I'd say 44 AMP phrased it as best as it could be said.
If the general public has a "freak-out" over weapons that simply
look like their military counterparts, how do you think they might react to a bunch of self-identified gun-nuts lobbying to have not just "evil black rifles," but "evil black rifles" that
function like their military counterparts.
If you want something for comparison to how the argument with Hughes proponents would go, just think of the minister's wife from
The Simpsons: just a couple outbursts of "Won't someone think of the children" and suddenly the entire town is on board with whatever the heck it is that she wants to do.
Who says you can't learn things from cartoons
