What IS an assault rifle?

madminute

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=8C-CLsMRcA0&feature=endscreen

madminute

Can someone post the text of the actual law passed banning "assault rifles"? It seems that confusion reigns on the actual definition, and I'm as confused as the next guy about the specifics...especially with all the AKs, L1A1, G3, AR type weapons I see lately in gun shops...can someone clarify? I thought that a certain percentage of the total weapon's parts had to be manufactured in the US, it could have no threaded barrel end, no bayonet lug, and that pistol grips and hi cap mags were out..but I see a ton of weapons with pistol grips and hi cap mags these days in shops and shows, and from Century and SOG...whats up?

offeror

Maybe it's just a Sturm-Gewehr. ;*DActually, I'm sure the California definition differs from others. I'm not sure there is a single definition applying in all states, surely not in terms of what's legal to own.

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"The 2nd Amendment is about defense, not hunting. Long live the gun shows, and reasonable access to FFLs. Join the NRA -- I'm a Life Member."

Patrick Odle

An assault rifle can be anything from a 22cal. single shot to a 100 round drum mtd. on a thompson sub-gun. Assault is the key word that most people of lesser mentally looks past. any gun regardless of looks,or number of rounds it holds when used as a defensive weapon, does not qualify as an assault weapon. most morons that use the term would swear that if their neighbor took an ordinary claw hammer came across the street and beat them over the head with it til they were unconsious would claim that they had been assaulted. the manner in which a weapon is used is the only correct definition of the weapon, but most anti's see something that they don't like the looks of an label it an assault weapon, many not knowing the meaning of the word.

madminute

I really don't care about California...I live in Florida. And if I had a second choice of a state to live in, it would be Arizona. Regardless, and opinion aside, I'd love to know on the federal level and ATF level what the exact ruling is. We here in Fl. seem to be up to our * in semi-auto rifles (I have a few too) which are being sold, apparently fully legal, from shops and at shows. And not at the semi-"Black Market" prices common around the country either. I just hoped someone here would know. Guess I'll post my question on the 'Gun Rights" forum...

madminute

PATRICK: Actually, that's an emotionally driven definition, but useless as law. The true definition of an assault rifle is more like this according to the Army I served in- An automatic combat rifle, firing an intermediate cartridge (not full rifle, not pistol, caliber not specified), having a minimum barrel length of 18", a detachable magazine holding 20 or more rounds, pistol grip, fixed or folding stock, and capable of select fire modes (semi auto or full auto fire) designed for use in close to medium range infantry combat. (I paraphrase much here)....We all know that attacking so-called "assault rifles" is just a political ploy to prove to their liberal constituants that the gun "problem" is being dealt with, because if you talk to any LEO, you'll quickly discover that most gun crime is not committed with ARs, AKs, G3s, L1A1 type rifles, but rather cheap and dirty little street handguns, or better quality stolen handguns..."assault rifles" actually do not pose much of a crime problem, but they LOOK evil, so ATF probably figures it's an easy win to prosecute...meanwhile, there are no fewer cheap, dirty, or stolen handguns floating around....

offeror

madminute -- Don't worry, be happy. A lot of us would like to have the conditions you describe in our jurisdictions.

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"The 2nd Amendment is about defense, not hunting. Long live the gun shows, and reasonable access to FFLs. Join the NRA -- I'm a Life Member."

offeror

I might point out that a lot of stuff that's still being sold is of pre-ban manufacture. Anybody who can find a cache of guns overseas can import them at least until the government stops the import. The ARs have all been re-designed for compliance, unless they're pre-ban. The Century Arms clones have enough American-made parts to qualify, and so on. It only proves the craziness of some of the laws that all these G3s and Romanian AKs are perfectly legal. Also keep in mind that a lot of the "thumbhole" stock type stuff went the way of the dinosaurs when the man with the biggest thumbhole of all left the Presidency.

