Federal government declares AR-15s are not “weapons of war” as gun rights opponents frequently claim
07/24/2018 / By JD Heyes
For years, anti-gun Democrats have attempted to mischaracterize semi-automatic rifles that resemble actual military rifles as “weapons of war,” but in a recent settlement with a 3-D firearms maker, the federal government has admitted that’s not an accurate depiction.
As Breitbart News reported, the federal government has reached a settlement with Defense Distributed, a non-profit, private defense company “principally engaged in the research, design, development, and manufacture of products and services for the benefit of the American rifleman.”
Earlier this month, Breitbart reported that Defense Distributed and the Second Amendment Foundation had settled with the Department of Justice which allowed for the uninhibited publication of 3-D gun files and other information as a First Amendment freedom of speech issue.
SAF filed suit on the firms’ behalf in May 2015 after the Obama administration issued a mandate prohibiting them from publishing the files online.
“The government has agreed to waive its prior restraint against the plaintiffs, allowing them to freely publish the 3-D files and other information at issue,” the SAF said in a statement sent to the news site.
“The government has also agreed to pay a significant portion of the plaintiffs’ attorney’s fees, and to return $10,000 in State Department registration dues paid by Defense Distributed as a result of the prior restraint.”
SAF founder and executive vice president Alan Gottlieb said of the settlement:
Not only is this a First Amendment victory for free speech, it also is a devastating blow to the gun prohibition lobby. For years, anti-gunners have contended that modern semi-automatic sport-utility rifles are so-called ‘weapons of war,’ and with this settlement, the government has acknowledged they are nothing of the sort.
According to the settlement, the government will amend existing regulations so that it no longer considers semi-automatic rifles below .50 caliber as “weapons of war.” (Related: The new Left: Unleashing economic warfare to SILENCE conservative voices and BAN guns.)
The settlement also contains the government’s new definition of “military equipment”:
The phrase “Military Equipment” means (1) Drums and other magazines for firearms to 50 caliber (12.7 mm) inclusive with a capacity greater than 50 rounds, regardless of the jurisdiction of the firearm, and specially designed parts and components therefor; (2) Parts and components specifically designed for conversion of a semi-automatic firearm to a fully automatic firearm; (3) Accessories or attachments specifically designed to automatically stabilize aim (other than gun rests) or for automatic targeting, and specifically designed parts and components therefor.
Wash, rinse, repeat
In June 2016, Obama press secretary Josh Earnest took a plank from the campaign of Hillary Clinton, saying semi-automatic firearms like the AR-15 and civilian-model AK-47 are a “weapon of war,” Infowars reported.
One Democrat – Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida – claimed that an AR-15 can fire “700 rounds per minute.”
Before coming off as stupendously ignorant, Grayson and the CNN host interviewing him – Erin Burnett (who agreed with Grayson’s firing rate) – should have consulted a firearms manual. Bushmaster says its XM15, which is a standard civilian-style AR-15, only fires about 45 rounds per minute. Meanwhile, a fully automatic military-grade M-16 fires between 650 and 750 rounds per minute.
In November, roughly two dozen Democratic senators including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York introduced legislation that would ban the sale of ‘military-style’ weapons as well as bump-stocks, saying that the bill “will begin removing the weapons of war on our streets.”
The Democratic mayor of Nashville, speaking after a shooting that left four people dead at a Waffle House restaurant in the city, called the AR-15 used in the crime a “weapon of war.”
Like mynah birds, Democrats are all of one phrase regarding military look-alike semi-automatic rifles: “Weapons of war.” That is, when they’re not calling for banning all guns.
But the new settlement with Defense Distributed makes that characterization officially incorrect.
Read more gun and firearms news at Guns.news.
J.D. Heyes is editor of The National Sentinel and a senior writer for Natural News and News Target.
Sources include:
Tagged Under: 3D printing, ar-15, chaos, Defense Distributed, firearms, First Amendment, Gear, gun designs, guns, internet, Justice Department, off grid, redefine, rifles, Second Amendment, Second Amendment Foundation, Settlement, State Department, weapons of war
