There’s no doubt that law-abiding gun owners are under attack from the left-leaning misinformed. You know the type. If they hear it on the news, it must be the truth. Well, guess what: the news can be skewed to suit the gun control agenda – especially when it comes to “assault weapons” and they crimes “they” commit.

If you’re reading this, chances are pretty good that you already realize that guns don’t commit crime; people do. Sadly for us, those same bad actors sometimes use a gun in those crimes and when they do, the media blames the gun. It’s even worse when the gun used is a big, black, scary rifle. Deemed an “assault weapon” by the media, it keeps the associated myths living on.

What can we do to debunk those myths? DEFINING ‘ASSAULT WEAPON’

First, what exactly is an “assault weapon?” There’s currently no standard definition because the far left can’t agree on what they are (or aren’t). Heck, even the first Senate-confirmed director of the ATF in a decade can’t define them. In doing my research, I checked with Wikipedia, Merriam-Webster, and Dictionary.com and found the following:

Wikipedia: In the United States, assault weapon is a controversial term applied to different kinds of firearms. There is no clear, consistent definition. It can include semi-automatic firearms with a detachable magazine, a pistol grip, and sometimes other features, such as a vertical forward grip, flash suppressor, or barrel shroud. Certain firearms are specified by name in some laws that restrict assault weapons. When the now-defunct Federal Assault Weapons Ban was passed in 1994, the U.S. Department of Justice said, “In general, assault weapons are semi-automatic firearms with a large magazine of ammunition that were designed and configured for rapid fire and combat use.” The commonly used definitions of assault weapons are under frequent debate, and have changed over time. Dictionary.com: noun: any of various automatic and semiautomatic military firearms utilizing an intermediate-power cartridge, designed for individual use.

Merriam-Webster: noun: any of various automatic or semiautomatic firearms.

Even the Associated Press, which no one has ever described as being pro-gun, has cautioned journalists and editors against using the term, noting that it has “little meaning” and is overtly partisan/political.

Clear as mud, right? Currently, there is no standard definition. Typically, when someone refers to an “assault weapon,” they’re generally referring to a rifle, and it’s generally an AR variant at that (AR-15 most times).

Getting down to business, here are a few popular myths and the facts associated with them to debunk the myth.

MYTH 1: AR STANDS FOR ASSAULT RIFLE.

Background: Modern sporting rifles, also known as AR-15s or AR-10s, are often referred to as “assault rifles.” People believe the “AR” means assault rifle.

Debunk: The “AR” used to denote the style of rifle stands for ArmaLite rifle. ArmaLite is the company that created the rifle back in 1956. They even used the AR naming convention for shotguns and bolt-action rifles. The name stuck, and now AR-15-style rifles endure despite being manufactured by countless other companies.

MYTH 2: ‘ASSAULT WEAPONS’ ARE HIGH-POWERED.

Background: Most AR-15s are chambered in .223/5.56.

Debunk: While both .223 and 5.56 are capable rounds, most centerfire hunting rifles are chambered in much higher calibers. When specifically talking about an AR-15, I’d call it more of a medium-powered round, certainly not high-powered. Similar in appearance, an AR-10 is chambered in .308 – a popular hunting round, but again, there are plenty of higher-powered hunting rounds.

MYTH 3: ‘ASSAULT WEAPONS’ ARE ‘WEAPONS OF WAR’.

Background: This myth implies that rifles are designed for the battlefield and should never be in civilian hands.

Debunk: From the very beginning of Colt’s marketing of the AR-15, it was offered as a sporting rifle for target shooting, hunting, and personal defense. Most AR variants sold on the consumer market between 1965 and 1984 are semi-automatic, the same as most hunting rifles, whereas a military-grade M16 can fire semi-automatic or with the flip of a switch can fire fully automatic without re-pulling the trigger.

MYTH 4: ASSAULT WEAPONS ‘SPRAY BULLETS’ IN AN ATTEMPT AT MASS KILLING.

Background: By definition, a fully automatic rifle will continue to fire while the trigger is depressed.

Debunk: Any firearm, be it semi-automatic or fully automatic, cannot fire itself. It takes a human to pull the trigger and aim. By “spray,” they’re referring to firing on automatic. Inevitably, someone will tell you that a semi-automatic AR-15 can be converted to fully automatic. While technically true, it’s illegal in the United States to do that without proper licensing and registration under the National Firearms Act and is punishable as a felony.

MYTH 5: YOU CAN’T HUNT WITH AN ‘ASSAULT WEAPON’.

Background: The far left won’t admit that this style of rifle has any legitimate sporting purpose.

Debunk: The scary black rifles we’re talking about are generally chambered in either .223 (AR-15) or .308 (AR-10), so look at either of those calibers. While many big game hunters typically hunt with the popular and capable .308, a .223 is also a capable hunting round, popular for medium game, feral hogs, etc. Modern sporting rifles are accurate, dependable, rugged, lightweight, and easy to wield in the field. In fact, they are indeed popular hunting rifles. AR-style rifles are stereotyped because of their appearance, not their ability to provide food for your family.

SO, WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

Fight with facts. Politely and professionally attempt to re-educate someone – the general public honestly doesn’t know these facts. Don’t be defensive, but let them know that they’re spreading fake news.

Stop calling them “assault weapons.” Call them what they are: semi-auto rifles that are misused in relatively few incidents involving firearms. FBI homicide by weapon data for the most recent year available, 2019, shows that of the 13,927 homicides charted that year, rifles as a whole— including not only semi-autos but rifles of all types— accounted for 364, representing just over 2 percent. By comparison, knives accounted for 1,476.

An illegally obtained handgun is more likely to be used in a crime. A nationwide survey of 1.37 million inmates at the state and federal level, conducted in 2016, found that about a third said they possessed or carried a firearm while committing their crime. Of those 256,400 prisoners, some 43 percent said they obtained their guns from illicit “street” sources such as other criminals, often by bartering stolen goods or drugs. The next leading source, about 25 percent, came as gifts or purchases from friends or family members. About 6 percent were able to receive their guns through theft.

Don’t be deterred. Some people believe otherwise despite knowing the facts, and you’ll never change their mind. Agree to disagree.

Vote. Do your research both locally and nationally. Several pro-2A organizations put out ratings of politicians. Pay attention to who you vote for; our rights depend on it.

Keep chipping away at these myths. Educating even one person with facts can make a difference. It’s like that old game “Telephone” – if you tell someone the facts, they may someday tell someone else. You won’t change some people’s minds about black rifles (after all, they can’t even define what an assault weapon is), but being honest and having an open conversation serves us all well in the long run.