The definition of assault rifle
An assault rifle is a selective-fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine.
- Selective fire means the capability of a weapon to be adjusted to fire in semi-automatic, burst mode, and/or fully automatic firing mode.
- An intermediate cartridge is a rifle/carbine cartridge that is less powerful than typical full-power battle rifle cartridges, such as the .303 British, 7.62×54mmR, 7.92×57mm Mauser, .30-06 Springfield or 7.62×51mm NATO, but still has significantly longer effective range than pistol/personal defense weapon cartridges.
- A detachable magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating firearm that is removable.
This is not the same as the definition of a Weapon of Mass Destruction.