Disarming the Bullshit About Assault Rifles

Disarming the Bullshit About Assault Rifles

Blah Blah Blah about all the Blah Blah Blah - & Some Quick Housekeeping:

This is a series of articles that try to consolidate the facts about the actual public risk of assault rifles, and to break them out from under the mountain of bullshit and gaslighting the gun lobby and industry has piled over and all around these weapons. The original motivation was mostly to de-bunk a bit of common gun bullshit, but when the real scope of the deception and true measure of the sleazy tactics struck home it grew into a larger project. There is a lot to look at and not all is of the same interest to everyone, so it has been broken out into 9 main articles, each with a different focus on a subset of the issues or major questions involved.

There is a lot to digest here, but there is one thing to get out of the way right out of the gate: Some people are going to be tweaked immediately just by my calling these guns assault rifles at all, meaning without big loud scare-quotes (“assault rifles”), or using “so-called” assault rifles, or perhaps "assault-type rifles". Even nominally liberal media outlets and authors have been sucked into this charade so those terms are very, very common. Don't be fooled into thinking they are somehow more accurate or valid, they are not. They are just the foothills of the bullshit mountain.

The roots and details of the contention is what the articles are about, but suffice to say that the gun lobby typically takes a stance that the general public and people like me are confused, mixing up “sporting rifles” with “real” assault rifles, and that is only when they will even admit that such a thing as an assault rifle even exists. Many do not.

So how do you know which rifle is which? If you are not sure which are the rifles that the gun lobby argues belong in scare quotes, and which are the ones that do not, look no further than the feature image above. It showcases one of each: a civilian AR-15, and the military M4. Give it a good look, that should clear it right up for you.

Still a bit fuzzy? We can always consult Colt, one of the major manufacturers of both:

Colt ad from the good ol’ days when the bullshit wasn’t as common. This one is from the 1980’s (I think 1986? It's hard to read the date there and it’s the only version I could find)

What does it tell us? Quite a few things actually, most of of which Colt probably doesn't want many of us to think too hard about anymore. For now I hope it tells the reader why in this material they will all be referred to as assault rifles. No so-called, no scare quotes. And that is not about semantics or “scare tactics” - not even a bit.

It is first and foremost functionally and historically accurate, but the bigger reason is that doing so takes a firm stance on gun bullshit right out of the gate, and the bullshit is a big reason for all of these articles to exist in the first place.

A lot of non-gun people (including many politicians and journalists) just use the scare quotes and “so-called” euphemisms to reduce friction, perhaps at times just to pander to the often aggressive and vicious vocal minority in the gun lobby - but both are unwarranted. Civilian assault rifles are still assault rifles, and historically the gun world called them that too. Pretending they are not is nonsense that feeds a propaganda machine that was built and continues to operate in order to dodge prohibitions and confuse people. This machine employs bullshit and deception and all-too-often includes some truly despicable and psychologically abusive tactics.

No thanks.

So, there may be the occasional mention of “assault-type” rifles, but not as a the usual dodge of the "controversial" terminology. It is would only be when trying to distinguish military optimized assault rifles from the larger group of semi-automatic, box fed weapons that includes assault rifles, but also includes others that share the same core functionally, but have fewer of the accessories and design optimizations that enhance it and make it more lethally reliable. These rifles — the Ruger Mini14 is an ever-popular example — tend to be less visually obvious because they do not have the the iconic appearance that comes with those military-derived optimizations. Because they lack the familiar "military-style" (such as the AR15 and M16 above), they are often used by the gun lobby to try and minimize the dangers they present, and to snow the public about how dangerous they all really are.

Getting back to the business at hand: there is a lot of content here. A single clean, linear story might has its appeal,and it sure would have made my life easier too, but it would be hella long. Also, it would suck a lot more for people just here looking to find some fairly specific info and move on.

So I broke this up into a series of articles, each focused on a different facet of the issue. Each is pretty long too - it’s a surprisingly deep subject, but I also apparently suck at editing.

Because of how this has been split up there will be a lot of reduplication of points and material, and also some gaps in one area that are really only filled in another. It’s hard to make a complicated network of information into neat little packages. Anyway, getting through it all would be a slog, but then nobody is expected to read it all - and nobody has to in order to get a good sense of the big picture either.

However, if you are already bored and have zero time to spend, here is the topline info you would take away from reading all of it:

Snapshot of the Conclusions

Yes, assault rifles are a real thing.

No, it is not stupid or silly to be afraid of them, even just based on appearances.

No, they are not all illegal in Canada — although some are prohibited for sure.

