So what’s an assault weapon, anyway?
In 1994 the US government created a list of elements that qualified a weapon as an assault weapon. Back then, as now, there was a lot of discussion on what was and wasn’t a combat-type weapon. What got chosen was a group of characteristics that courts could consistently apply, that were typical of combat type weapons and not so of other firearms.
An assault weapon (1994-2004 law) could be rifle, pistol, or shotgun.
An assault rifle was a semi-auto rifle able to accept detachable magazines AND two or more of the following:
) folding or telescoping stock;
) pistol grip;
) bayonet mount;
) flash suppressor or threaded barrel capable of accepting one;
) grenade launcher.
A pistol was an assault weapon if it was a semi-auto that used a detachable magazine AND two or more of the following:
) magazine that attaches outside the pistol grip;
) threaded barrel that could accept barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or noise suppressor aka silencer;
) barrel shroud capable of being used as handhold;
) unloaded weight in excess of 50 oz (1.4 kg);
) semi-auto version of fully auto firearm.
A shotgun was an assault weapon if it was a semi-auto with two or more of the following:
) folding or telescoping stock;
) pistol grip;
) fixed magazine capacity of 5 or more rounds;
) detachable magazine.
Please notice that nowhere is a discussion of whether it is or is a copy of a weapon used by a military somewhere. No question of color. No arguing whether common use calibers (.30 aka 7.62 for example) are or are not, especially with systems that can swap out calibers. These are just characteristics of weapons that are primarily intended to shoot and kill a large number of people in combat type situations. It isn’t perfect, but it’s what was used.