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I giggle every time I read or hear, "AR Assault Rifle".
The “AR” in “AR-15” doesn’t stand for “Assault Rifle” though. It stands for “Armalite-15”. Armalite being the company that originally developed the modular firing mechanism that we all know today. Technically speaking, the only part that is legally classified as a gun is the actual firing mechanism that Armalite developed; Everything else (like the barrel, stock, and handle) is just add-ons and accessories.
So yeah, calling it an AR-15 assault rifle would be correct. Though there’s also the debate on what actually constitutes an “assault rifle”, as people seem to just use a “you’ll know it when you see it” rule for identifying assault rifles.
A... rifle. It's just a rifle. Assault is a term used for sensationalism purposes. Gun control advocacy group decided to use the term, "assault weapons". This term was first introduced into U.S. language (regarding firearms) in the mid 80s.
For reference, I agree. I was just pointing out that being pedantic about “lol AR-15 Assault rifle is like saying ATM machine” is technically incorrect.
If the AR is for the AR-15, then you're mistaken on the meaning. That doesn't stand for assault rifle. It's for Armalite, the original developer of the gun.
Armalite Rifle Assault Rifle is a bit clumsy. But people get so intensely hung up on the jargon because they're angry the conversation is even happening.
Guy with a locker full of guns shits the bed when his son goes on a murder spree, and then we all get an earful about how we don't know enough about guns to understand why he was a reckless owner.
AR is just for Armalite, not Armalite rifle. Anyway, ywa it doesn't matter.
It's an entirely innocuous statement. What are they supposed to say instead?
- "15 Assault Rifle" or "Assault Rifle 15" just makes no sense.
- "AR-15" isn't understood by all people to mean an assault rifle, since not everyone knows gun names.
- "Assault Rifle" doesn't tell people which kind of assault rifle it is, since the AR in AR-15 stands for ArmaLite.
It's a statement that gives the most possible context to the reader about:
- What design of assault rifle it is
- What type of gun it is in general
- While also allowing readers to then learn the definition of the sole term "AR-15" over time
I'd just keep it simple.. it's a rifle. What kind of rifle? A semi-automatic rifle.