I love the loaded-yet-unclear terminology of “defensive” here as well.
A machinegun is a “defensive” weapon, in that you set it up in one spot (ideally fortified) and use it to fend off attackers. “Defensive” hand grenades are packed full of more explosives and have a much larger kill radius than offensive ones - they’re “defensive” because they’re intended to be used from behind cover (because that extra large radius can kill you as well otherwise).
Yet neither of these are things we want to equip civilians with for “home defense”. (Defense from what, I ask? Invading Russian Paratroopers?) But of course, “defensive gun usage” sounds so very reasonable on the surface. The flaw, of course, is in failing to realize that the world is not a battlefield and citizens are not under constant siege from waves of attackers.
