Assault weapons legislation in the United States refers to bills and laws (active, theoretical, expired, proposed, or failed) that define and restrict or make illegal the manufacture, transfer, and possession of assault weapons. How these firearms are defined and regulated varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction; generally, this constitutes a list of specific firearms and combinations of features on semiautomatic firearms.
The Federal Assault Weapons Ban enacted in 1994 expired in 2004. Attempts to renew this ban have failed, as have attempts to pass a new ban, such as the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 (AWB 2013). Ten U.S. states have assault weapons bans: three were enacted before the 1994 federal ban, four more were passed before the federal ban expired, and one passed after the federal ban expired. The majority of states (40) have no assault weapons ban, although two, Minnesota and Virginia, have training and background check requirements for purchasers of assault weapons that are stricter than those for ordinary firearms. On June 4, 2021, a federal judge struck down the three-decade-long ban in California, though it is pending appeal by the California Attorney General. While there are no statewide assault weapon bans in Colorado, local bans exist in certain cities or counties in the state. In addition to state bans, Washington, D.C., and some U.S. counties and municipalities have assault weapons laws.
The 1994 federal and 1989 state ban in California were prompted by the 1989 Cleveland Elementary School shooting in Stockton, California. Over the last decades, there has been an increase in the use of semi-automatic rifles in mass shootings. At least one rifle was used in about 44% of mass public shootings since the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting. The U.S. suffers the highest death toll from gun violence among high income countries and the 2023 Covenant School shooting, which occurred in March, was the 129th such mass shooting in America since the beginning of that year. Existing and proposed weapon legislation often come under renewed interest in the wake of major mass shootings, such as the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
In 2018, most Americans who were polled, supported a ban on assault weapons. According to an April 2023 Fox News poll, 61% of Americans are in favor of an assault weapons ban.
1994 federal assault weapons ban.
In January 1989, 34 children and a teacher were shot in Stockton California. The gunman used a semi automatic AK-47 firearm; five children perished. President George H.W. Bush banned all imports of semi automatic rifles in March 1989, and made the ban permanent in July 1989. The assault weapons ban tried to address public concern about mass shootings while limiting the impact on recreational firearms use.
In November 1993, the ban passed the United States Senate. The author of the ban, Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and other advocates said that it was a weakened version of the original proposal. In January 1994, Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center, said handguns and assault weapons should be banned. In May of that year, former presidents, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan wrote to the United States House of Representatives in support of banning "semi-automatic assault guns". They cited a 1993 CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll that found 77 percent of Americans supported a ban on the manufacture, sale, and possession of such weapons. Rep. Jack Brooks (D-TX), then chair of the House Judiciary Committee, tried to remove the ban from the crime bill but failed.
The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, commonly called the federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB and AWB 1994), was enacted in September 1994. The ban, including a ban on high-capacity magazines, became defunct (expired) in September 2004 per a 10-year sunset provision.
Proposed federal assault weapons bans.
114th Congress.
The proposed bill H.R.4269, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2015, was introduced on December 16, 2015, to the 114th United States Congress, sponsored by Representative David N. Cicilline of Rhode Island along with 123 original co-sponsors. It currently has 149 co-sponsors. This legislation states that its purpose is "To regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes."
The proposed legislation targets various firearm accessories, including the barrel shroud (a safety covering for the barrel of the firearm to prevent the operator from burning his or her hands as the barrel becomes heated after the firing of multiple rounds), pistol grip, and certain types of firearm stocks such as telescoping or collapsing stocks. Also included are lists of various classes and models of firearms, including semi-automatic firearms, AR-15 style rifles, assault weapons, semi-automatic pistols, semi-automatic shotguns, and others, some of which have already been banned or restricted under existing legislation including grenade launchers. The legislation also proscribes high-capacity magazines.
117th Congress.
On July 29, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Assault Weapons Ban of 2022 (H.R. 1808). The bill is somewhat similar to the Federal Assault Weapons Ban that was in force from 1994 to 2004. It defines certain semi-automatic firearms as assault weapons, and prohibits their manufacture, sale, transfer, or possession. Existing assault weapons would be grandfathered in – that is, they would be legal to possess, and legal to sell or transfer through a federally licensed gun dealer. The bill also exempts law enforcement agencies and retired law enforcement officers.
Defined as an assault weapon is any centerfire semi-automatic rifle with a detachable magazine and one or more of these features: a pistol grip, a forward grip, a folding, telescoping, or detachable stock, a grenade launcher, a barrel shroud, or a threaded barrel. A number of other rifles, shotguns, and pistols are also defined as assault weapons, including some specific makes and models.
Additionally, the proposed law defines magazines that can hold more than 15 rounds of ammunition as large capacity ammunition feeding devices, and prohibits their manufacture, sale, transfer, or possession. Existing magazines that can hold more than 15 rounds would be legal to possess, but not to sell or transfer. Magazines for .22 caliber rimfire ammunition are not included in the ban.
The bill passed the House by a vote of 217 to 213. Voting in favor of the bill were 215 Democrats and 2 Republicans. Voting against it were 208 Republicans and 5 Democrats.
