Gun control policy and public debate is plagued by etymological disagreements. In order to consider the effectiveness or constitutionality of any weapons ban, it is vital to note that automatic weapons are not readily defined, and jurisdictions vary in their interpretation of the label. Many semi-automatic firearms may be included in the category of assault weapons, but the exact parameters that differentiate standard sporting rifles and assault weapons are still contested heatedly. In the original 1994 Assault Weapons Ban (AWB), 19 firearms were outlawed explicitly, in addition to large-capacity magazines and firearms with specific militaristic elements in their design. Because the problem characteristics were clearly outlined, manufacturers were easily able to skirt the ban by making cosmetic changes to the design of their weapons, likely curbing the effectiveness of the ban.
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All this semantic conflict complicates a data-driven approach to gun laws, since visualizations using gun type as a variable often do not list the characteristics of each gun. With these limitations in mind, we can begin to consider the data. As this InsideGov visualization demonstrates, semi-automatic handguns are used in 40.3 percent of mass shootings, far more than assault rifles (11.8 percent), semi-automatic assault handguns (2.5 percent) or assault shotguns (0.8 percent).
So, are the firearms labeled “semi-automatic handguns” assault weapons? Sometimes. According to the NRA’s website, the term “handgun” is synonymous with “pistol,” and can describe any handheld firearm, including those of “single-shot, multi-barrel, repeating or semi-automatic variety and ... revolvers.” Using this definition, semi-automatic handguns would have been outlawed by the 1994 AWB if they shared at least two of the problem features outlined there.
