NYT: ‘Assault Weapons’ Moniker a ‘Myth’ Created by Democrats

On the 20-year anniversary of the signing of the 1994 federal “assault weapons” ban, the New York Times published an analytical column explaining that the “assault weapons” moniker was part of a “myth” created by Democrats.

The very title of the NYT column stated things succinctly by referencing “The Assault Weapon Myth.”

The NYT explains that the “myth” is two-pronged. The first prong is the suggestion that “big, scary military rifles” are a central component of gun homicides in America each year. The NYT explains that this is simply not so; that the “vast majority” of firearm-related homicides are carried out with handguns.

FBI stats bolster the NYT’s point. For example, on September 26, 2018, Breitbart News reported FBI numbers showing that four times as many people were stabbed to death as were shot and killed with rifles of any kind. And on October 1, 2019, Breitbart News reported FBI stats showing more people were killed with hammers and clubs in 2018 than were shot and killed with rifles of any kind.

The NYT’s second point in substantiating their “myth” claim is to stress that the very term “assault weapon” is a political construct; a name given to a category of guns for purposes of creating something the Democrats could ban as a way of looking tough on crime. The NYT calls it a “politically defined category of guns,” explicitly noting “Democrats created and then banned a category of guns they called ‘assault weapons.’”

On March 10, 2o2o, Breitbart News reported Democrat presidential hopeful Joe Biden’s confirmation that he is, in fact, determined to ban guns that fall under the categorization of “assault weapon.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.