Assault weapons

Frank Loane, owner of Pasadena Pawn and Gun, stands in front of a wall of assault rifles at his store in Pasadena, Maryland, on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013. Brian Witte/Associated Press

"Assault weapons" is among the most contentious phrases in discussions on gun control.

There's not a universal definition to what an assault weapon is, which is part of the reason this subject tends to antagonize the gun lobby or pro-gun advocates.

But in 1994, after the now-expired assault weapons ban passed, the Justice Department said, "In general, assault weapons are semiautomatic firearms with a large magazine of ammunition that were designed and configured for rapid fire and combat use."

The gun industry often defines an assault rifle as a firearm with "select fire capabilities," or the ability to adjust or switch the firearm between semi-automatic and automatic settings or modes.

In short, pro-Second Amendment groups typically say a firearm should only be called an assault weapon when it's capable of fully automatic fire — or they reject the terminology altogether.

"None of the so-called 'assault rifles' legally owned by US civilians are assault rifles as the term is used in military contexts," Florida State University criminal justice professor emeritus Gary Kleck, told PolitiFact.

Kleck added, "Assault rifles used by members of the military can all fire full automatic, like machine guns, as well as one shot at a time, whereas none of the so-called 'assault rifles' legally owned by US civilians can fire full automatic."

Based on the idiosyncrasies of this issue and the broader debate surrounding it, many gun control advocates tend to refer to semi-automatic firearms that have been used in mass shootings as "assault-style" or "military-style" weapons.

A recent POLITICO/Morning Consult poll found 70% of Americans would support an assault weapons ban, including 86% of Democrats and 55% of Republicans.