Learn gun-speak before arguing against firearms: Column

We've all heard former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan's admonition that "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." Yet the public debate about guns

 in America takes Moynihan's warning to the next level: Each side not only has its own facts, it has its own language.

For instance, take the rush after the recent Orlando shootings to ban "assault" or "military-style" weapons like the AR-15 rifle. Gun control advocates immediately jumped to regulate sales of "automatic weapons" and "assault rifles" like the AR-15, which they deem too deadly for one individual to need. Scary stories about the AR-15, which Hillary Clinton called "weapons of war" that can fire hundreds of rounds per minute, began circulating, further clouding the story.

For starters, an AR-15 wasn't used in the Orlando shooting. Instead, the shooter used a Sig Sauer MCX semi-automatic rifle and a 9mm handgun. Perhaps this is a distinction without much difference — the Sig Sauer is similar to an AR-15 — but it does demonstrate the rush to vilify the AR-15 by those seeking to regulate its sale.

But more important, neither the Sig Sauer nor the AR-15 is an "assault rifle" under any applicable definition. They are both semi-automatic weapons, meaning every time the user pulls the trigger, the gun fires one bullet — just like any handgun or hunting rifle. Sure, the AR-15 looks more like something out of the "Die Hard" movies, but it doesn't shoot any faster than many smaller guns. Actual "assault rifles" — widely defined as automatic machine-gun style weapons, are essentially banned in America. (There are also roughly 8 million AR-15-style rifles in circulation in America right now, so best of luck confiscating those.)

Hillary Clinton has called for reinstatement of an "assault weapons" ban signed by her husband — but it's almost certain that ban would not have barred the Orlando shooter from owning his weapon. Under the assault weapons ban signed by Bill Clinton in 1994 and which lasted through 2004, AR-15s were only prohibited if they featured multiple military-style upgrades, such as folding stocks and pistol grips, which made them easier to conceal and control. But if the gun wasn't tricked out, it was completely legal to own.