CNN's Camerota Adopts Gun Industry Talking Point: I Say “So-Called Assault Rifle” Because Gun Enthusiasts Say “That's A Poltical Term”

Alisyn Camerota: “Gun Rights Enthusiasts Say What Makes Something An Assault Rifle? That's A Political Term”

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

On the December 18 edition of CNN's New Day, host Alisyn Camerota used the term “so-called assault rifles,” adpoting the framing of gun activists. Camerota said “I say so-called [assault rifles] because gun rights enthusiasts say what makes something an assault rife? That's a political term.” In fact, the term “assault weapon” was coined by gun manufacturers and enthusiasts, to describe military-style semi-automatic rifles, but the National Rifle Association (NRA) and gun trade industry attempted to rebrand assault weapons as “modern sporting rifles” in 2009, pretending that the term “assault weapon” was invented by proponents of assault weapons bans in order to arbitrarily single out certain firearms for further regulation.

ALISYN CAMEROTA: After these mass shootings, there's often a cry for a ban on so-called assault rifles. And I say so-called because gun rights enthusiasts say what makes something an assault rifle? That's a political term. They're all semiautomatic. You pull the trigger, a bullet fires out. So, one is black and looks scary and one is brown and you go hunting with it. And so -- let me show you a poll before you answer. This is how -- today, this is recent. This is an ABC News poll from this week, support for banning so-called assault weapons, 53 percent of Americans oppose that ban. 45 percent would support it. Can the president do anything on that front?