When Is a People Killer Not Deadly?

The assault weapons debate is back. The 1994 federal assault weapons ban is so riddled with loopholes that pressure is building on Congress to go back and do the job right.

For the National Rifle Assn., defending the deadly toys of a tiny minority of thugs and wackos isn’t a public relations plus, however. The NRA and the gun lobby want so much for this fight to go away that their propaganda machinery has gone into overdrive. They propound three myths, arguing the ludicrous proposition that there is no such thing as a civilian assault weapon. But words they published during the 1980s refute the myths they push today.

Semiautomatic assault weapons are civilian versions of military weapons designed to “spray-fire” bullets over a wide killing zone. The increased firepower of assault weapons comes partly from their ability to accept high-capacity ammunition magazines of up to 100 rounds, and partly from design features that allow a “point-and-shoot” grip that helps control recoil. Civilian assault guns--including post-ban versions--keep these battlefield features that allow the shooter to “hose down” a killing zone.

The NRA and its ilk are trying to obscure these facts with the following myths:

* Gun experts say there is no such thing as a civilian assault weapon. Before the civilian versions came under criticism, these experts regularly described the exact same guns as “assault rifles,” “assault pistols” and “military assault” weapons. Gun magazines praised the spray-fire features. A 1989 Guns & Ammo magazine review of the Partisan Avenger .45 assault pistol noted that the “forward pistol grip extension of this powerful assault pistol not only helps point it instinctively at the target but goes a long way to controlling the effects of recoil.” Gun industry ads often stressed the military character of semiautomatic “assault weapons” and their lethal design features.

* Assault weapons merely look different. The NRA and the gun industry today portray assault weapons as misunderstood ugly ducklings, no different from other semiautomatic guns. But while the actions, or internal mechanisms, of all semiautomatic guns are similar, the actions of assault weapons are part of a broader design package. The “ugly” looks of the TEC-9, AR-15, AK-47 and similar guns reflect this package of features designed to kill people efficiently.

Early industry reviews of civilian assault weapons noted their limited sporting value. In 1987, the NRA’s American Rifleman magazine said that the Calico M-100 assault rifle “is certainly not a competition gun, hardly a hunting gun, and is difficult to visualize as a personal defense gun.”

Nonetheless, the gun industry actively promoted the “ugly” looks of assault weapons. A 1989 Guns & Ammo review praised the A.A. Arms AP9 assault pistol’s “wicked looks,” calling it “one mean-looking dude, considered cool and Ramboish by the teenage crowd.”

* A “true” assault weapon is a selective-fire military weapon. This red herring seizes on the fact that most military assault weapons have a “selective fire” feature that allows switching between fully automatic and semiautomatic fire. Civilian assault weapons do not have automatic fire capability.

So what? Pro-assault weapons expert Duncan Long debunked this “issue” in his 1986 book, “Assault Pistols, Rifles and Submachine Guns.” “According to the purists,” Duncan says, “an assault rifle has to be selective fire. Yet, if you think about it, it’s a little hard to accept the idea that firearms with extended magazines, pistol grip stock, etc., cease to be assault rifles by changing a bit of metal.”

Civilian semiautomatic assault weapons keep the spray-fire design features that make them ideal for mass killing. Besides, military and civilian experts agree that semiautomatic fire is more accurate than automatic fire, and thus more deadly. In any case, a person of moderate skill can fire a semiautomatic assault weapon at an extremely high rate of fire. Finally, many semiautomatic assault weapons can be, and often are, easily converted to automatic fire with modest tools and skill.

Nothing about assault weapons has changed since the 1980s except the NRA’s story. America should take on the NRA and the gun industry and finish the job on assault weapons.