I.E.:
Meant for war, or to be fired from the hip, assault rifles such as the notorious AK-47, the favorite of guerrilla fighters around the world, can spit a lethal spray of up to 600 rounds a minute in full automatic mode.
Possibly. But the AK-47 "look-alikes" (e.g. WASR-10) sold in the U.S. are not "assault rifles". They are semi-automatic only. You pull the trigger, and they fire one round, and one round only.
Comparing them to true (selective-fire) assault rifles is dishonest, despicable, and reprehensible.
Their potent punch leaves officers equipped with traditional handguns at a disadvantage.
This line is obviously an attempt to deceive the reader into believing that these "assault rifles" are extraordinarily powerful. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The 7.62x39 cartridge, chambered in such firearms as the true AK-47, WASR-10, SKS Carbine, Ruger Mini-30, etc., is roughly equal to the .30-30 Winchester in power & performance.
When measuring foot-pounds of energy, the 7.62x39 cartridge is barely half as powerful as the .30-06
Which, of course, describes the denizens of the BATFE with complete accuracy.
I'll buy a steak dinner for anybody who can get off 600 rounds that way, in a minute. One trigger pull, one shot, no external devices or illegal full-auto mods.
And lets stipulate that all rounds must hit the side of a barn at 100 feet.
That paper is one of THE most leftist rags in print.
That's because all the info you quoted regarding the rifles came from the Brady Campaign.
It's a simple two-part recipe: 1) Plant seeds of fear in people's heads/create a crisis through articles such as this, and then 2) eventually offer legislation as the answer.