While that may be true, they made it perfectly clear they wanted the citizenry to have access to the same weapons available to the troops.
Are you really suggesting that a homeowner can defend his/her family just as effectively with a bolt action rifle as with a semi-automatic? That only holds true if the assailant is 50 yards away and is also obeying the law and brings a bolt action weapon. What are the infinitesimal odds of that? I can't believe how stupid this is getting.
So, the law abiding citizens must regress to weapon technology of the 1800's, while the bad guys who don't give a fuck about your regulations, get to arm themselves with weapons that give them an enormous advantage.
Or at the very least, let's ban rifles that LOOK SCARY. Better to do something that has no chance at success, than to face reality and try legislation that addresses the actual problem.