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"The 2nd Amendment is about defense, not hunting. Long live the gun shows, and reasonable access to FFLs. Join the NRA -- I'm a Life Member."

smokepole

madminute, if you're interested in a historical definition or in chewing the fat over current political definitions, then this board is the right place to ask just a question.On the other hand, if you're looking to buy or trade for something or whatever and if you're wondering if it's legal, call the BATF and ask. In fact, ask them to mail you the information. Things can get very dicey with these kinds of guns in certain states, and asking the BATF means you will--probably--get the best information and that you have a measure of legal protection. Good luck.

boeboe

This is the U.S. Code on Firearms. Below are the laws governing Firearms purchases, sells, ownership, shipping etc... The anti-gunners claim that guns are unregulated. It is a little hard to follow, but if you take your time you can figure it out and you will realize that guns are regulated, the laws are just not enforced. -CITE- 18 USC CHAPTER 44 - FIREARMS 01/05/99 -EXPCITE- TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE PART I - CRIMES CHAPTER 44 - FIREARMS . -HEAD- CHAPTER 44 - FIREARMS -MISC1- Sec. 921. Definitions. 922. Unlawful acts. 923. Licensing. 924. Penalties. 925. Exceptions: Relief from disabilities. 925A. Remedy for erroneous denial of firearm. 926. Rules and regulations. 926A. Interstate transportation of firearms. 927. Effect on State law. 928. Separability. 929. Use of restricted ammunition. 930. Possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in Federal facilities. AMENDMENTS 1993 - Pub. L. 103-159, title I, Sec. 104(b), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1543, added item 925A. 1990 - Pub. L. 101-647, title XXXV, Sec. 3523, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4924, struck out ''clause'' after ''Separability'' in item 928. 1988 - Pub. L. 100-690, title VI, Sec. 6215(b), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4362, added item 930. 1986 - Pub. L. 99-308, Sec. 107(b), May 19, 1986, 100 Stat. 460, added item 926A. 1984 - Pub. L. 98-473, title II, Sec. 1006(b), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2139, added item 929. 1968 - Pub. L. 90-618, title I, Sec. 102, Oct. 22, 1968, 82 Stat. 1214, reenacted chapter analysis without change. Pub. L. 90-351, title IV, Sec. 902, June 19, 1968, 82 Stat. 226, added chapter 44 and items 921 to 928. -SECREF- CHAPTER REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This chapter is referred to in section 922 of this title; title 26 section 4182; title 42 section 3795. -CITE- 18 USC Sec. 921 01/05/99 -EXPCITE- TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE PART I - CRIMES CHAPTER 44 - FIREARMS -HEAD- Sec. 921. Definitions -STATUTE- (a) As used in this chapter - (1) The term ''person'' and the term ''whoever'' include any individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, or joint stock company. (2) The term ''interstate or foreign commerce'' includes commerce between any place in a State and any place outside of that State, or within any possession of the United States (not including the Canal Zone) or the District of Columbia, but such term does not include commerce between places within the same State but through any place outside of that State. The term ''State'' includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the possessions of the United States (not including the Canal Zone). (3) The term ''firearm'' means (A) any weapon (including a starter gun) which will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; (B) the frame or receiver of any such weapon; (C) any firearm muffler or firearm silencer; or (D) any destructive device. Such term does not include an antique firearm. (4) The term ''destructive device'' means - (A) any explosive, incendiary, or poison gas - (i) bomb, (ii) grenade, (iii) rocket having a propellant charge of more than four ounces, (iv) missile having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than one-quarter ounce, (v) mine, or (vi) device similar to any of the devices described in the preceding clauses; (B) any type of weapon (other than a shotgun or a shotgun shell which the Secretary finds is generally recognized as particularly suitable for sporting purposes) by whatever name known which will, or which may be readily converted to, expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or other propellant, and which has any barrel with a bore of more than one-half inch in diameter; and (C) any combination of parts either designed or intended for use in converting any device into any destructive device described in subparagraph (A) or (B) and from which a destructive device may be readily assembled. The term ''destructive device'' shall not include any device which is neither designed nor redesigned for use as a weapon; any device, although originally designed for use as a weapon, which is redesigned for use as a signaling, pyrotechnic, line throwing, safety, or