Something to keep in mind about the 'assault weapon' crap

Assault weapons—just like armor-piercing bullets, machine guns, and plastic firearms—are a new topic. The weapons’ menacing looks, coupled with the public’s confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons—anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun—can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons. In addition, few people can envision a practical use for these weapons.
Josh Sugarmann
Put plainly: "Lots of people don't know the difference, so let's keep them confused!  Make them think what we call 'assault weapons' are machine guns, and people are running around with them!  That'll get us votes for bans."

As Mr. Huffman says, It was this “study” by Sugarmann that was the seed for the “assault weapon” ban of 1994–all based on the deliberate confusion of the public. Mr. Sugarmann knows the truth and when the ’94 ban was about to sunset in 2004, while other anti-gun bigots were screaming about “blood will flow in the streets”, Sugarmann quietly told people that “not much will change” with the expiration of the ban. He successfully created the ban out of his insight on the ignorance and gullibility of the people and then moved on when he knew the deception could no longer be sustained.–Joe]