By Howard Roark

“Assault weapon” is an invented term. In the firearm lexicon, there is no such thing as an “assault weapon.” The closest relative is the “assault rifle,” which is a machine gun or “select fire” rifle that shoots rifle cartridges. In most cases, “assault weapons” are functionally identical though less powerful than hunting rifles, but they are cosmetically similar to military guns.

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Myth: Assault weapons are a serious problem in the U.S.

Fact: In 1994, before the Federal “assault weapons ban,” you were eleven (11) times more likely to be beaten to death than to be killed by an “assault weapon.”

Fact: In the first 7 years since the ban was lifted, murders declined 43%, violent crime 43%, rapes 27% and robberies 49%.

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Fact: Nationally, “assault weapons” were used in 1.4% of crimes involving firearms and 0.25% of all violent crime before the enactment of any national or state “assault weapons” ban. In many major urban areas (San Antonio, Mobile, Nashville, etc.) and some entire states (Maryland, New Jersey, etc.) the rate is less than 0.1%.

Fact: Even weapons misclassified as “assault weapons” (common in the former Federal and California “assault weapons” confiscations) are used in less than 1% of all homicides.

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Fact: Police reports show that “assault weapons” are a non-problem:

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For California:

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• Los Angeles: In 1998, of 538 documented gun incidents, only one (0.2%) involved an “assault weapon.”
• San Francisco: In 1998, only 2.2% of confiscated weapons were “assault weapons.”
• San Diego: Between 1988 and 1990, only 0.3% of confiscated weapons were “assault weapons.”
• “I surveyed the firearms used in violent crimes…assault-type firearms were the least of our worries.”

For the rest of the nation:

• Between 1980 and 1994, only 2% of confiscated guns were “assault weapons.”
• Fewer than 2% of criminals that commit violent crimes used “assault weapons.”

Fact: Only 1.4% of recovered crime weapons are models covered under the 1994 “assault weapons” ban.

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Fact: In Virginia, no surveyed inmates had carried an “assault weapon” during the commission of their last crime, despite 20% admitting that they had previously owned such weapons.

Fact: Most “assault weapons” have no more firepower or killing capacity than the average hunting rifle and “play a small role in overall violent crime.”

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Fact: Even the government agrees. “… the weapons banned by this legislation [1994 Federal Assault Weapons ban – since repealed] were used only rarely in gun crimes … There has been no discernible reduction in the lethality and injuriousness of gun violence, based on indicators like the percentage of gun crimes resulting in death or the share of gunfire incidents resulting in injury.”

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Myth: Assault weapons are used in between 2 and 9% of gun crimes

Fact: This data point came from a study with very weak data and numerous methodology issues.

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Myth: Assault weapons are used in mass public shootings

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Fact: Only 14% of mass public shootings were committed using assault weapons, as defined by the 1994 Federal Assault Weapon bill (handguns of the primary weapon, used in 74% of mass public shootings).

Fact: A decade long study, covering 84 mass public shootings, found that pistols were used 60% of the time. Rifles were used 27%. But that is all types of rifles, and so-called “assault weapons” (such as the AR-15 or civilian versions of the AK-47) are a subset of these.

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Myth: Every 48 hours, an assault rifle is traced to crime in Maryland

Fact: This claim by Cease Fire Maryland includes firearms never used in crimes. Some examples of firearms traced include:

• 47 firearms found at a private residence of a person who passed-away from natural causes, and which were never used in any crime.
• Firearms temporarily taken from owners under court Emergency Evaluation Petitions (the firearms were not used in crimes, but the judge wanted them confiscated until other issues are resolved).

Fact: This claim lacks perspective. During the same time period, there were 163,101 violent crimes reported in Maryland. Even if the Cease Fire Maryland data was correct, they have connected assault rifles to just 0.4% of violent crimes during the same period.

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Myth: One out of five police officers killed are killed with assault weapons

Fact: This “study” included firearms not on the former Federal “assault weapons”list. By including various legal firearms ¹⁷ the report inflated the statistics nearly 100%.

Fact: Only 1% of police officers murdered were killed using “assault weapons.” They were twice as likely to be killed with their own handgun.

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Fact: One 2006 federal government study found zero “assault weapons” were used to kill police officers.

Fact: Police don’t think it is a major problem, with 91% saying an assault weapons ban would have either no effect or a negative effect on violent crime.

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Myth: Assault weapons are favored by criminals

Fact: Only 6% of criminals use anything that is classified (even incorrectly) as an “assault weapon,” and fewer than 2.5% of criminal claimed to use these firearms when committing crimes.

Fact: Criminals are over five times more likely to carry single shot handguns as they are to carry “assault weapons.”

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