similar device; surplus ordnance sold, loaned, or given by the Secretary of the Army pursuant to the provisions of section 4684(2), 4685, or 4686 of title 10; or any other device which the Secretary of the Treasury finds is not likely to be used as a weapon, is an antique, or is a rifle which the owner intends to use solely for sporting, recreational or cultural purposes. (5) The term ''shotgun'' means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of an explosive to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger. (6) The term ''short-barreled shotgun'' means a shotgun having one or more barrels less than eighteen inches in length and any weapon made from a shotgun (whether by alteration, modification or otherwise) if such a weapon as modified has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches. (7) The term ''rifle'' means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of an explosive to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger. (8) The term ''short-barreled rifle'' means a rifle having one or more barrels less than sixteen inches in length and any weapon made from a rifle (whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise) if such weapon, as modified, has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches. (9) The term ''importer'' means any person engaged in the business of importing or bringing firearms or ammunition into the United States for purposes of sale or distribution; and the term ''licensed importer'' means any such person licensed under the provisions of this chapter. (10) The term ''manufacturer'' means any person engaged in the business of manufacturing firearms or ammunition for purposes of sale or distribution; and the term ''licensed manufacturer'' means any such person licensed under the provisions of this chapter. (11) The term ''dealer'' means (A) any person engaged in the business of selling firearms at wholesale or retail, (B) any person engaged in the business of repairing firearms or of making or fitting special barrels, stocks, or trigger mechanisms to firearms, or (C) any person who is a pawnbroker. The term ''licensed dealer'' means any dealer who is licensed under the provisions of this chapter. (12) The term ''pawnbroker'' means any person whose business or occupation includes the taking or receiving, by way of pledge or pawn, of any firearm as security for the payment or repayment of money. (13) The term ''collector'' means any person who acquires, holds, or disposes of firearms as curios or relics, as the Secretary shall by regulation define, and the term ''licensed collector'' means any such person licensed under the provisions of this chapter. (14) The term ''indictment'' includes an indictment or information in any court under which a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year may be prosecuted. (15) The term ''fugitive from justice'' means any person who has fled from any State to avoid prosecution for a crime or to avoid giving testimony in any criminal proceeding. (16) The term ''antique firearm'' means - (A) any firearm (including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system) manufactured in or before 1898; or (B) any replica of any firearm described in subparagraph (A) if such replica - (i) is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition, or (ii) uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition which is no longer manufactured in the United States and which is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade; or (C) any muzzle loading rifle, muzzle loading shotgun, or muzzle loading pistol, which is designed to use black powder, or a black powder substitute, and which cannot use fixed ammunition. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term ''antique firearm'' shall not include any weapon which incorporates a firearm frame or receiver, any firearm which is converted into a muzzle loading weapon, or any muzzle loading weapon which can be readily converted to fire fixed ammunition by replacing the barrel, bolt, breechblock, or any combination thereof. (17)(A) The term ''ammunition'' means ammunition or cartridge cases, primers, bullets, or propellent powder designed for use in any firearm. (B) The term ''armor piercing ammunition'' means - (i) a projectile or projectile core which may be used in a handgun and which is constructed entirely (excluding the presence of traces of other substances) from one or a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, or depleted uranium; or (ii) a full jacketed projectile larger than .22 caliber designed and intended for use in a handgun and whose jacket has a weight of more than 25 percent of the total weight of the projectile. (C) The term ''armor piercing ammunition'' does not include shotgun shot required by Federal or State environmental or game regulations for hunting purposes, a frangible projectile designed for target shooting, a projectile which the Secretary finds is primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes, or any other projectile or projectile core which the Secretary finds is intended