None of the guns that the Newtown murderer used was an assault weapon under Connecticut law. This illustrates the uselessness of bans on so-called assault weapons, since those bans concentrate on guns' cosmetics, such as whether the gun has a bayonet lug, rather than their function.
What some people call "assault weapons" function like every other normal firearm—they fire only one bullet each time the trigger is pressed. Unlike automatics (machine guns), they do not fire continuously as long as the trigger is held. They are "semi-automatic" because they eject the empty shell case and load the next round into the firing chamber.
Read the article: The Wall Street Journal
APPEARS IN
News
Kopel: Guns, mental illness and Newtown
Thursday, December 20, 2012
TRENDING NOW
Monday, January 5, 2026
It’s rare to see journalists write accurate articles about the Second Amendment and the right to self-defense, and even more rare to see them receive accolades from their mainstream peers for such articles.
Monday, January 5, 2026
On Friday, Jan. 3, a divided three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that California’s ban on open carry in counties with a population of greater than 200,000 ...
Monday, January 5, 2026
As a new year begins, a timeless new year resolution remains: Work hard to ensure your state does not become like Illinois. As multiple firearm-related news outlets revisit the highs and lows of 2025, it ...
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
In 2025, the National Rifle Association defeated New Mexico’s 7-day waiting period for firearm purchases, the ATF’s “engaged in the business” rule, the ATF’s “pistol brace” rule, a lawsuit seeking to ban lead ammunition in ...
Tuesday, December 16, 2025
In September, the North Carolina General Assembly briefly returned from recess and re-referred Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to the House Rules Committee.
More Like This From Around The NRA
