TexasCHLforum.com

When the term started to be used improperly, a long time ago, I was among a minority that objected to the misuse and took a lot of flack for my objection to the "harmless" misuse by the unknowing, after all we were smarter and knew better. Now the term has been misused for so long that it is in danger of becoming the default term for any evil looking rifle.

I like the fact thet Wikipedia uses this definition:
An assault rifle is an automatic rifle or carbine firing ammunition with muzzle energies intermediate between those typical of pistol and battle rifle ammunition. Assault rifles are categorized between light machine guns that are intended more for sustained automatic fire in a support role, and smaller submachine guns that fire a handgun cartridge rather than a rifle cartridge. Assault rifles are the standard small arms in most modern armies, having largely replaced or supplemented larger, more powerful battle rifles, such as the World War II-era M1 Garand and Tokarev SVT. Examples of assault rifles include the M16 rifle and the AK-47. Semi-automatic rifles, including commercial versions of the AR-15, are not assault rifles as they lack the capability for automatic fire.


Sounds just like the letter I wrote to the paper in 1972.

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