Assault Weapons vs. Assault Rifles
An assault weapon is
considered to be a military style weapon capable of providing by a selector
switch either semiautomatic or a fully automatic firearm. The United States Department of Defense
defines assault rifles as fully automatic rifles used for military purposes. Assault weapon is an umbrella term while
assault rifle is a specific category of weaponry.
Fully automatic weapons spray fire with a single pull of the trigger while semi-automatic weapons shoot one shot per pull of the trigger.
To own a fully automatic weapon in the United States, a citizen must file an application with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Once the citizen is approved they must pay an extravagant amount of money to buy a fully automatic weapon.
The military defines the "assault rifle" to be "short, compact, selective-fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between [...] sub-machine gun and rifle cartridges."
There have been several examples of legislation that have attempted to regulate, control, and define the legality of such gun ownership. These have been under great legal scrutiny, as they are seen by some as federal overstepping of Constitutional authority.
Fully automatic weapons spray fire with a single pull of the trigger while semi-automatic weapons shoot one shot per pull of the trigger.
To own a fully automatic weapon in the United States, a citizen must file an application with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Once the citizen is approved they must pay an extravagant amount of money to buy a fully automatic weapon.
The military defines the "assault rifle" to be "short, compact, selective-fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between [...] sub-machine gun and rifle cartridges."
There have been several examples of legislation that have attempted to regulate, control, and define the legality of such gun ownership. These have been under great legal scrutiny, as they are seen by some as federal overstepping of Constitutional authority.