• xzite@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    4 days ago

    Assault Rifle is a technical term with a technical definition

    It’s only really a “technical term” in the civilian anglosphere and the actual “definition” is very shaking when you start investigating it. By your definition a belt fed machine gun with a single shot setting is an assault rifle. Not to mention that there’s no actual definition of what an “intermediate round” even is.

    Most European armies call them some variant of gewehr or rifle and even anglosphere armies just call them rifles, or carbines if they are under some unspecified length.

    “assault weapon” is a term with no officially accepted definition, so it can mean whatever the people trying to ban things want it to mean

    This is like saying manslaughter or murder is a term with no officially accepted definition since it varies by jurisdiction.

    • OwOarchist@pawb.social
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      4 days ago

      By your definition a belt fed machine gun with a single shot setting is an assault rifle.

      Only if it’s in an intermediate caliber and light enough to shoulder fire.

      Which, admittedly, there are a few of those out there … but only a few. And, well, arguably such a gun could be an ‘assault rifle’ if you chose to use it as one. Being belt-fed rather than magazine-fed doesn’t really fundamentally change the nature of the thing, and at that point, the feed mechanism is the only functional difference between that and what you’d typically call an assault rifle.

      • athatet@lemmy.zip
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        4 days ago

        arguably such a gun could be an assault rifle if you if you choose to use it as one

        Kinda like an AR then, huh?

    • MinnesotaGoddam@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      4 days ago

      yeah, we should be more specific when discussing them what we mean. are we talking semi-auto >22LR rifles with large magazines?

      of course that kind of discussion would require a populatiion educated on firearms. certainly better educated than i am.