[mlindner]

You mean "assault weapon". The laws invent the category of "assault weapon" and then define it arbitrarily to ban it. "assault rifle" is something completely different and actually has a definition, but is also something that's illegal for sale anywhere in the US (if newly produced). Assault rifles are defined by having selective fire between semi-auto and fully-automatic. (These weapons are still sold in the US, but only old weapons grandfathered in, and require special permitting to own.)

For more see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_rifle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_weapon

[pedroma]

Considering many assault weapons are rifles and many assault rifles are assault weapons, please excuse my imprecise language.