Yes, they are extremely, even supremely dangerous firearms, particularly in the context of mass shootings.

No they are not really rare in Canada. It's not like the US, and we cannot have a precise count, but assault rifles are all over the place here.

The bullshit will vary with individuals. Some are straight-up lying. Many believe their own hype. Many just do not understand guns as much as they think they do. It’s an even bet if someone is misled or misleading in any particular case, but the lobby and industry as a whole? Definitely lying on a regular basis, and to the point we can call it gaslighting.

Assault rifles are demonstrably more dangerous than other civilian firearms - but the obvious ones (military-optimized) are also not the only ones worth worrying about. Any semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that uses detachable box magazinesv (e.g the Ruger Mini-14) is almost as dangerous as the military versions (e.g the AR platform weapons), particularly when in the hands of a mass shooter.

The hazard and risk these guns present is not well controlled by current laws, in Canada, or the US.

If you are hearing differently from the points above it is because many people are badly mistaken about these guns. Many are also lying and hiding facts about the real dangers. The gun lobby and interests are very keen on selling and owning these weapons, and less keen on facts, or on keeping the public safe from assault weapons, so they have built a massive wall of bullshit around them. Everything they say must be understood in the light of the gun lobby’s proven history of misleading us about this stuff, and knowing they have literally billions of dollars a year as motivation to keep it up.

That about sums it up really. If you want to just take my word for it you are pretty much done. If you need a bit more backup - not to worry, there is lots.

The Articles

Unless you are really into the issue of assault rifles I suggest you start with reading the Guns & Gaslighting and Defining the Scope of the Problem sections. They should provide the lay of the land and a good sense of why you might want to care about this stuff.

For a quick sense of just how dangerous these guns really are try Making The Case. From there you can skim through list of articles and scout for stuff that might interest you, or another way to go is to use the Common Bullshit and FAQ which can help guide you based on the facet of this issue that brought you here.

Things should be in a half-assed logical order, and layered so you can start at the top and dip a toe in, and get progressively get deeper as your interest takes you, but without ever really having to dive all the way in.

To make it a bit easier it is broken out into 4 sections, starting with the most general/ high-level information (The View from 1000') and working down into the smaller and finer details (Deep in the Weeds). Finally, some odd-balls and gaps are filled with a few Side Trips , which may be useful for some.

The View From 1000'

Guns & Gaslighting

This article is where you should start if you are not even sure why you are here. It explains the big picture of just how nasty things have gotten in the gun debate, particularly around assault rifles. This affects all of us, and in ways that might surprise you.

Defining the Scope of the Problem

This article lays out the big picture of the debate around assault rifles, how we are often being misled about them, and why it matters.

Making the Case: Are Assault Weapons More Dangerous Than Other Guns?

Yes. Assault-type rifles are associated with anywhere from 2-6x the number of injuries and deaths anytime they are used in a mass shooting. This simple fact says almost all you really need to know, but there is more to learn to get a fuller picture of the danger. This article gives you some simple and hard facts about what happens when people use assault rifles for mass murder, and introduces the concept of scalable lethality, which is the key to understanding what makes assault rifles uniquely dangerous.

Why The Bullshit Matters: The Current Laws do Not Mitigate The Risk

Why should you care about this? The short answer is your safety, and the safety of the people you care about. The longer answer includes understanding how the gun laws in Canada are not as safe and solid as many Canadians believe, and as many gun proponents and lobby members would like you to believe. We are being bullshitted on this, and that alone is irritating, but this is bullshit that also puts us all at risk. It is focused on Canadian gun control bullshit, but there are parallels with gun controls in just about every country and state, so it’s still of value to international readers.

Scalable Lethality: Why Assault Rifles Are The Most Dangerous Weapons

Yes. Some guns really are more lethal, and assault rifles top the list. This article explains why. It is easy to show why, but a grasp of the factors come into play can help people to see why assault-type weapons are so much more dangerous than other firearms, and why the must be given special attention and warrant greater restriction. This one will also show you a way to start thinking about and assessing the relative risk of other weapons for yourself, without needing to know a ton about guns.

Heading Into the Weeds

So WTF Are They? Defining an Assault Rifle

Is there “really” such a thing? Yes. Is the controversy around what exactly comprises an assault rifle justified? Nope. This one gets more complicated because a LOT of bullshit has been heaped around it. That is mainly because this is where the legal stuff really kicks in, which is one place where words and definitions can start to really matter. This article covers a lot of important material on the actual functionality that make them so lethal.

