Merriam-Webster - "assault rifle" definition change

There is seemingly no end to the extent to which anti-gun people and groups will lie about guns and gun owners. Post links to articles by these masters of prevarication here.

Moderator: carlson1

Post Reply
User avatar

bblhd672
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 4811
Joined: Mon Jun 06, 2016 10:43 am
Location: TX

Re: Merriam-Webster - "assault rifle" definition change

#1

Post by bblhd672 »

Millions of people across the country lift their gaze from their devices and ask, "What's a dictionary?"

Commented:
Assault rifle is NOT a semiautomatic weapon that looks like a fully automatic weapon.

I understand that you are all progressive socialists with an agenda to fulfill, so commenting gets me nothing but sneers in return.
The left lies about everything. Truth is a liberal value, and truth is a conservative value, but it has never been a left-wing value. People on the left say whatever advances their immediate agenda. Power is their moral lodestar; therefore, truth is always subservient to it. - Dennis Prager

Soccerdad1995
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 4337
Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2016 8:03 pm

Re: Merriam-Webster - "assault rifle" definition change

#2

Post by Soccerdad1995 »

bblhd672 wrote:Millions of people across the country lift their gaze from their devices and ask, "What's a dictionary?"

Commented:
Assault rifle is NOT a semiautomatic weapon that looks like a fully automatic weapon.

I understand that you are all progressive socialists with an agenda to fulfill, so commenting gets me nothing but sneers in return.
So you mean if I draw a picture of a cow, it's not a cow? I mean, what if it is a really good picture and it looks just like a cow? Surely then it becomes a cow and is no longer just a picture.

Words have meaning. And the left feels free to redefine their meaning whenever they choose to do so. Net result = words no longer have meaning. "Racist" used to mean someone who harbored evil thoughts toward other races. Now it means someone who disagrees with the left on border security, or affirmative action. There are plenty of other examples.
User avatar

mojo84
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 9043
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2011 4:07 pm
Location: Boerne, TX (Kendall County)

Re: Merriam-Webster - "assault rifle" definition change

#3

Post by mojo84 »

1984
Note: Me sharing a link and information published by others does not constitute my endorsement, agreement, disagreement, my opinion or publishing by me. If you do not like what is contained at a link I share, take it up with the author or publisher of the content.
User avatar

KLB
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 821
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2016 10:57 am
Location: San Antonio

Re: Merriam-Webster - "assault rifle" definition change

#4

Post by KLB »

bblhd672 wrote:
Assault rifle is NOT a semiautomatic weapon that looks like a fully automatic weapon.
Well, or it may be, in which case we're back to the point that the term has no useful meaning. We'll be regulating weapons based on their appearance instead of the danger they present. But this will be selective. None of these people would agree that, because a pineapple grenade vaguely resembles a pineapple, it should be regulated the same way.
User avatar

troglodyte
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 1314
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2004 4:16 pm
Location: Hockley County
Contact:

Re: Merriam-Webster - "assault rifle" definition change

#5

Post by troglodyte »

So by the new definition this is almost an “assault rifle”.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mFIky57N0_Y
Talon Firearms Training
Instructor - License To Carry, School Safety, First Responder: Texas DPS, Certified Instructor: Rangemasters/Tom Givens
NRA Instructor - Basic Pistol, Personal Protection in the Home, Personal Protection Outside the Home, Range Safety Officer
Stop The Bleed Instructor
User avatar

puma guy
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 7599
Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2009 2:23 pm
Location: Near San Jacinto

Re: Merriam-Webster - "assault rifle" definition change

#6

Post by puma guy »

I haven't checked Webster on this one. I didn't know whether to look up "bust a gut" or "assault hammer". "rlol"

https://www.facebook.com/lil.j0ker.laff ... 516746324/
KAHR PM40/Hoffner IWB and S&W Mod 60/ Galco IWB
NRA Endowment Member, TSRA Life Member,100 Club Life Member,TFC Member
My Faith, My Gun and My Constitution: I cling to all three!
User avatar

Grundy1133
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 1110
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2018 2:18 pm
Location: Gainesville

Re: Merriam-Webster - "assault rifle" definition change

#7

Post by Grundy1133 »

so just becasue something LOOKS like something else according to webster its the same? what if we took a dog thug and stuck it between 2 pieces of bread and called it a sandwich. Think they'd eat it? NO. because it's NOT food. its a dog thug! this is asinine... :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: a bunch of leftist idiots who run the world... idc what dictionaries say an AR-15 or ANY OTHER semi-automatic rifle is NOT a military fully automatic rifle... this is getting ridiculous.
NRA Member
User avatar

Liberty
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 6343
Joined: Mon Jul 03, 2006 8:49 pm
Location: Galveston
Contact:

Re: Merriam-Webster - "assault rifle" definition change

#8

Post by Liberty »

Grundy1133 wrote:so just becasue something LOOKS like something else according to webster its the same? what if we took a dog thug and stuck it between 2 pieces of bread and called it a sandwich. Think they'd eat it? NO. because it's NOT food. its a dog thug! this is asinine... :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: a bunch of leftist idiots who run the world... idc what dictionaries say an AR-15 or ANY OTHER semi-automatic rifle is NOT a military fully automatic rifle... this is getting ridiculous.
I don't believe any dictionary claimed it is.

