NewsHounds
We watch Fox so you don't have to!
  • Home
  • About
  • Archives
  • Forum
  • Blogroll
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
Home →

Tucker Carlson: 'Assault Weapon' Is A Made Up Term And There Really Is No Such Thing

Posted by Ellen -7859.80pc on September 08, 2014 · Flag

Tucker_Carlson_Assault_Weapons.png

Fox News host Tucker Carlson wasn't just outraged that New York police tried to enforce assault weapons laws he doesn't like, he announced that there is no such thing as an assault weapon to begin with.

Last week, an Albion, New York gun shop was discovered to be unintentionally selling AR-15s that violated the state's assault weapons ban. As co-owner Joseph Palumbo explained it on Fox & Friends this weekend, the police wanted the names and contact information of about 170 customers who had purchased what Palumbo had thought were legally modified AR-15s. Host Carlson was firmly on the side of gun owners and not so firmly on the side of anyone who might possibly get shot.

When told by Palumbo that New York has "a pretty strict assault weapon ban," Carson replied:

"We should be clear for our viewers, assault weapon is a made up term and there really is no such thing as an assault weapon."

David, at Crooks and Liars notes:

In fact, assault weapon is a legal term that has been used in the now-expired 1994 federal ban, and the bans in California and New York. Laws usually define an assault weapon as military-style semiautomatic rifles that are designed to kill humans efficiently. To meet the legal definition, the weapons usually must one or more key features: detachable magazines, forward hand grips, pistol grips, folding stocks or muzzle brakes.

However, conservatives often argue that assault weapon is a meaningless term because it is not precise.

Watch the discussion from the September 6 Fox & Friends.

 

 

Follow @NewsHounds

Follow @NewsHoundEllen


Do you like this post?
Tweet

Showing 10 reactions



    Review the site rules
Mike Arienti commented 2016-06-13 23:42:15 -0400 · Flag
It’s nothing but legalese. The word “assault” is a verb. Guns require humans to do anything. They cannot hurt anyone without us.
Gary Musser commented 2016-04-11 08:35:32 -0400 · Flag
LOL funny all the libitards on here ignoring assault weapon is a made up term. Those koolaid guzzling libitards just love strawman BS
Kevin Koster commented 2014-09-08 17:04:48 -0400 · Flag
This is a typical right wing debating ploy. He’s bringing up an irrelevant discussion about semantics and avoiding the actual matter being discussed – whether it’s okay for people to sell these weapons after we’ve passed laws to protect the rest of us from those weapons.

If Carlson wishes to have a discussion about the history and usage of the term “assault weapon”, that’s fine – but it’s a separate discussion that can happen at another time. It is not a valid statement to try to insist that there is no such term. There in fact is such a term, as it has been referred to in Congress, and as it has been dealt with and enforced in laws around this country. But again, this is irrelevant to the actual matter under discussion.
Steve St John commented 2014-09-08 14:41:44 -0400 · Flag
Besides, Fox is in the business of making shit up – but of course, it’s OK when THEY do it.
Steve St John commented 2014-09-08 14:40:41 -0400 · Flag
Joseph West -excellent point!

Also, isn’t any term for anything “made up” at some point?
Joseph West commented 2014-09-08 13:34:36 -0400 · Flag
Well, Bob, there’s no such thing as “the liberal media” either. Newt Gingrich has admitted time and again that HE coined the phrase. The lack of its validity hasn’t stopped FoxNoise and other right-wingers from “assaulting” us with its use for the last 20 years.
mlp ! commented 2014-09-08 13:16:47 -0400 · Flag
Oh, those evil gun control advocates have done it again! They actually ‘made up’ a phrase to describe weapons that are DESIGNED for deadly assault rather than for civilian use! And the bastards did it only nearly 30 years ago, so the term cannot possibly yet be part of the American lexicon!
How sad to know that the military M16 and AK47 weapons are still banned, though! It is heartening to see them for sale all over the internet, and detailed instructions available FREE to convert them for AUTO-BURST and FULL-AUTO fire.
Ahhhhh….FREEDUMB!
truman commented 2014-09-08 09:44:57 -0400 · Flag
fTucker (the “T” is always silent) is a made-up name, but there really is such an asshole.
Bob Owens commented 2014-09-08 09:41:08 -0400 · Flag
Carlson is, in fact, 100% correct.

The term was coined by gun control advocate Josh Sugarmann circa 1986 to confuse people. Assault rifles—selective-fire, intermediate caliber military rifles like the M16 and AK47—had be outlawed from import and manufacture for private ownership by the Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA).

Sugarmann created the phrase “assault weapon” to conflate these now banned military weapons with self-loading firearms that merely had similar cosmetic features.

Eight years after the phrase was coined it became a political term when it was used in the 1994 Crime Bill.

Love him or hate him, Carlson was accurate in describing the term’s origin as “made up.”
NewsHounds posted about Tucker Carlson: 'Assault Weapon' Is A Made Up Term And There Really Is No Such Thing on NewsHounds' Facebook page 2014-09-08 09:00:10 -0400
In Fox News' America, you can never be too well armed








or sign in with Facebook or email.
Follow @NewsHounds on Twitter
Subscribe with RSS


We’ve updated our Privacy Policy
Sign in with Facebook, Twitter or email.
Created with NationBuilder