The U.S. Senate has not voted on the bill, as proponents do not have the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster and pass the law.
118th Congress.
In early 2023, legislation to ban assault weapons was introduced in both the House and Senate, and was cosponsored by an overwhelming majority of Democratic legislators in both cases.
State assault weapon bans.
Three U.S. states passed assault weapons bans before Congress passed the federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994: California in 1989, New Jersey in 1990, and Connecticut in 1993. Four others passed assault weapons bans before AWB 1994 expired in 2004: Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts and New York.
California.
California restricts the possession, sale, transfer or import of defined assault weapons to those individuals who possess a Dangerous Weapons Permit issued by the California Department of Justice. In practice, very few Dangerous Weapons Permits are issued, and only under a very limited set of circumstances defined in state DOJ regulations.
1989.
In May 1989, California became the first state in the U.S. to pass an assault weapons law, after the January 1989 Cleveland Elementary School shooting in Stockton. The Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989, or AWCA, restricted semi-automatic firearms that it classified as assault weapons: over 50 specific brands and models of rifles, pistols, and shotguns to those who were issued a Dangerous Weapons Permit by the California Department of Justice. Since the Department of Justice generally does not give Dangerous Weapons Permits to ordinary citizens, the Roberti-Roos Act amounts to an effective ban on defined assault weapons in California. It also banned magazines that it classified as large capacity (those able to hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition). Guns and magazines legally owned at the time the law was passed were grandfathered in if registered with the California Department of Justice.
1999.
In March 1999, State Senator Don Perata introduced Senate Bill 23 (SB 23). The bill had three provisions: to make illegal the manufacture, importation, sale or offer, or to give or lend any large-capacity magazine as defined as having the capacity to accept more than ten rounds; the addition of a "generic" definition list to the existing Roberti-Roos legislation; and the exemption to allow on and off duty and retired peace officers the use of assault weapons. They are defined in Penal Code §12276.1 and §30515. The bill was passed and went into effect on January 1, 2000.
Shortly after this was passed, a loophole was discovered. Since the law was written by make and model or the number of features, the loophole was that a detachable magazine was allowed, if it required a tool to remove. This led to the creation of the Bullet Button. The Bullet Button is a device that replaced the standard magazine catch on the rifle and prevented the magazine from being released without a small pointed device inserted into the screw hole. Various designs and other versions of Bullet Button type devices were released and used by millions of Californians.
2016.
In December 2015, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik borrowed a rifle and removed the Bullet Button, making it an illegal configuration. Then went to the San Bernardino Inland Regional Center where they murdered 14 people and injured 22 others. This led to a second, stricter version of the original California assault weapons ban SB880, AKA the Bullet Button Ban. This made previously legal configurations of semi-automatic sporting rifles illegal. The owners were given a choice to register the guns as assault weapons with the California DOJ or change the configuration.
The bill was finalized and passed, then waited for 9 months for the DOJ regulations to enable owners to start the registration process. On the last day of Kamala Harris' tenure, at 2 pm as Attorney General, the laws were updated to include new categories of assault weapons, now including shotguns. This was presented as an emergency approval because the deadline was in 3 hrs.
2021.
On June 5, 2021, federal judge Roger Benitez overturned California's ban in his decision in "Miller v. Bonta." He issued a permanent injunction against enforcement of the law but stayed it for 30 days to give state Attorney General Rob Bonta time to appeal. Benitez opened his opinion by stating that "[l]ike the Swiss Army Knife the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment. Good for both home and battle, the AR-15 is the kind of versatile gun that lies at the intersection of the kinds of firearms protected under "District of Columbia v. Heller", 554 U.S. 570 (2008) and "United States v Miller", 307 U.S. 174 (1939)." A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay of Benitez's ruling on June 21, 2021, leaving the ban in place as appeals were litigated.
2024.
Judge Benitez once again ruled that the California ban is unconstitutional after the Ninth Circuit remanded the case back down to the district in light of New York State Rifle &amp; Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen. The case has since been held in abeyance pending the decision of the En Banc Court in 'Duncan v. Bonta'
Connecticut.
In June 1993, Connecticut became the third U.S. state, after California and New Jersey, to pass an assault weapons ban. In April 2013, four months after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the Connecticut General Assembly passed new restrictions to the state's existing assault weapons ban. The law was challenged, but a federal judge upheld it and ruled it constitutional. Gun owners said they would appeal.
Connecticut prohibits any person from possessing an assault weapon unless the weapon was possessed prior to July 1, 1994, and the possessor:
Connecticut defines an "assault weapon" as:
Connecticut also bans listed makes and models of semiautomatic firearms and copies of those firearms. Grandfather clauses and other exceptions apply, depending.
Delaware.
Since June 30, 2022, the production, sale, transfer, receipt, and possession of firearms deemed as assault weapons are prohibited. State law bans numerous specifically named semi-automatic centerfire rifles, semi-automatic shotguns, and semi-automatic pistols. The law also bans "copycat" assault weapons, which are defined as being a firearm that while not specifically listed as a banned assault weapon, is either a