The Term "Assault Weapons"

[prepare]

Since "Assault Weapon(s)" is not a military term, how and why did it become so widely used and accepted?

It appears that legislators made up the term and that they can or have tried to lump nearly any weapon they want into their fictional category.

[Business_Casual]

Yes, it is.

[PatrioticDisorder]

I believe the term originated out of California in 1989 after the Cleveland elementary school shooting in Stockton.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clev...ing_(Stockton)

Like all things in politics, the left is able to slowly shift the “Overton window” with its use of language.

[prepare]

Yes, it is.

Any reference?

[prepare]

Yes, it is.

Any reference?

[seb5]

The STG44 was a military name, but if you're speaking of the modern use of the term in the media, no it's not. The left has perpetuated it enough that all know what they mean when they use the term, even f they don't know what it really is.

[platoonDaddy]

Any reference?

the third post gives you a reference, how about Marylands

Maryland Assault Weapons Ban

What Weapons are Prohibited in the State of Maryland
The Firearms Safety Act of 2013 is highly controversial legislation that bans certain rifles, pistols and shotguns, deeming them assault weapons. Restrictions are also placed on detachable magazines with a capacity larger than 10 rounds. Filtering through the legal jargon and various features can make it difficult to determine what exactly the law prohibits. That's why we've assembled a guide to help understand what weapons are banned in the state of Maryland.


https://tacticalgear.com/maryland-assault-weapons-ban

[Averageman]

If it comes up in a conversation by an anti, simply pull the plug by saying,
"By your definition, any gun capable of being used in an assault, is capable of being defined as an assault weapon."
Refuse to play that game and it pulls the memorized narrative out from under their argument.

[jsbhike]

Sugarmann may be the first(looking at ads, I don't think it was the firearms industry), at least a year before Stockton.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh...%2010%20rounds.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_weapon

"In 2013, The Washington Post wrote of the term: "Many attribute its popularization to a 1988 paper written by gun-control activist and Violence Policy Center founder Josh Sugarmann and the later reaction to the Cleveland School massacre in Stockton, California, in January 1989."[5] Sugarmann had written:

Assault weapons—just like armor-piercing bullets, machine guns, and plastic firearms—are a new topic. The weapons' menacing looks, coupled with the public's confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons—anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun—can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons. In addition, few people can envision a practical use for these weapons.[23]"

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

I don't like using the word 'weapon' at all when describing guns. I don't even like 'guns' I prefer 'firearms'. A bit more specific. A firearm is only a weapon when used against another person. That is conditional. I hope that none of my firearms ever have to be used as a weapon.