How have the courts treated the government's argument that possession of assault rifles by a defendant was an unlawful possession of an assault rifle?

The government's argument is not supported by the record, and the district court made no finding that the rifles were intended for an unlawful purpose. Instead, the court merely speculated that the rifles "could end up in hands ... where they would be used against law enforcement officials or innocent parties...." That is true of all rifles. Accordingly, the absence of any evidence or finding that the defendant in fact intended the weapons for such use would be sufficient to cause us to reject the government's argument. See United States v. Nuno-Para, 877 F.2d 1409, 1413-14 (9th Cir.1989) (district court's sentence vacated where reasons for departure are unclear).

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