Reply #69: gewehr really does mean rifle

[krispos42]

And "sturm" means "storm", so it literally does mean 'storm rifle', when 'storm' is used in the definition as "to move (usually in anger) quickly and noisily like a storm" or "a violent assault on a stronghold or fortified position".

"Assault weapon" can be considered an expansion of the term to include other guns that are not rifles, such as shotguns and handguns.

However, there is a certain amount of ominous connotation there, no doubt about it. For example, in military actions, a soldier does a lot of both defending and attacking. However, in any situation where an American citizens employs a weapon such as a Mini-14 or semiauto AK-47 clone, it is most likely to be solely in a defensive situation, such as in a home-invasion situation.

The mental picture the public gets is criminals swarming a bank or store or home, kicking in doors and spraying bullets into innocent people, when it fact it is probably going to be some guy in pajama bottoms and a tee-shirt guarding a staircase or hallway while waiting for the cops to arrive.