Application of the term "assault weapon" to civilian semi-automatic rifles has been credited to gun-control activist Josh Sugarmann, author of the 1988 book "Assault Weapons and Accessories in America" who wrote:

"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."

This use of the term is highly controversial, especially among gun rights activists, who consider it a misnomer invented specifically to demonize guns that function in no fundamental way differently than many other commonly owned civilian firearms. Often they are distinguished mainly by the presence of black plastic parts in the place of wood for stocks and grips, and the weapons are therefor sometimes called "black guns" or "black rifles".

Robert Crook, executive director of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, said "the term 'assault weapon,' as used by the media, is a media invention."

Joseph P. Tartaro of the Second Amendment Foundation wrote in 1994 that he believed that the term "assault weapon" was intended by anti-gun strategists to foster confusion with the public, which he felt "does not know the difference between a fully automatic and a semi-automatic firearm."

Tartaro's premise has been supported hundreds of times since 1994 by folks deeply involved with preservation of our second amendment.

Suppose, just for discussion, that the second amendment was read in full, with all of it's context actually understood. Wouldn't that be nice? :thumbup:

Hey Kombiguy..Welcome to the forum.
If you are addressing a certain individual please click on quote reply under their statement. This will let us know who you're speaking to.
However, if you're just throwing that question out for anybody (which is good in an open forum), I will be the first to say that I would strongly oppose it.