Here's a gun question:

[aikoaiko]

56. No, you're confusing the term "assault rifle" with "assault weapon"

Assault weapons were legally defined in the 1994-2004 Federal AWB and currently defined legally in some states. AR-15s in their standard configurations met this definition, but once you removed the bayonet lug, swapped out the flash hider for a muzzle break, and kept the fixed stock, you could own a fully functional AR-15 rifle with some cosmetic differences from the standard.

Assault Rifle was coined by Hitler when he created the Sturmgewehr 44 Storm (as in storm/assault a position) Rifle

Wiki cites three authorative sources:
In a strict definition, a firearm must have at least the following characteristics to be considered an assault rifle:[2][3][4]
* It must be an individual weapon
* It must be capable of selective fire
* It must have an intermediate-power cartridge: more power than a pistol but less than a standard rifle or battle rifle
* Its ammunition must be supplied from a detachable box magazine[5]
* And it should have an effective range of at least 300 metres (330 yards)

C. Taylor The Fighting Rifle: A Complete Study of the Rifle in Combat, ISBN 0-87947-308-8
F.A. Moyer Special Forces Foreign Weapons Handbook, ISBN 0-87364-009-8
R.J. Scroggie, F.A. Moyer Special Forces Combat Firing Techniques, ISBN 0-87364-010-1

So the answer to your question is that from the Federal perspective, AR-15s were never considered assault rifles, but they were (in certain configurations) considered assault weapons from 1994-2004.

Now they are just popular rifles.