The San Diego judge trying to upend California gun laws
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The San Diego judge trying to upend California gun laws - The San Diego Union-Tribune
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(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
What exactly is an “assault weapon”? Joe Biden’s nominee to head up the ATF famously said earlier this year during his Senate Judiciary confirmation hearing that he wants to ban them, but couldn’t provide a definition of what an assault weapon is, exactly, when he was pressed by Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas.
“An assault weapon would be, in the context of the question you asked, whatever Congress defines it as,” was Chipman’s response. On the face of it, that seems like a non-answer, but in a way Chipman was right. There is no definition of “assault weapon,” because it’s an invented term. Generally it refers to semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15, but in statute the definition hinges on various features of the firearm as opposed to the functionality itself. The federal definition of “assault weapon” from 1994-2004 was different than the definition of “assault weapon” in many states, and in fact, as the San Francisco Chronicle a