1. Assult weapons have been illegal for private ownership, except with very high priced goverment permits and strict controls, since the 1933 law prohibiting fully automatic weapons.

2. The definition of an "assult rifle" is

The assault rifle is a term describing a type of automatic rifle generally defined as a selective fire rifle or carbine, chambering intermediate-powered ammunition. They are categorized between the larger and heavier light machine gun, which is intended more for sustained automatic fire in a support role, and the smaller submachine gun, which fires 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 rifles ('battle rifles') such as the WWII-era M1 Garand and Tokarev SVT. Examples of assault rifles include the AR-15 and its military incarnation, the M16 rifle, the ubiquitous AK-47 genus, and the bullpup FAMAS. More exotic examples include the exquisite LR 300 By Z-M Weapons and the HK G36, which makes extensive use of modern polymers and space-age engineering.

The name is a translation of the German word Sturmgewehr coined by Adolf Hitler to describe the Sturmgewehr 44, the firearm generally considered the first true assault rifle and effective progenitor of the concept. It gradually became the common (if not technically accurate) term for the sub-family of similar firearms, and also has been used retroactively with earlier weapons possessing such traits. While it is not a completely accepted or technically correct label, it is widely used to differentiate current small-caliber weapons such as the AR-15 and AK-74 from earlier semi-automatic or select-fire rifles that fired larger cartridges, such as the M1 Garand, M14, HK G3, CETME, and FN FAL, which are sometimes referred to as 'battle rifles'. Technically, all are 'rifles' of different caliber, with some being semi-automatic or having select-fire capability, thus being either 'semi-automatic rifles' or 'automatic rifles'. Since the smaller-caliber weapons tend to be distinct in construction and modern use from their counterparts, the term 'assault rifle' has proven useful and popular for referring to them specifically.

Selective fire means that they can be fired in a single-shot ( per trigger pull), burst, or fully automatic mode.

A firearm without the capability to fire more than one round per pull of the trigger is NOT an assult rifle.