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I have to confess some ignorance here - I don't know much about guys. Can you please, or someone else, explain to me the difference between an automatic weapon and a semi-automatic weapon? And also what they mean by an 'Assualt Weapon' - in colloquial use it would seem to me that any gun is an assault weapon, but what is specifically meant by that?

This isn't a trick - I just see many talking heads dropping words like this and I don't doubt that the typical person on the street has any idea what they mean.

"I have to confess some ignorance here - I don't know much about guys."

I don't know much about guys, either. After 30-odd years, they are still a mystery to me. Guns, however, are much simpler.

An automatic weapon is a weapon that will continue to shoot as long as you hold down the trigger. These are also known as "machine guns" and have been regulated by Federal law since 1934. To get one, you have to supply your fingerprints, undergo a background check, and pay a $200 transfer tax. You can't transfer these from person to person (except at death) without following this procedure; failure to do so will land you in the Fed's prisons for 10 years.

A semi-automatic weapon is a weapon that automatically loads a new round into the chamber after ejecting the spent round. Your average deer rifle is a semi-automatic weapon, as are many handguns. Sometimes also called an "autoloader."

An assault rifle (not to be confused with a so-called "assault weapon") is a weapon commonly used by the military which has selective fire via a switch on the receiver. It can be switched to fire one shot at a time, to fire in three-round bursts, or to fire full-auto.

A so-called "assualt weapon" is a weapon that looks scary to those who want to disarm the American public. It is a semi-auto rifle with one or more of the following characteristics: a flash hider, a bayonet lug, a pistol grip, a folding stock, a removable magazine, or a magazine that holds more than 10 rounds (I'm missing some stuff here; somebody help me out).

These guns offend the delicate sensibilities of anti-rights people because they "look scary." But the scary-looking features that are banned are useful to ordinary citizens, and the ban on having guns with certain features is repugnant to the Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to keep and bear arms for their own defense, both against criminals and a tyrannical government.

BTW, we all need to stop using the anti-rights crowd's nomenclature for so-called "assault weapons." I call 'em "sport utility rifles" and encourange others to do the same. An anti-gun folks aren't "anti-gun;" they're "anti-rights" so that's what I call 'em (at least when I'm not calling them worse things.)

I have to confess some ignorance here - I don't know much about guys. Can you please, or someone else, explain to me the difference between an automatic weapon and a semi-automatic weapon? And also what they mean by an 'Assualt Weapon' - in colloquial use it would seem to me that any gun is an assault weapon, but what is specifically meant by that? Automatic - pull the trigger once, firearm shoots all the bullets until either the finger is off the trigger or ammo is gone.

Semiautomatic - One pull of the trigger, one bullet. Most pistols are semi-auto(All glocks, Berettas, 1911), many rifles are as well.

Assault RIFLE - Military Term - guns that can shoot auto AND semi-auto. Class III NFA required to own one.

Assault WEAPON - A gun that looks scary. Term was created or made famous by anti-gunner Josh Sugarmann, now the head of VPC, a radical gun ban lobby. By legal definition, it depends on each state.