The term "assault rifle" is an ideo-political term that was coined by hoplophobic gun-grabbers as a means of seizing the moral high ground and justifying their positions.
I would doubt that in the last 10 years that a single story in the MSM that used the term "assault weapon" used it with the real definition that you cited. It just means a gun that looks like it could do bad things.
Recall the principle that the party who defines the meaning of words in a debate controls the debate itself. Libs have turned this fancy way of telling a lie into an art form.
I think you're mixing up "assault rifle" - a very real term, with a very real defintion - with "assault weapon", which, as you state, was dreamed up by anti-gun zealots (to demonize any gun they don't like).
Recall the principle that the party who defines the meaning of words in a debate controls the debate itself. Libs have turned this fancy way of telling a lie into an art form.
Exactly.
IMO That's why the lefts' hypberbole and propaganda must be exposed and corrected. E.G. Any time the leftist-liberal media refers to a semi-automatic rifle, such as the SKS, as an "assault rifle", the error (lie?) should be pointed out, and corrected.
"assault-rifle" is a valid term with a strict denotation: light shoulder-arm, intermediate caliber, select-fire mechanism
"assault-weapon" is pure BS, loosely translates as: black, ugly, scary semi-automatic weapon easily demonized for furthering hoplophobic agenda