Assault weapons have been used in nearly every single one of the country’s deadliest mass shootings, including those that took place in Aurora, Newtown, San Bernardino, Orlando, Las Vegas, El Paso, Parkland, Sutherland Springs, Uvalde, Buffalo, Highland Park, Lewiston, and countless other communities.
But what exactly is an “assault weapon,” and where did the term come from? Gun groups like the National Rifle Association insist that it’s a “made-up phrase” designed to “deliberately mislead the American people in order to pass anti-gun legislation.”
A new video produced by the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund and The Smoking Gun exposes the truth: The gun industry invented the term in the 1980s to market semi-automatic versions of military weapons to civilians. The most recognizable assault weapon today is the AR-15, which is nearly identical to the U.S. military’s M16 and just as deadly. Other examples include AK-47s, MAC-10s, TEC-9s, and Uzis — firearms that have been used in numerous high-profile shootings.
“Endlessly Customizable” Assault Weapons
The video, the first in a series, lays out the history of assault weapons, including their origins, their use in mass shootings, and attempts to regulate them. Since Congress allowed the federal assault weapons ban to expire in 2004, the gun industry has worked hard to make these firearms mainstream, with marketing tactics capitalizing on the Global War on Terror.
Predictably, there has also been a surge in the number of mass shootings involving assault weapons in the past 20 years, and police are recovering more and more of them from crime scenes. So why does the gun industry still manufacture and sell assault weapons to civilians?
The video provides a simple explanation: Assault weapons are very profitable for the industry because, unlike more traditional firearms, they are “endlessly customizable.” A National Shooting Sports Foundation survey found that AR-15 and AK-47 owners spent $618 on average accessorizing their rifles with extra magazines, optics and sights, grips, slights, flashlights, and other products like silencers. Three-quarters of those owners obtained those accessories within a year of purchasing their rifles.
For the industry, those profits appear to outweigh public safety. Click here to watch the video, and stay tuned for more from The Smoking Gun.