The thing is, common usage is what ultimately defines words in the English language. If enough people call a magazine a clip often enough then a clip becomes a synonym for magazine. If we want to get technical, every M16/M4 fully automatic rifle is an AR15. Its a military styled scary looking semiautomatic weapon. There is nothing to apologize for.
Liberty''s Blog
"Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom." John F. Kennedy
User avatar

The Annoyed Man
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 26789
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:59 pm
Location: North Richland Hills, Texas
Contact:

Re: Merriam-Webster - "assault rifle" definition change

#9

Post by The Annoyed Man »

I sent them the following feedback message:
Your definition of “assault rifle” is inaccurate. There is a very specific military definition for what constitutes an “assault rifle”, and civilian market semiautomatic rifles do NOT meet that standard.

An assault rifle is generally defined as:
A) firing an intermediate power caliber (specifically NOT a high-powered caliber, which would make it more difficult to shoot)
B) having a select fire mechanism allowing the user to choose between “safe” and “automatic”, or “safe”, “semiautomatic”, and “automatic”; the common denominator is the ability to fire in fully automatic mode.

The official US Army definition of “assault rifle” is (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_rifle):
"short, compact, selective-fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between submachine gun and rifle cartridges."
The link further explains:
“In a strict definition, a firearm must have at least the following characteristics to be considered an assault rifle:

• It must be capable of selective fire.
• It must have an intermediate-power cartridge: more power than a pistol but less than a standard rifle or battle rifle, such as the 7.92×33mm Kurz, the 7.62x39mm and the 5.56x45mm NATO.
• Its ammunition must be supplied from a detachable box magazine.[5]
• It must have an effective range of at least 300 metres (330 yards).

“Rifles that meet most of these criteria, but not all, are technically not assault rifles, despite frequently being called such.

“For example:

• Select-fire M2 Carbines are not assault rifles; their effective range is only 200 yards.
• Select-fire rifles such as the FN FAL battle rifle are not assault rifles; they fire full-powered rifle cartridges.
• Semi-automatic-only rifles like the Colt AR-15 are not assault rifles; they do not have select-fire capabilities.
• Semi-automatic-only rifles with fixed magazines like the SKS are not assault rifles; they do not have detachable box magazines and are not capable of automatic fire.”
Civilian semiautomatic rifles are NOT assault weapons by any actual definition. In fact, the US Army did not adopt the M16 (actual) assault rifle until several years AFTER it had been for sale in civilian semiautomatic form. By converting it to a fully automatic weapon, the military did not automatically cause the civilian version to become assault rifles.

By changing the definition in your dictionary, you have inserted yourselves into the nation debate on firearms rights, but semiautomatic hunting and target rifles have been in use for well over 100 years. Your change of definition reclassifies millions of purely hunting rifles as “assault weapons”. It not only injects your organization into the debate, it calls into question the reliability of ANY word or phrase you define.

You can do better than that, and we, your readers/users deserve better than that. You have no place injecting yourselves into the national discourse.

I respectfully request that you either include the above information in your definition to clarify it, or that you revert the definition to it’s previous state.

The Annoyed Man
North Richland Hills, Texas
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”

― G. Michael Hopf, "Those Who Remain"

#TINVOWOOT
User avatar

lfinsr
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 304
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2009 6:59 pm
Location: DFW

Re: Merriam-Webster - "assault rifle" definition change

#10

Post by lfinsr »

They did the same thing with the meaning of fascist.
My guns won't be illegal, they'll be undocumented. :thumbs2:

flechero
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 3485
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2007 5:04 pm
Location: Central Texas

Re: Merriam-Webster - "assault rifle" definition change

#11

Post by flechero »

Not as eloquent as some but I sent this:
Your NEW definition of “assault rifle” is factually INCORRECT, both in it's description of technical attributes as well as it's appearance. I'm saddened by the change of a number of "definitions" that have been changed in recent history, to follow the political climate, not the actual change in an object. Gone are the days that we could trust a REFERENCE BOOK to be unbiased and accurate.

A perfect example of how ridiculous your assault rifle definition is , would be defining a Ford Fiesta as a Formula One race car because someone added "racing stripes" or mag wheels.... neither enhance it's performance or change it from being a tiny, slow economy car.

I never thought I would have to check multiple sources to get an accurate definition.
Post Reply

Return to “Anti-gun propaganda and other lies!”