Bob Chilcoat wrote:

... no one NEEDs to own an assault rifle or machine gun for
personal use.

And the typical citizen cannot do so. Assault rifles and machine guns are fully
automatic weapons and are restricted by legislation enacted in 1934. If you want to
own one today, you have to obtain a permit from BATF for each weapon. This requires
that you pass essentially the same investigations necessary to get a top secret
security clearance and pay a hefty fee (in 1981, the fee was $600 per weapon). Many
States also require a separate investigation and permit, and some States will not
allow private citizens to own them at all.

George Patterson
If a man gets into a fight 3,000 miles away from home, he *had* to have
been looking for it.