I had never thought that assault weapons were really a necessity. Sure they're fun and appropriate for match shooting, marksmanship or collecting and such, but not for their designed and intended purpose (i.e., paramilitary-style attack/defense ops). Now I'm not so sure. Okay, America is not Rwanda or some other Turd World shithole of a country where, given their demographics, and their political, ethnic, and religious extremism, and their history of chaos, having an AK-47 and a combat harness full of loaded 30 round magazines makes perfect sense because credible scenarios for the need of such a weapon abound there.
Now I must reconsider. In the past I have thought that a simple sporting-type rifle, pistol, or shotgun would do very nicely to defend my homestead. But now it seems the thugs have discovered social networking digital technology. And so I have as John Maynard Keynes is reputed to have said: "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?"