you consider the fact the M16 was actually developed and made by armour lite you are really splitting hairs if you think there is much difference between an AR-15 and a M-16 carbine . ( or whatever it is called now).
Yes there is a big difference. The AR 15 is not an assault weapon, you press the trigger and it shoots one bullet. In the state that I live in, an AR 15 can only have a maximum of 10 bullets, the same maximum as a handgun.
Part of the problem is that the design of the AR 15 looks like a military weapon, but it's just a rifle.