After the Uvalde TX killings, two Facebook users (one of whom is unknown to me) took me to task for using the phrase "military-style rifle." Apparently there's controversy about that term and others, such as "assault weapon", "assault rifle" and "AR15-style rifle." The firearms industry trade association urges us to call them "modern sporting rifles."
The Associated Press Style Guide advises newsrooms to avoid controversy by using the term "semi-automatic rifle." Author Philip Caputo used "man-killer" and "street sweeper" in his novel "Horn of Africa." Caputo had first-hand knowledge from the time he spent in Vietnam.
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution refers only to "arms." And, of course, a "well-regulated Militia." The "well-regulated" phrase is often absent from the arguments of those resist gun law reform.
One wonders how we'll ever get sensible gun laws in place if we can't even agree on what to call them.
