Assault Rifle Essay

[Withergyld]

I am working on an essay for one of my classes. It is to be an essay based on a definitional argument. This is what I have so far. I am having a hard time coming up with conditions of rebuttal. I would appreciate CONSTRUCTIVE criticism of my essay. TIA
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On September 13, 2004 the Assault Weapons Ban will expire. There is much debate about the effects if any this law has had in crime. There is proposed legislation that would redefine the weapons that are prohibited by the Assault Weapons Ban. If one were to look up the term “assault rifle” in the dictionary, the definition may or may not include semi-automatic rifles in the definition of what constitutes an assault rifle. The definition in the current Assault Weapons Ban has most certainly influenced the definition of which weapons are categorized as assault rifles.
In order to get a clearer understanding of the historical definition of attributes of an assault rifle are, it is helpful to find reference material from before the passage of the Assault Weapons Ban. One source that is helpful is Small Arms of the World by W.H.B. Smith. This book contains a history of firearms and information on almost all military arms produced before it was published. The 1973 printing does not define the term “assault rifle”, however the index of the book lists several weapons under the heading of “assault rifle” (765) . A careful examination of the characteristics of the rifles listed shows that all of the rifles listed have the detachable magazines, and are select fire . The Firearms Encyclopedia by George C Nonte Jr. also published in 1973 defines an assault rifle as “a military rifle intended purely for one man operation and equipped to provide either semiautomatic or fullautomatic fire by means of a selector switch or other fire-control device. They are chambered for an intermediate cartridge, have barrels under 20 inches, make extensive use of plastics and stampings, use gas operation and locked breeches, have magazine capacities of 20 to 30 rounds, weigh from six to ten pounds, and are quite compact.” (12). By comparing these two sources the primary characteristics of an assault rifle is the ability to function in either full-automatic or semi-automatic modes, fire an intermediate cartridge and the ability to use detachable magazines of 20 to 30 round capacity. An intermediate cartridge is a cartridge smaller then the 30-06 and larger then the .30 carbine (Smith 587). Although the Bushmaster XM 15 looks identical to the M 16 assault rifle, the Bushmaster XM 15 is not an assault rifle because it does not have the ability to provide full-automatic fire. A careful analysis of the characteristics of the M 16 and the Bushmaster XM 15 will show that while they are similar, they are not identical.
The M16 rifle was designed in the early 60’s as a military assault rifle. It has been issued in several configurations. All of the issued configurations of the M 16 are select fire. The Bushmaster XM 15 is a civilian version of the M 16 rifle that is limited to semi-automatic fire only. The M16 rifle is composed of two major components, the upper receiver which consists of the barrel bolt and bolt carrier and the lower receiver which contains the firing mechanism, butt stock and magazine well. The upper receiver of the Bushmaster XM 15 is interchangeable with the upper receiver of the M16 rifle. Many of the parts of the two rifles are interchangeable including the magazine. The primary difference between the two rifles is in the firing mechanism. The M16 has a selector switch has three positions, safe, semi and auto. The safe position prevents the rifle from being fired. The semi position allows the rifle to fire in semiautomatic mode. It will fire one bullet and one bullet only each time the trigger is pulled. To fire again the trigger must be released and pulled again. The auto position will allow the rifle to fire automatically. When the trigger is pulled the rifle will fire bullets as long as the trigger is held back and there is ammunition left in the magazine. The selector on the Bushmaster XM 15 only has two positions, safe and semi. The rifle functions the same as the M16 when the selector is in the safe and semi positions. The inside of the Bushmaster lower receiver is machined differently then the M 16 to prevent the installation of M 16 parts in a Bushmaster XM 15 in an attempt to allow the Bushmaster XM 15 function exactly the same as the M16. Most of the fire control parts in the lower receivers of the respective rifles are not interchangeable.
Although the M 16 and the Bushmaster XM 15 are similar in design and almost identical in appearance, the Bushmaster XM 15 is not an assault rifle because it lacks the ability to fire in full-automatic mode. The ability to fire in either semiautomatic or fully automatic modes is one of the defining characteristics of the assault rifle.

[DoNotRefill]

1. Isn't SAotW...

Ezell's? Or do you have an original copy?

Also, you might check out Chinn...his works on small arms are the absolute authority.

[Withergyld]

2. I have a copy

that was published in 1973. It was written by Smith and revised by someone else from the military. I will have to go check.