It is depressing that someone would even need to ask. It’s like asking why would banning the internet really be bad, since we still have newspapers for the 1st.
Its a common question among those who don’t own firearms or aren’t into them. We need to be able to answer this question without hostility if we expect to win the war.
Purrcival, as others have posted the definition of assault weapon is very fluid. The very term is used by the left because it lets them paint certain guns as evil without getting specific. Essentially whatever gun they don’t like that particular day gets the label.
The guns most often labeled as ‘assault weapons’ are no different in function then other guns, they simply look different. They are also significantly less powerful then most hunting rifles.
If you want to start talking need, perhaps we should ask why people need the internet, cars, homes, heck people don’t really need more than one pair of shoes.