Lest We Forget Pt.II:"No one needs an assault weapon"...

So-called "assault weapons" are not machineguns (which have been heavily taxed and restricted since 1934), and are less powerful than many commonly used hunting rifles, like the .30-06 . They only fire one shot per pull of the trigger, not a "spray of bullets," and operate under the same principle as other semi-automatics. They are defined in law primarily according to their appearance, which often resembles a military-issue "select-fire" rifle or machinegun, including a pistol grip, a folding stock, a flash suppressor or muzzle brake, a barrel shroud, a bayonet lug, and/or a grenade launcher. None of these features makes these guns any more deadly...like their military counterparts, may use the same ammunition as other small and intermediate sized game hunting rifles...These guns are often used for "varmint" control, competition target shooting, small game hunting, and other lawful purposes....
---See complete essay at:
http://tpgfaq.org/sec3/gfawbn.htm