Analysis | Does the Second Amendment really protect assault weapons? Four courts have said no.

Most certainly, in accordance with MILLER (1939).
A ban on these "military style" rifles is in direct violation of the SCOTUS decision MILLER (1939). The court found that the 2nd Amendment did not protect the individual right to own "gangster weapons", like a sawed-off shotgun, but firearms that had a military usefulness, "in militia service".
The only weapon more suitable for such "militia service" than the AR-15, which shares functioning, ammunition, and most parts with the M-16 service rifle, is the select fire "real" assault rifle, the M-16 itself.

Its still very Sad when those that attempt to report news can not even use correct terms, the AR-15 in all its versions are not an assault Rifles no matter how hard the left clicks its ruby slippers. Courts can say whatever their masters tell them to say, the 2A says it all. The antis do assorted contortions to validate their faulty platform but still lose in the end. When all is said and done they have no real desire to implement their plan because they are the ones that will pay when you look at the logical conclusion.

What exactly is an assault weapon? and who makes the determination?

Think about it - if I grab a stick and assault you with it; that stick by definition has now become an assault weapon; same if I grab a bat, a board, a knife, a tire iron, etc..

So I did a little research on the term assault rifle and this is what I found: An assault rifle is a selective-fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine.

Note the term "selective-fire"; so I looked that term up and found the following:

Selective fire means the capability of a weapon to be adjusted to fire in semi-automatic, burst mode, and/or fully automatic firing mode.

I have yet to see an AR-15 that is civilian spec be able to adjust to fire in semi-automatic, burst mode, and/or fully automatic firing modes. Unless of course they have been illegally modified. Everyone I have seen fires in semi-automatic mode ONLY.