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{{Hatnote |This article is about the American politico-legal term. You may be looking for [[Assault rifle]], or for [[FGM-172 SRAW]] (Short-Range Assault Weapon), [[M202 FLASH]] (FLame Assault SHoulder Weapon), or [[Shoulder-launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon]].}}

{{NPOV|date=December 2012}}
{{NPOV|date=December 2012}}


Revision as of 20:31, 26 December 2012

This article is about the American politico-legal term. You may be looking for Assault rifle, or for FGM-172 SRAW (Short-Range Assault Weapon), M202 FLASH (FLame Assault SHoulder Weapon), or Shoulder-launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon.

Assault weapon is a classification of semi-automatic firearm utilizing an intermediate-power cartridge and is frequently conflated with assault rifle (a firearm with full-automatic (that is, machine gun) capability). Unlike the firearms related term "assault rifle", however, the term 'assault weapon' has no consistent or specific definition and is, therefore, subject to varying definitions for varying purposes, including definitions that can include military firearms. In the United States, there are a variety of statutory definitions of assault weapons in local, state, and federal laws that define them by a set of characteristics they possess, sometimes described as military-style cosmetic features. Using lists of cosmetic features or lists of specific firearms in defining assault weapons in the U.S. was first codified by the language of the now-expired 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban.[1]

Definitions and usage

Assault weapon refers primarily (but not exclusively) to firearms that possess the cosmetic features of an assault rifle (which are fully-automatic).[citation needed] For example, some pistols are classified as assault weapons, despite clearly not possessing the cosmetic features of an assault rifle, under both state and (former) Federal laws.[2] Original definitions and uses of the term for such assault rifles in German, Sturmgewehr, literally storm (or assault) rifle, included capability of fully automatic function. Later definitions from the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban included semi-automatic weapons, only. Actually possessing the operational features, such as 'full-auto', is not required for classification as an assault weapon. Merely the possession of cosmetic features is now enough to warrant such classification as an assault weapon.[3] Semi-automatic firearms, when fired, automatically extract the spent cartridge casing and load the next cartridge into the chamber, ready to fire again. They do not fire automatically like a machine gun. Rather, only one round is fired with each trigger pull.[3] The National Rifle Association has referred to the features affected by the Federal Assault Weapons Ban as cosmetic,[4] as has the Violence Policy Center.[5]

Nonetheless, assault weapon is a term which has been given many different meanings.[6] One of the definitions is any of various automatic and semi-automatic military firearms utilizing an intermediate-power cartridge.[7] The reason is that since the definition of assault weapon is only defined by cosmetic features, both semi-automatic firearms that possess these cosmetics, as well as full-auto firearms that possess these same cosmetic features, irrespective of the presence or absence of the operational functions of assault rifles, is enough in some states to cause a firearm to be classified by the term assault weapon. Former Federal Law, however, clearly made the distinction that assault weapons that possessed both the cosmetic features and operational features of assault rifles are Title II weapons, not assault weapons, and Title II weapons are regulated by the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934, passed in response to infamous Prohibition Era use of machine guns. Some state laws, however, make no such distinction, classifying all firearms with either the cosmetic features or the actual operational features of "assault rifles" as "assault weapons". Hence, some state definitions of assault weapon explicitly include assault rifles.[8]

Hence, in the State of Connecticut, an assault weapon is legally defined as "any selective-fire firearm capable of fully automatic, semiautomatic or burst fire at the option of the user".[9]. Only seven states have such state-level assault-weapons bans in place[10]; in all other states, assault weapons are considered semi-automatic only, per prior definitions established by expired Federal law.[citation needed]

The Gun Digest Book of Assault Weapons (7th Edition, 2011) describes itself as being "all about true assault weapons...fully automatic, selective-fire or equipped with mission-specific features designed only for military and law enforcement applications."[11]

United States Federal Assault Weapons Ban

Main article: Federal Assault Weapons Ban

The legal term Assault Weapon was most notably used first in the language of the now-expired Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act of 1994, more commonly known as the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which expired in 2004. The federal assault weapons ban specifically prohibited 19 guns considered to be assault weapons. These were all semi-automatic firearms, meaning that they can eject spent shell casings and chamber the next round without additional human action, but (as opposed to automatic firearms) only one round is fired per pull of the trigger.[2] In addition to the 19 weapons specifically prohibited, the federal assault weapons ban also defined as a prohibited assault weapon any semiautomatic rifle with a detachable magazine and at least two of the following five items: a folding or telescopic stock; a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon; a bayonet mount; a flash suppressor or threaded barrel (a barrel that can accommodate a flash suppressor); or a grenade launcher. The act also defined as a prohibited assault weapon semi-automatic pistols that weighed more than 50 ounces when unloaded or included a barrel shroud, and barred the manufacture of magazines for both pistols and rifles capable of carrying more than 10 rounds.[2]

Differing state law definitions

Although the federal assault weapons ban expired in 2004, several states have their own assault weapons bans, which sometimes differ from the former federal law. Specifically, only seven states have their own assault-weapons bans in place.[10]For example, in California, the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 bars a number of specific firearm models defined within three legally defined categories of assault weapons.[12]

According to the State of Connecticut judicial branch under Connecticut law an assault weapon is "Any selective-fire firearm capable of fully automatic, semiautomatic or burst fire at the option of the user" (i.e. with fully automatic capability) plus other specific semi-automatic firearms plus other semi-automatic firearms with certain attributes. [13]

A few states, such as New York and California, have provisions in their state laws that prohibit ownership of Title II weapons and devices. Most states allow legal ownership if the owner has complied with the federal registration and taxation requirements. A few states only allow possession of NFA firearms on the federal Curios and Relics list, again only if the owner has complied with federal requirements.

