Volumes could be penned about how much the media doesn’t know about guns. One of the many, many things about which the media are willfully ignorant is the assault rifle. In an effort to demonize our guns, the media has to make those guns seem super-duper-deadly scary. That is why AR-15s are frequently called, “Assault Rifles,” even though that is incorrect. An assault rifle has select-fire (both full-auto, and semi-auto) capability. AR-15s do not have the select-fire capability. It’s really simple.
Another thing that the media makes sure not to know is the derivation of the term, “AR-15.” “AR,” does not stand for, “Assault Rifle.” “AR,” stands for, “Armalite Rifle.” However, “Armalite,” is not a scary word, therefore this information must be immediately forgotten, and never spoken.
In a well-meaning effort to combat these purposeful lies, many proponents of the right to bear arms have taken to calling the AR-15 a, “Modern Sporting Rifle,” or, “MSR.” This term is both less scary and is representative of the sporting activities for which we often use our AR-15s. Maybe this new terminology hasn’t convinced anyone of anything, but perhaps it has avoided feeding the ignorance of the anti-freedom crowd.
Is this change a smart move, or a big mistake? After all, the second amendment has nothing to do with, “Sporting.” Are we inadvertently moving the ball in the wrong direction by categorizing our God-given, Constitutionally-protected rights as, “Sporting?” Maybe.
When uncertainty strikes, a good solution is to just stick with the facts. The fact is that the AR-15 is not an assault rifle, so it shouldn’t be called one. And even though we often use our rifles for lawful enjoyment, when it comes to gun laws, there is no need to water down our shall-not-be-infringed right to bear arms.