Biden: "The idea we still allow semiautomatic weapons to be purchased is sick. It's just sick. It has no social redeeming values."

The "Assault Rifle" is not the problem. An assault rifle can have the same caliber of ammunition that a handgun can have, and it's the ammunition that actually does the killing, the weapon of choice merely delivers the deadly ammunition.
We also must understand that we can not have the government, using weapons against "the people" without "the people" having access to the same weapons.
The problem lies in getting mentally ill people the mental health they need, including putting them in mental hospitals if that is necessary. Our leaders believe it's easier to issue a check every month to an individual with mental health issues, rather than put them in a hospital and get them real health care.