to be used for industrial purposes, including a charge used in an oil and gas well perforating device. (18) The term ''Secretary'' or ''Secretary of the Treasury'' means the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate. (19) The term ''published ordinance'' means a published law of any political subdivision of a State which the Secretary determines to be relevant to the enforcement of this chapter and which is contained on a list compiled by the Secretary, which list shall be published in the Federal Register, revised annually, and furnished to each licensee under this chapter. (20) The term ''crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year'' does not include - (A) any Federal or State offenses pertaining to antitrust violations, unfair trade practices, restraints of trade, or other similar offenses relating to the regulation of business practices, or (B) any State offense classified by the laws of the State as a misdemeanor and punishable by a term of imprisonment of two years or less. What constitutes a conviction of such a crime shall be determined in accordance with the law of the jurisdiction in which the proceedings were held. Any conviction which has been expunged, or set aside or for which a person has been pardoned or has had civil rights restored shall not be considered a conviction for purposes of this chapter, unless such pardon, expungement, or restoration of civil rights expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms. (21) The term ''engaged in the business'' means - (A) as applied to a manufacturer of firearms, a person who devotes time, attention, and labor to manufacturing firearms as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit through the sale or distribution of the firearms manufactured; (B) as applied to a manufacturer of ammunition, a person who devotes time, attention, and labor to manufacturing ammunition as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit through the sale or distribution of the ammunition manufactured; (C) as applied to a dealer in firearms, as defined in section 921(a)(11)(A), a person who devotes time, attention, and labor to dealing in firearms as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms, but such term shall not include a person who makes occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby, or who sells all or part of his personal collection of firearms; (D) as applied to a dealer in firearms, as defined in section 921(a)(11)(B), a person who devotes time, attention, and labor to engaging in such activity as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit, but such term shall not include a person who makes occasional repairs of firearms, or who occasionally fits special barrels, stocks, or trigger mechanisms to firearms; (E) as applied to an importer of firearms, a person who devotes time, attention, and labor to importing firearms as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit through the sale or distribution of the firearms imported; and (F) as applied to an importer of ammunition, a person who devotes time, attention, and labor to importing ammunition as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit through the sale or distribution of the ammunition imported. (22) The term ''with the principal objective of livelihood and profit'' means that the intent underlying the sale or disposition of firearms is predominantly one of obtaining livelihood and pecuniary gain, as opposed to other intents, such as improving or liquidating a personal firearms collection: Provided, That proof of profit shall not be required as to a person who engages in the regular and repetitive purchase and disposition of firearms for criminal purposes or terrorism. For purposes of this paragraph, the term ''terrorism'' means activity, directed against United States persons, which - (A) is committed by an individual who is not a national or permanent resident alien of the United States; (B) involves violent acts or acts dangerous to human life which would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States; and (C) is intended - (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by assassination or kidnapping. (23) The term ''machinegun'' has the meaning given such term in section 5845(b) of the National Firearms Act (26 U.S.C. 5845(b)). (24) The terms ''firearm silencer'' and ''firearm muffler'' mean any device for silencing, muffling, or diminishing the report of a portable firearm, including any combination of parts, designed or redesigned, and intended for use in assembling or fabricating a firearm silencer or firearm muffler, and any part intended only for use in such assembly or fabrication. (25) The term ''school zone'' means - (A) in, or on the grounds of, a public, parochial or private school; or (B) within a distance of 1,000 feet from the grounds of a public, parochial or private school. (26) The term ''school'' means a school which provides elementary or secondary education, as determined under State law. (27) The term ''motor vehicle'' has the meaning given such term in section 13102 of title 