i think it is a overboard allowing fully automatic weapons with large clips
A "fully automatic" weapon is legally classified as a machine gun.

It has been unlawful since 1934 (The National Firearms Act) for civilians to own machine guns without special permission from the U.S. Treasury Department
http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcfullau.html

The "assault weapons" being debated now are not fully automatic.
BTW, I believe that Oswald assasinated Kennedy with a bolt action rifle, and
that is not considered an "assault" weapon.