First of all, the assault rifle ban does not apply to automatic weapons... Automatic weapons have been heavily regulated since 1937, with additional laws regulating them in 1968 and 1986 and are a different weapon class than 'sporting arms'. You don't go down to your local 'guns r us' and pick up an M-16....
The assault rifle bill, IMHO, was a stupid law that didn't really accomplish anything other than drive up prices, and make a lot of criminals out of people who don't know the laws, and can't easily tell the difference between a 'pre-ban' weapon and a 'post-ban' weapon... And it can be much more difficult than one might think... The criminals could care less.... If I were going to shoot someone, I don't think I would be too worried about breaking the assault weapon ban.....
Underground727, if you are serious about owning a firearm of any kind, I hope you are aware of the responsibility that goes along with the ownership of such a potentially deadly instrument....
Dave