Bullshit is in The Eye of the Beholder: The "Look" of Assault Rifles

This one is devoted to explaining why you are not silly at all to be wary of assault rifles, and why people telling you the look is meaningless are 100% full of shit. An assault rifle’s appearance is much more than cosmetics. Some of that is covered in the Scalable Lethality and WTF Are They? articles too, but because this particular bit of bullshit comes up so much this article goes a lot deeper into why assault-type rifles look the way they do, why that is actually very important, and into de-bunking some of the most common and (in my opinion) most scummy gaslighting and bullshit used to protect these guns.

The Birth of the Bullshit: Where the Gaslighting Started, and How The Definition Became so Controversial

This article clears up a lot of the nonsense around the actual term/name (the whole “assault” vs assault rifle thing). We look at where all the artificial controversy started, and get a clear idea just how misleading and calculated it really is. It provides yet more insight on how sleazily the pro-gun lobby has been operating, and for decades now.

Deep in the Weeds

Assault Rifles: The 3-Part Recipe for Scalable Lethality

This is a long and deep look at the 3 main factors that are introduced in WTF Are They? and Scalable Lethality. This is has a lot of information contained in the other articles, but here I go into more depth and fill in some more gaps and firm up the foundations even more. This is the real meat of things, and it has most of the facts that back up everything else - but it’s not for the faint of heart. The key points are all covered elsewhere, just in less detail, but if you feel like something was glossed over you will probably find more on that subject here.

Side Trips

Assault or “Assault” Rifle? Why I use the AR Platform as the Poster Child

A brief note about the two assault rifles that I use as the principle examples, why I use them, and why that both matters and doesn’t.

Firing Rates: Full-Auto, Semi-Automatic, and Selective Fire

An overview of what these terms mean for non-gun people, as they come up a LOT in the conversation. Also explains a bit about why they are not nearly as different as the gun lobby wants us to think.

More Deadly or Deadly More Often? Why People Get Confused About the Danger of Pistols vs Assault Rifles.

The gun lobby often points out that pistols are used more in gun crime, and so call them “more deadly”. This is based on a mistake in probabilities (or just plain old bullshit) and serves to draw attention away from assault rifles. Of course, this just fires up the fight over banning handguns, but it serves to distract anyway. This section just clarifies why in fact assault rifles are still more dangerous guns and clears up a bit of bullshit that often makes this confusing.

Danger, Hazard & Risk. What Makes Anything “More Dangerous”?

The hazard and risk model is a very useful way of breaking down danger in order to get solid practical handles on it. Those handles can be used to make things safer or, as in the case with assault rifles, to make them far more dangerous. If you aren’t familiar with the framework this may be useful in itself, but this article really aims to explain why the gun lobby stance that says that no guns are especially dangerous, or can be used to do the same things anyway, just cannot be true. It’s bullshit, and silly bullshit really. The article offers some ways to think about the underlying principles that determine why anything is more dangerous than something else, and hopefully helps inoculate you against future gun nonsense and lies.

Common Bullshit and FAQ About Assault Rifles

Click on the question to jump to the article that best provides an answer for you.

"I am confused about what exactly an assault rifle is. How are they really different from, say, a hunting rifle?"

WTF Are They?

Why should any of this matter to me? I don't care about guns or "politics"

Guns & Gaslighting
Why The Bullshit Matters

"I want the lay of the land - the big picture of why there is so much controversy around assault rifles and what the major points are."

Defining The Scope of The Problem

"I just want to know if the current laws in Canada actually protect me and the public from the real risks of assault-rifles."

Why The Bullshit Matters

"I am not interested in guns or their politics - I just want to know if assault rifles have been proven to be more dangerous than other guns, and I am less worried about the how and why."

Making The Case

"What does it even mean for any gun to be “more lethal” or dangerous than another, because I have been told that assault rifles are no different than any/many other guns"

Scalable Lethality
Danger, Hazard, & Risk

"People keep saying I am stupid or silly because I am wary of assault rifles, that I am just afraid of the "scary look" or appearance. Am I being silly? Do the appearances of the guns really mean nothing?"

Bullshit is in The Eye of The Beholder

"Why is all of this is so complicated? Why can’t I just call them assault rifles? How did all this nonsense and controversy about labels and models start anyway?"

The Birth of the Bullshit

"I have heard a lot of things that sound pretty convincing, and that say assault rifles are no more more dangeroust than any other gun. I want to know what is true, to understand what makes them different, and why they are so much more dangerous.

Scalable Lethality
WTF Are They?

"I really want a deeper and better understanding of assault rifles, how they work, and what makes them so lethal."

Assault Rifles: The 3-Part Recipe for Scalable Lethality