I am surprised that this hasn't turned into mindless bickering. Quite impressive.
Originally Posted by
Duell
Being Dutch and haven't served in the army I must admit that I haven't touched one weapon or seen one being fired irl.
So call me a weapon newbie, but what is the difference between a weapon or a assault weapon.
It means different things to different people. Here, in America, it is officiall defined as:
Rifles
Specifically, a rifle is considered an "assault weapon" if it can accept a detachable magazine, and possesses two or more of the following features:
Folding or telescopic stock
Pistol grip protruding conspicuously beneath the stock
Bayonet mount
Flash suppressor or threaded barrel
Grenade launcher
Pistols
For a pistol to be considered a “SAW,” among other things, it must have the ability to accept a detachable magazine, plus two of the following features:
Magazine that attaches outside of the pistol grip
Threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer*
Shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the non-trigger hand without being burned
Manufactured weight of 50 ounces or more when the pistol is unloaded
Semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm
Or, at least that was how it was defined under the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994-2004.
It has nothing to do with lethality. I don't know the the statistics for other countries, nor do I care to look for them-they are of no concern to me, but, here, so-called assault weapons are very rarely used in crime. They were rarely used before the ban, and rarely used now.
They are also no more dangerous than other guns, they are, typically, just more intimidating, more reliable and more comfortable to use.