I was thinking about what if Biden was alive in the time of the founding of our country when weapons that are mentioned in our founding concepts were invariably long guns. The same weapon you used to hunt deer, moose, bear etc was the same one you used to kill soldiers of the opposing forces. Pistols were for close quarters fighting and they were all single shot, and the caliber was pretty huge for stopping power with a single shot
In a word, they cold easily be classified as “Assault” weapons as when you were going towards the enemy it was in a formation built on assaulting the enemy. It was not at a shooting range with goggles etc., if you did not kill what you shot at as a pioneer you did not eat.
Last, one of the primary reasons we were given the right to keep and bear arms was even the founders knew that at some time in the future as they had done, we may have to take our country back from those who had decided they should rule us, not by our consent but by their force of arms against an unarmed populace
Sic Semper Tyrranis!
All living beings kill to eat in some form or another. Most humans let others do the killing for them.
Any tool used to assault someone could be called an “assault weapon” so the term is specious at best. A spoon, toothpick, comb, cigarette, q-tip, knife, truck, plane, train, and automobiles are all assault weapons when used as an attacking tool instead of a defensive tool or other purpose.