What is an Assault Rifle?

Many might say we all know what an “assault rifle” is; it is a mean looking rifle that shoots really fast. Actually, this has been a very difficult thing for regulators to define. An earlier ban included a list of the “assault rifles” on the market. Manufacturers simply responded by renaming “new models” of the same guns.

Most recently, the Dems tried to describe the guns by listing the “offending features.” A center fire rifle that has the following: a collapsing stock, a pistol grip that ones hand can be wrapped around, a flash hider and a forward pistol grip. By removing and replacing the “offending features” and replacing them with legal features, the rifle becomes legal. The exact same rifles are still sold with the CA legal features.

Some might comment that an AR 15 looks just like the army M 16. However, looks alike does not mean functions alike. The military M 16 has a setting for full auto fire. The AR 15 is only semi-auto, one shot per trigger pull. This is the same function as numerous rifles, shotguns & pistols have offered since the late 1800’s.

Others will argue that when the Second Amendment was drafted, modern fire arms did not exist, so could 2-A apply to these? Are our rights technology sensitive? If so, then the First Amendment could not apply to modern radio, television, internet and high-speed printing.

Mark Fernwood