Origin of Assault Rifle is German. Sturmgehwar, most notably the Sturmgehwar 44. Lightweight bullets, high capacity, auto-fire rate that was respectable.
AR-15 has a lot of similarities except it is semi-auto. So does the civilian equivalent of the AK-47....so what?
Weapon of war? Well, yes, we are in a war with our government right now - it just isn’t ‘declared’ formally.
Neither was the Cold War with the Soviet Bloc. But we all knew it was war. I agree.