49, United States Code. (28) The term ''semiautomatic rifle'' means any repeating rifle which utilizes a portion of the energy of a firing cartridge to extract the fired cartridge case and chamber the next round, and which requires a separate pull of the trigger to fire each cartridge. (29) The term ''handgun'' means - (A) a firearm which has a short stock and is designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand; and (B) any combination of parts from which a firearm described in subparagraph (A) can be assembled. (30) The term ''semiautomatic assault weapon'' means - (A) any of the firearms, or copies or duplicates of the firearms in any caliber, known as - (i) Norinco, Mitchell, and Poly Technologies Avtomat Kalashnikovs (all models); (ii) Action Arms Israeli Military Industries UZI and Galil; (iii) Beretta Ar70 (SC-70); (iv) Colt AR-15; (v) Fabrique National FN/FAL, FN/LAR, and FNC; (vi) SWD M-10, M-11, M-11/9, and M-12; (vii) Steyr AUG; (viii) INTRATEC TEC-9, TEC-DC9 and TEC-22; and (ix) revolving cylinder shotguns, such as (or similar to) the Street Sweeper and Striker 12; (B) a semiautomatic rifle that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least 2 of - (i) a folding or telescoping stock; (ii) a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon; (iii) a bayonet mount; (iv) a flash suppressor or threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor; and (v) a grenade launcher; (C) a semiautomatic pistol that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least 2 of - (i) an ammunition magazine that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip; (ii) a threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer; (iii) a shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the nontrigger hand without being burned; (iv) a manufactured weight of 50 ounces or more when the pistol is unloaded; and (v) a semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm; and (D) a semiautomatic shotgun that has at least 2 of - (i) a folding or telescoping stock; (ii) a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon; (iii) a fixed magazine capacity in excess of 5 rounds; and (iv) an ability to accept a detachable magazine. (31) The term ''large capacity ammunition feeding device'' - (A) means a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device manufactured after the date of enactment of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition; but (B) does not include an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition. (32) The term ''intimate partner'' means, with respect to a person, the spouse of the person, a former spouse of the person, an individual who is a parent of a child of the person, and an individual who cohabitates or has cohabited with the person. (33)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the term ''misdemeanor crime of domestic violence'' means an offense that - (i) is a misdemeanor under Federal or State law; and (ii) has, as an element, the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, committed by a current or former spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabiting with or has cohabited with the victim as a spouse, parent, or guardian, or by a person similarly situated to a spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim. (B)(i) A person shall not be considered to have been convicted of such an offense for purposes of this chapter, unless - (I) the person was represented by counsel in the case, or knowingly and intelligently waived the right to counsel in the case; and (II) in the case of a prosecution for an offense described in this paragraph for which a person was entitled to a jury trial in the jurisdiction in which the case was tried, either (aa) the case was tried by a jury, or (bb) the person knowingly and intelligently waived the right to have the case tried by a jury, by guilty plea or otherwise. (ii) A person shall not be considered to have been convicted of such an offense for purposes of this chapter if the conviction has been expunged or set aside, or is an offense for which the person has been pardoned or has had civil rights restored (if the law of the applicable jurisdiction provides for the loss of civil rights under such an offense) unless the pardon, expungement, or restoration of civil rights expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms. (34) The term ''secure gun storage or safety device'' means - (A) a device that, when installed on a firearm, is designed to prevent the firearm from being operated without first deactivating the device; (B) a device incorporated into the design of the firearm that is designed to prevent the operation of the firearm by anyone not having access to the device; or (C) a safe, gun safe, gun case, lock box, or other device that is designed to be or can be used to store a firearm and that is designed to be unlocked only by means of a key, a combination, or other similar means. (b) For the purposes of this chapter, a member of the Armed Forces on active duty is a resident of the State in which his permanent duty station is located.

