentionally twisted to cause confusion and aid in the deception.
    The term is based on the valid firearm category “assault RIFLE”, which describes a selective fire (can be fired like a ‘machine gun’), intermediate caliber rifle (in between pistol and high-power rifle ammunition) – resulting in a light-weight, low-recoil weapon, well-suited for short-range use when fired like a ‘machine gun’ at close range in the ASSAULT PHASE of a MILITARY attack, and which still has an effective range out to 300 meters, when fired one shot at a time. It is NOT a type of rifle that can be bought without a lot of Federal and state approvals, and a lot of time, investigation, and expense.

    The “ASSAULT PHASE” of a military attack is closing in on the enemy, advancing on his position to drive him from that position, or kill him if he attempts to remain.

    The word “assault” is re-utilized in the term “assault WEAPON” to suggest the common civilian concept of “assault” as meaning a violent, criminal attack committed against an innocent victim, as in the statement:

    ……….“Assault weapons– their name describes their purpose!”

    Clever — fiendishly clever. Lots of semantic trickery at play.

    The meaning of the word “assault” in the term “assault RIFLES” as a MILITARY term, a phase of a MILITARY attack, is psychologically re-directed toward the popular understanding of the word “assault” as a CRIMINAL attack against an innocent victim in the term “assault WEAPONS”, to confuse people by making them think such guns have only criminal use.

    In addition to this twisting of the word “assault” to cause deception and fool the general public, the valid category of firearms — “assault RIFLES” — was simultaneously expanded to a new, and unashamedly false, more general category of “assault WEAPONS”.

    This was done to rationalize including not just rifles, but shotguns, and even pistols, in the newly invented pseudo-category. This reflects the twist in the meaning of “assault”, from a phase of MILITARY ATTACK to criminal violence.

    First they invent a new pseudo-category of firearm. They name that category in a way that suggests that the only use for such weapons, in civilian hands, is criminal “assault”.

    Then, they include in that pseudo-category any firearm they can rationalize as somehow being too dangerous, or “unsuitable” for “civilians” (more properly CITIZENS) to own, claiming that such weapons “only belong on foreign battlefields”.

  79. So my walking cane as I beat some of those foolish responders can be considered an assault weapon when I try and knock some sense into them. Or that plastic Mattel toy when I’m in the store that is an assault weapon when I throw it at them for their comments

  80. Simple answer: There is no such thing as an “assault” weapon. Nope, it’s not a military full auto machinegun. Nope, it’s not a translation of the German “Sturmgewehr” (which literally is “storm gun” or “storm rifle”). Nope, Hitler didn’t coin the phrase in 1930-something.

    Actually, it’s the scary sounding term invented for the “Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989”, along with absurd definitions of what makes the [fictional] “assault rifle” so dangerous, including a pistol grip, a collapsible stock, a bayonet lug (when was the last time you’ve ever heard of a drive-by knifing?) and other equally absurd features, including my personal favorite, “that thing that goes up over the shoulder” (Thanks Carolyn McCarthy… that always gives me a good laugh!)

    Oh yeah, and the word “assault” is a verb, not an adjective. The use of “assault” to describe a “weapon” is grammatically incorrect, but then when did that ever stop anyone?

    The truth about guns? THERE AIN’T NO SUCH THING AS AN ASSAULT WEAPON!!!!

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