SPRINGDALE (KFSM)- Assault weapon is a term that many say has divided our nation.
Because the term means different things to different people, 5NEWS spoke to a weapons expert to get a more concrete definition.
Steve Sturm, who owns an indoor shooting rage in Springdale, said an assault weapon “is anything somebody is coming at you with.”
“To me it could be a baseball bat, a frying pan, a hammer, even bare fists,” Sturm said.
However, the term "assault rifle" is a military weapon that shoots "fully automatic,” he said.
“So, you pull the trigger once, and it shoots full automatic. It will keep shooting until you let go of the trigger,” Sturm said.
Sturm has been a weapon enthusiast for nearly 60 years. He said people can fire automatic rifles at his range for a fee, and there is no age restriction.
Sturm said automatic weapons are not easy to get for people who want to buy one.
“You might find one for $10,000, but probably $15,000,” Sturm said.
Those who want to own one face a background check and could be required to wait up to one year for approval.
“You have to fill out paperwork and get permission from the government to buy it,” Sturm said. "In 1986 they passed a law that they could make no more full-automatic weapons in the U.S. or import them, so, what was there then is what is here today."