LONG MARCH THROUGH THE INSTITUTIONS: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary Changes Definition Of ‘Assault Rifle’ After Parkland Shooting.

The entry for “assault rifle,” which was updated March 31, 2018, reads as follows:

noun: any of various intermediate-range, magazine-fed military rifles (such as the AK-47) that can be set for automatic or semiautomatic fire; also : a rifle that resembles a military assault rifle but is designed to allow only semiautomatic fire

After 17 people were shot and killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February, activists have been using the tragic events to make the sale of so-called “assault weapons” illegal.

An Internet archive search shows the Merriam-Webster entry for “assault rifle” appears to be different now than it was before the shooting.

Blurring definitions is always intended to blur people’s thinking.