madminute

well boe boe...thanks....at least now I have the definitions...enlightening and confusing as they may be. Because under the specified weapons in part A under semi automatic assault weapons, it would seem that under the terms "duplicates or copies of", that Romanian, Bulgarian, and Russian AKs could be considered duplicates or copies of Norinco or polytech AKs (backwards as that is), and definitely L1A1s copies of FN / FALs...so too the other AR-15s by Bushmaster and such...but those guns are all over the place in shops here. Unless there are enough mechanical differences to render them technically NOT copies which I am unaware of. But then under part B, rifles using a detached magazine which must have at least 2 "bad" features, all these weapons are legal, as they have pistol grips, but no folding stocks, threaded barrels, bayonet lug, or (giggle) grenade launchers.....Aw hell. I'm gonna quit worrying about it. I've had enough contact with ATF in Florida to know that if there were ANY shops selling illegal weapons, they wouldn't last a week, so I guess my Romanian SARs and L1A1 are fine....now that dozen or so 30 rd mags I have...hmmm...

varmit hunter

I find a irony in the fact the word was coined by Hitler.

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A unarmed man is a subject.A armed man is a citizen.

madminute

Interrestingly enough, back in the day, I had a couple of Norinco AKs that came with the infamously hideous thumbhole stock, and even gun-nut me, upon disassembling my first one, marveled at how this weapon could be sold to the public. Those early MAK-90s could be quickly converted to the folding stock / pistol grip, had threaded muzzles, and a complete retard could install the full auto sear and selector, which could be found through the right sources or easily made...though I don't agree with the measures taken, I must admit that Norinco was dumb and really stood on the hill waving the "shoot me" flag by shipping thousands of them over..worse was how dirt cheap they were to buy ($350)...I should have kept those I guess, eh? Who knew?

Bullzeye

The term "assault rifle" wasnt supposed to mean a damn thing.It was another Hitlerism, like Volkswagen ("people's car").He was just trying to generate hype for the Sturm-Gewehr. It wasnt a terribly new design, either. Kalashnikov and Simonov ahd been working on the AK-47 in Russia for several years before the Nazis developed the Sturm-Gewehr. It just happened to come out before the AK-47 did.Not like it did them any good. Like the first military jet-plane they developed but never instituted. D'oh!It took the BATF to ascribe the term "assault rifle" to any one of several rifles that were being imported into the US.Why did they use the term "assault rifle" instead of the traditional "automatic rifle" that had been being used for years?Simple. They wanted to scare people and further their agenda in doing so. Besides, they couldnt call them automatic rifles, because they werent automatic!They wanted the term to invoke images of mass slaughter and bullets flying everywhere and hundreds of dead bodies stacked up like cordwood at the hands of one guy with a semi-auto SAR-1.

boeboe

The copies, or rather, most of the guns that are built in the US using parts kits with enough US parts to make them legal, are not considered assault rifles because they don't have the two of the five qualifiers. The rifles on the list all had things like flash hiders, bayonet lugs, folding stocks, and the other evil features. The FAL, HK91, AK47 and similar they sell now are okay because theu habe been modified to eliminate the required number of evil features.I thought I'd post it in such length in case anyone wanted to save it for reference. There are several questions that come up on the subject, and a lot of people don't seem to have the text to refer to.Sorry if it was rather long.[This message has been edited by boeboe (edited 02-21-2002).]

Patrick Odle

So my definition was emotional in description. Well you can bet your butt that I get quite emotional when the anti's bring out new words with little or no meaning to continue to attempt to herd the mentally dis-abled, and ignorant,in an effort to increasetheir following. Words such as;1. Saturday Night Specials2. Cop Killer Bullets3. Assault RiflesThe many and varied definitions one could use in this case would be equally as meaningless as would be their variations. I strongly suggest anyone in ignorance of the meaning of the word assault consult your dictionary.

offeror

I was interested to note that a slug shooting shotgun with a smooth bore is a shotgun, but a rifled bore makes it a rifle. Important since the text says "shotguns and shotgun shells" are generally accepted as being for sporting purposes. This would mean it would be technically possible to carve out rifled bore shotguns, or rifled shotgun barrels, for different treatment by the law. Oddly, this also seems to make sabots rifle rounds -- except when shot through smooth bores.

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"The 2nd Amendment is about defense, not hunting. Long live the gun shows, and reasonable access to FFLs. Join the NRA -- I'm a Life Member."