this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2024
306 points (97.5% liked)
Asklemmy
43907 readers
1111 users here now
A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions
If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!
- Open-ended question
- Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
- Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
- Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
- An actual topic of discussion
Looking for support?
Looking for a community?
- Lemmyverse: community search
- sub.rehab: maps old subreddits to fediverse options, marks official as such
- !lemmy411@lemmy.ca: a community for finding communities
~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
To my knowledge Walmart doesn’t sell AR-15’s. They don’t sell guns at all where I live, but apparently they might sell shotguns in other parts of the country. As far as your first question goes, that’s not relevant to if it’s a machine gun or not, which it is not.
It's not but it does have the same purpose.
It does not.
It's purpose isn't to kill lots of people really fast? Because that's all I have seen them used for
Your unfamiliarity with a subject doesn’t dictate its definition.
The AR-15 and machine guns are fundamentally different types of firearms in terms of design, function, and legal classification. Here’s a breakdown of the key differences:
1. Firing Mechanism:
• AR-15: The AR-15 is a semi-automatic rifle, meaning it fires one round per trigger pull. After each shot, the rifle automatically loads the next round into the chamber, but the trigger must be released and pulled again for another shot to be fired.
• Machine Gun: A machine gun is fully automatic, meaning it can fire continuously as long as the trigger is held down. It will keep firing until the trigger is released or the ammunition is depleted. Machine guns are capable of sustained rapid fire, often at rates of several hundred rounds per minute.
2. Legal Status:
• AR-15: In the U.S., the AR-15 is classified as a civilian firearm and is legal to own in most states, subject to local laws and regulations. Because it is semi-automatic, it does not fall under the same strict regulations as fully automatic firearms.
• Machine Gun: Fully automatic machine guns are heavily regulated in the U.S. under the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934 and the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act (FOPA) of 1986. Under current law, civilians can only legally own machine guns made before 1986, and the process requires extensive background checks, registration, and tax payments.
3. Intended Use:
• AR-15: The AR-15 is often used by civilians for purposes such as sport shooting, hunting, and home defense. Its modular design allows for customization with different accessories like scopes, stocks, and grips.
• Machine Gun: Machine guns are primarily intended for military or law enforcement use due to their ability to provide suppressive fire and high rates of fire. They are rarely, if ever, used by civilians in legal activities due to their full-auto nature and high ammunition consumption.
4. Physical Design:
• AR-15: The AR-15 looks similar to military rifles like the M16 and M4, but it lacks the full-auto or burst-fire capabilities. It typically fires smaller cartridges like the .223 Remington or 5.56x45mm NATO.
• Machine Gun: Machine guns can vary in size, from light machine guns (LMGs) that are carried by infantry, to heavy machine guns mounted on vehicles or tripods. They are designed to fire continuously with belts of ammunition or large magazines, often with barrel cooling systems to prevent overheating.
Summary:
• AR-15: A semi-automatic civilian rifle that fires one shot per trigger pull.
• Machine Gun: A fully automatic firearm that fires continuously while the trigger is held down and is heavily regulated for civilian ownership.
In conclusion, the AR-15 is a semi-automatic rifle popular among civilians, whereas a machine gun is a fully automatic firearm, typically used in military contexts, with significant legal restrictions for civilian use.
Ok but you aren't understanding my point they are made to kill things. You can say people use them for sport but they are killing machines and they are more powerful than a normal civilian needs for anything productive. I don't feel comfortable with you having these guns. You or anyone. Senseless to let children die for that dude. Just give it up already
I don’t have one. But your comfort levels don’t make a sporting rifle into a machine gun. You’re missing the point, that guns have designations dependent upon their design, not your emotions.