I know. The dreaded "assault rifle" is back. But lets start using evidence to support or refute the true definition of what an assault rifle really is rather than just making up our own or adopting one that fits our personal agendas. I've done a great deal of research to find the earliest evidence of when and how the term "assault rifle" was used. I also followed the evidence to see how this term has progressed over time.
The term first began as a way to describe a specific type of infantry unit. These units were used to perform assault type attacks on the enemy which often required close quarters combat. Later, as new weapons were designed with these infantry assault units in mind, the term “assault rifle” was assigned to these specially made weapons. Some of the most notable features that were requested for these weapons by military forces (to include the United States Army) were:
Over the past 50 years the term has slowly become one of contention as the liberal side of this debate uses it to paint these weapons in a negative light. As this type of use of the word grew people reacted quickly to disprove the media on the grounds that an AR-15 is not an assault rifle rather than proving to the media they had the definition of an assault rifle wrong in the first place. It isn't too late! We can begin to work together to fix this now. If we truly want to change the hearts and minds of the public to understand these weapons are a good thing and that it's the people who are bad, we must first start to come to a consensus on the terminology that is also backed by strong irrefutable evidence. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Supporting Evidence (1) The term was used in WWII as a name for specific military units (i.e. Assault Rifle Platoon, Assault Rifle Company, etc.) https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17908194/assault_rifle_platoon/ https://ntrl.ntis.gov/NTRL/dashboard/searchResults/titleDetail/ADA438628.xhtml (2) Evidence that by 1950 the term was used to describe a type of weapon: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17908287/assault_rifle/ (3) Description of what a rifle infantryman needs in the perfect rifle. https://ntrl.ntis.gov/NTRL/dashboard/searchResults/titleDetail/ADA046961.xhtml
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We are looking for volunteers. If you are interested in joining our campaign teem just send us an e-mail. Use the Contact page to tell us a little about yourself and how you would like to help.
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These are just some of things we need help with. If you have skills that you believe might be helpful to the campaign please let us know. Any help you can provide gets us closer to ending talks of irrational and illogical solutions to mass shootings. Lets work together to being an end to the call to ban assault rifles. Today is the day we officially roll out this campaign. It is absolutely in its infancy stages right now and there is only one person right now who has the power to change this: YOU! Share, like, comment, and talk to your friends and family about this campaign. The more involvement, interest, and support we gain the closer we get to our ultimate goal: ending the talk of banning assault weapons.
We also have future plans of improving our website, mass produced letters to your congress representatives, and country wide walk-outs. Let us hear you say "Enough is enough" with these illogical proposals. Time to stand up for truth, facts, and come together as a nation to stop these senseless acts through reasonable measures. If you haven't heard yet, a second town in Illinois has effectively banned assault weapons and did so with a very incorrect definition of what an assault weapon is. In our opinion, not only is this law illegal under the 2nd Amendment but is also directly in contrast with the previous opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2015, the City of Highland Park, IL was sued over their new assault weapons ban by many of their residents. The Supreme court denied to hear the case. In the dissenting opinion written by Justice Thomas and joined by Justice Scalia it states:
To this day the Supreme Court has heard two cases involving the 2nd Amendment. In the 2008 case of District of Columbia v. Heller the court ruled that the 2nd Amendment protects an individuals right to self defense AS WELL AS the citizens right to form a "well regulated militia". The court broke down the 2nd Amendment into two parts: (1) The prefatory clause and (2) the operative clause. They state the prefatory clause covers the citizens right to "keep and bear arms" while the operative clause covers the right of the citizens to form a "well regulated militia". But what is even more important is the 1939 case of United States v Miller. In the opinion of the court the following was written:
So, not only does the 2nd Amendment protect your right to defend yourself it also protects your right to preserve a "well regulated militia". If the above quote isn't enough the court does it justice by clearing up any ambiguity by stating the following:
In this case they allowed shotguns with shorter barrels to be banned because they were not part of the standard issued weapons for the military and that their use could not reasonably contribute to the common defense.
What dose this mean for the AR-15? The AR-15 rifle IS the standard issued military weapon and has been since the 1960's. Not only is it the standard issued weapon but it was specifically designed for the U.S. military at the request of the United States Army. This make the AR-15 designed for the "common defense". The ruling in United States v. Miller directly protects the AR-15 and any of it's variants. Now, there could be a case (a weak case at that) against assault shotguns and possibly even other assault rifles, however, any rifle that is of the AR-15 (and a strong case for the AK-47) type would be protected under the 2nd Amendment. Prior to social media our exposure to platitudes most commonly occured on highways (billboards), magazines, and TV. The amount of exposure to these senarios differed depending on our various daily activities.
Today, we have smart phones with endless social media apps. Now, we are exposed to these platitudes endlessly. Sometimes you might open an app and all you see are memes scrolling across the page. Don't get me wrong. Memes are a great way to share a short inspirational message, share a quick thought, or even get a few laughs. BUT memes should NOT be used to convert an extremely complicated issues into an extremely over simplified answer. No matter if the end result is right or wrong it is never in anyones intereste to just disregard ALL the facts, ALL the perspectives, and ALL the potential answers just because you make a snappy sounding and aesthetically pleasing meme. STOP using memes in this way and use them for what they are best for: positive, motivational, and funny messages to brighten up your day. I pledge to do my best to keep to this rule from now on...WILL YOU? |
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