#AssaultWeapon

The mainstream media has often been at odds with the firearms community, especially in recent years. Conversations and articles can often be found riddled with highly politicized terms like “assault rifle” and “assault weapon” which often makes anti-gun proponents feel vindicated, but often leaves pro-second amendment people feeling irked by the blanket terminology that often is used to cast a negative light on all firearms, regardless of function. The Associated Press recently released a new AP Style Top to their stylebook which now aims to drop “highly politicized terms” such as the two mentioned above in an effort to help restore the level of trust the public has for the media.

A shocking announcement blared its way across the nation of Canada on May 1st as the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau ordered the banning of over 1,500 different models of firearms. However, despite claims to the contrary, the bans of so-called “military-style” firearms actually encompass far more than the Prime Minister lets on.

This started off with a Facebook post shared by my friends. A woman claims a .223 fired was from an “assault rifle” and the bullet penetrated her house. It went through some walls and the crib for her baby stopped the bullet. Well my friends and I were discussing the validity of this and bullet path was brought up. Do bullets fly flat or do they change pitch like a football?

Blogging about laws are generally not much fun but sometimes the impact on our little corner of the universe is noteworthy and unavoidable. Back on July 20th Pete blogged about the Attorney General of Massachusetts’ clarification as to what they consider “copy” or “duplicate weapons to those that are already prohibited by current state law. Governor Charlie Baker and his Public Safety Secretary, Daniel Bennett, sent letters to the AG with a simple request to clarify her position.

I am going to have to tread very lightly here to steer clear of a full-blown article on politics. But, news is news. The Attorney General of Massachusetts is announcing that neutered “assault weapons” currently sold in the commonwealth without features like flash hiders, bayonet lugs, collapsible stocks and magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds will no longer be available for sale.

One of the early automatic rifles that has caught my interest for several years going now is the Winchester Machine Rifle, also known as the Burton Machine Rifle or the Light Machine Rifle. The Burton – as I’ll call it for the purposes of today’s post – is interesting primarily because it qualifies retroactively as an “assault rifle”, sharing all the normally ennumered characteristics of that class of firearms, 26 years before the MP. 43 would erupt onto the world’s stage.