Perhaps the appeal of an assault rifle in this situations is the emotional charge a spree killer feels in wielding one. The marketing of the weapons - in fictio

Perhaps the appeal of an assault rifle in this situations is the emotional charge a spree killer feels in wielding one. The marketing of the weapons - in fictional media as well as in gun magazines is that these are tools of power, probably something that appeals to the kind of a spree killer. So... maybe assault rifles being banned would be a consequence of their great marketing. (And why they get a bump in sales after every mass shooting?)