Terminology turmoil
All from Wikipedia -
Assault rifle: An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are currently the standard service rifles in most modern armies. Examples of assault rifles include the StG 44, AK-47 and the M16 rifle.
Automatic fire: An automatic firearm is a firearm which continuously fires rounds as long as the trigger is pressed and held and there is ammunition in the magazine/chamber. This is in contrast to a semi-automatic firearm which fires one round with each individual trigger pull.
Selective fire: A selective fire firearm has at least one semi-automatic and one automatic mode, which is activated by means of a selector which varies depending on the weapon's design.
Machine gun: A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or magazine, typically at a rate of three to eighteen hundred rounds per minute.
An aspect of confusion starts here. Some current laws in the US refer to any full-auto firearm as a machine gun.
The term assault weapon was coined to be similar to the term assault rifle for the purposes of encompassing a large group of semi-auto firearms which also had some distinctive features.
Assault weapons: In the United States, assault weapon is a legal and political term used in firearms laws to define and restrict specific firearms. Definitions usually include semi-automatic firearms with a detachable magazine and one or more tactical, cosmetic, ergonomic, or safety features, such as a flash suppressor, pistol grip, or barrel shroud, respectively.
Magazine: A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating firearm. Magazines can be removable (detachable) or integral to the firearm. The magazine functions by moving the cartridges stored in the magazine into a position where they may be loaded into the chamber by the action of the firearm. The detachable magazine is often referred to as a clip, although this is technically inaccurate. (Magazines are re-loadable and generally last for years.)
From Wikipedia under "assault weapon": Considerable debate continues in the United States on how assault weapons should be defined, whether or not they should be legally restricted more than other firearms, and even whether or not the term should be used at all. It has been asserted that the term is a media invention or intended by gun control activists to foster confusion with the public over differences between full automatic and semi-automatic firearms, while others argue that the term was promulgated by the firearms industry itself. The term is sometimes conflated with the term "assault rifle", which refers to military rifles capable of switching between semi-automatic and fully automatic fire.
Should the term Assault Weapon be eliminated from US laws?
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| Yes, this term only adds confusion | |
12 (92%) |
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| No, current laws using the term are clear | |
1 (8%) |
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...I call 'em like I see 'em. If I don't see 'em, I make 'em up. 
Assault has two meanings. There is the meaning that describes a crime and the meaning that describes a military action. "Murder weapons"... good thought.
Often the task of making progress in legislation falls to the lowly and thankless of act convincing a popular and charismatic person that they don't understand what they're talking about. 
I smiled at that one also. 
nice
Were there any original thoughts rather than mostly a copy/paste from Wikipedia there might actually be more to discuss.
...until you can convince yourself. 
Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center: "A gun-control movement worthy of the name would insist that President Clinton move beyond his proposals for controls . . . and immediately call on Congress to pass far-reaching industry regulation like the Firearms Safety and Consumer Protection Act . . . [which] would give the Treasury Department health and safety authority over the gun industry, and any rational regulator with that authority would ban handguns." "Dispense With the Half Steps and Ban Killing Machines," Nov. 5, 1999 in the Houston Chronicle.
Dr. Arthur Kellerman, stated: "If you’ve got to resist, you’re chances of being hurt are less the more lethal your weapon. If that were my wife, would I want her to have a .38 Special in her hand? Yeah." Health Magazine, March/April 1994.
...rather than 'assault weapon' let's use the term heater. Popular from the early through mid twentieth century. You know back when gangsters had some class like Capone.
...Get off my lawn! 
...it's not illegal to sell black electrical tape.
A black toy with black tape over the orange tip looks... yup, black.
Year before last I took my daughter's car in for emissions inspection. It passed the hose in the exhaust test but failed because the "check engine" light was on. (Not sure what was the cause but they discovered the check engine light lit spuriously due to a looses connection that began when she had the faulty stereo replaced.) So they charged an hour's labor for the diagnostic work and passed it.
Last year it lit again during the inspection and they were going to fail it and start diagnosing until I stopped them. (A different mechanic) I recounted the story from the prior year and said if I can have some electrical tape, I can fix the problem. I did my thing and he checked the light and it was no longer lit. He asked what I did. I said I put tape over the bulb. 
My Prius has over 180K miles but the light's been coming on.
In this state, there are laws against resetting as a courtesy, so I bought a $59 scanner and reset it myself.
Cat converter may be going bad or I might need a new gas cap, whatever, there's always a workaround.
PS, no smog test required or I'd find some other way.
...idiot lights for nothing. 
...it has to be modern military style. That old fashioned Garand look won't cut it. To be scary today your Garand would need not just a bayonet lug but an actual bayonet.
The essence of communication eschews ambiguity. Since I'm paid as a systems engineer to write requirements on projects for DoD contractors and companies who seek product certification by agencies such as the FAA and FDA I am proficient in my usage.
Thanks for your sympathies on my discomfort, welcome back to DU and welcome to the discussion.
The term assault rifle has a particular denotative meaning. That meaning is the one that would be pertinent in discussions concerning legislation, government actions and judicial interpretations. Prior to the invention of the term assault weapon federal laws and ATF terminology referenced all full-auto firearms as machine guns.
I don't have a need to control the artful expressions of imaginative idealistic journalists. Do you have a need to assure that ambiguity and equivocation remain in the discussion?
I have yet to meet a handgun I'd rather use and that includes the absolute "cutting edge"...though I suppose it isn't cutting edge if an ancient, all-metal, SAO slab does almost everything better
