Yeah it was a straight joke. Everybody knew it. Probably the reason they let it die; it was a watered down pyrrhic victory of no real consequence. Right - 'cuz it's also a civilian version of a military combat rifle. What do they have in common? Detachable mags. Ban detachable mags and all the pistol grips, bayonet mounts, bump stocks and Pickatinny Rail in the world won't make a lick of difference. It would also effectively sundown every militarily-derived rifle past the .30 carbine.You bring up the '94 ban which is indeed torturous, and I would argue further, didn't actually address the characteristics of "assault weapons" that make them more deadly.
A Mini-14 looks different from an AR-15, but it shoots the same round and has the same magazine capacity options.