The Democrat Party is in open warfare against semiautomatic firearms even though the technology behind such weapons dates back to at least 1903.

In other words, while Democrats present semiautomatic firearms as some sort of new development that gives heretofore unimagined levels of firepower to civilians, the reality is that Colt began selling semiautomatic firearms in 1903. Named the 1903, the pistol was a semiautomatic chambered in .32 caliber.

The Colt 1908 was as a variation of the 1903, but was chambered in the larger .380 caliber:

One of Colt’s all-time best sellers–a semiautomatic handgun called the 1911–was adopted in 1911 and entered production in 1912. The 1911 remains a go-to pistol for open carry, concealed carry, competition, and .45 caliber enthusiasts in general. The ultra-reliability of the design has led to 1911s chambered in other rounds, such as 9mm and 10mm.

And it should be noted that a 1911 handgun typically holds 7 to 8 rounds, regardless of caliber.

Despite the century old-status of semiautomatic technology–115 year-old technology to be exact–the Democrats war against semiautomatics as if they are military-grade weapons introduced into the civilian market recently. They chiefly try to do this with AR-15s, which Barack Obama repeatedly referred to “weapons of war” during his tenure in the White House. The AP quoted him describing AR-15s as “weapons of war” following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

Obama’s fight against the commonly-owned semiautomatic rifle was completely devoid of any admission that the AR-15 itself was designed the 1950s and went into production shortly thereafter. Neither the gun nor the technology behind it are in any way new to the American firearm retail market.

Yet the majority of Democrat office holders refer to commonly-owned semiautomatic rifles as “assault weapons,” and the push to ban them is incessant.

Following the February 14, 2018, Parkland high school shooting rank and file Democrats dropped all show of pretense and simply called for a ban on semiautomatic weapons, period. On March 2, 2018, the Washington Examiner published a YouGov poll that showed 73 percent of all Democrats wanted to ban semiautomatic weapons. In other words, whether the semiautomatic was a rifle or a pistol, it needed to be taken and destroyed.

Again, semiautomatic firearms in America date back to at least 1903, why are the Democrats in an all-out war against them now?

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, 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 directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.