Relation to assault rifles

A common mistake in informal discourse is to confuse the term assault rifle (which has full-automatic, "machine gun" capability) with the term 'assault weapon.' Unlike assault rifle, 'assault weapon' has no consistent or specific definition and, so, is subject to varying definitions for varying purposes, including definitions that include common non-military and non-military-style firearms.[14][6] Civilian ownership of firearms is generally restricted to semi-automatic weapons. Civilian ownership of assault 'rifles' or any other full-automatic firearm is tightly regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives under the National Firearms Act of 1934 as amended by Title II of the Gun Control Act of 1968.[2]

Political and legislative issues

Whether or not the term assault weapon should be used at all and, if so, how the term should be defined and whether firearms defined as assault weapons should be legally restricted more than other firearms are questions subject to considerable debate as part of the arguments of gun politics in the United States.

Prominent gun-control groups that support restrictions on ownership of firearms include the Brady Campaign and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. Prominent opponents of assault-weapons bans include the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America. Gun-rights and sports shooting groups consider the phrase assault weapon to be a pejorative when used to describe civilian firearms,[15][16][17] considering it a politically driven catchphrase aimed to conflate non-automatic weapons with actual full-automatic assault rifles[14] which are already (since 1934) strictly regulated and cannot be obtained by civilians without prior clearance by US federal, state, and local authorities.

Attributes in assault weapon definitions

Attributes previously defined in Federal assault weapon legislation and their purposes:

  • Detachable magazines allow for fast reloading
  • Collapsible stocks allow for adjustment to the length of pull, permitting one firearm to be immediately fitted for any shooter
  • Folding stocks allow for ease of transport by reducing the total length of the firearm when transported
  • Pistol grips (on rifles) reduce the angle (and thus rotational strain) of the wrist.
  • Bayonet mounts are often on civilian firearms due to the same parts being used on both government and civilian rifles[1]
  • Flash suppressors reduce night vision degradation to a shooter's vision, as well as those beside or behind the user. They do not render any reduction in detecting a shooter. [18]
  • Threaded barrels mount flash suppressors, compensators and muzzle brakes both used for aiding recoil management.
  • Barrel mounted grenade launcher mounts are concentric rings around the muzzle that facilitate attachment of rifle grenades
  • A barrel shroud is a tube around the barrel designed to limit transfer of heat from the barrel to the supporting hand, or to protect a shooter from being burned by accidental contact.[19]
  • Magazines greater than 10 rounds[1]
  • Semi-automatic, functionality meaning that they can eject spent shell casings and chamber the next round without additional human action, but (as opposed to automatic firearms) only one round is fired per pull of the trigger.[2]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c United States Code, Title 18, Section 921 — Firearms: Definitions, which contains a definition of the term "semiautomatic assault weapon".
  2. ^ a b c d e Brendan Koerner, What Is an Assault Weapon? (September 16, 2004). Slate.
  3. ^ a b David Kopel (December 17, 2012). "Guns, Mental Illness and Newtown". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2012-12-18. None of the guns that the Newtown murderer used was an assault weapon under Connecticut law. This illustrates the uselessness of bans on so-called assault weapons, since those bans concentrate on guns' cosmetics, such as whether the gun has a bayonet lug, rather than their function.
  4. ^ Finally, the end of a sad era -- Clinton Gun Ban stricken from books! National Rifle Association
  5. ^ Violence Policy Center Issues Statement on Expiration of Federal Assault Weapons Ban, Violence Policy Center
  6. ^ a b http://articles.philly.com/2012-12-22/news/35955483_1_assault-weapons-assault-weapon-bans-fully-automatic-firearms
  7. ^ "assault weapon". Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  8. ^ http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assault%20weapon
  9. ^ "Assault weapon". State of Connecticut Judicial Branch. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  10. ^ a b Laura Nahmias (December 22, 2012). "Cuomo for Gun Laws". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2012-12-26. New York is one of only seven states that have assault-weapons bans in place, according to the Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence.
  11. ^ "Gun Digest Book of Assault Weapons 7th Edition". Gun Digest Books. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  12. ^ Frequently Asked Questions: Assault Weapon Registration, California Department of Justice. quote= There are three categories of assault weapons under California law. The first category is firearms listed on the original Roberti-Roos assault weapons list (Penal Code section 12276, subds (a), (b), and (c)). The second category of assault weapons is AK and AR-15 series weapons, pdf (Penal Code sections 12276 (e) and (f)). The third category of assault weapons is defined by specific generic characteristics (PC section 12276.1, SB 23).
  13. ^ http://www.jud.ct.gov/ji/criminal/glossary/assaultweapon.htm
  14. ^ a b ""Background Information on So-Called 'Assault Weapons'". National Shooting Sports Foundation. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
  15. ^ Amy Hunter, Gun sales booming across the nation (December 1, 2008). Culpeper Star-Exponent.
  16. ^ Cook County assault weapon ban hits Illinois Supreme Court (January 18, 2012). Illinois Public Radio.
  17. ^ Wayne LaPierre and James Jay Baker (2002). Shooting Straight: Telling the Truth about Guns in America. Regnery Publishing. p. 43-44.
  18. ^ Army Field Manual FM 3-22
  19. ^ "LearnAboutGuns.com".
  • Assault weapons entry by Robert J. Spitzer in the Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture and the Law, Vol. 2 (2002, ed. Gregg Lee Carter), p. 34-35.
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