Assault weapons legislation in the United States refers to bills and

laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

(active, theoretical, expired, proposed, or failed) that define and restrict or make illegal the manufacture, transfer, and possession of

assault weapon In the United States, ''assault weapon'' is a controversial term used to define firearms with specified characteristics. The definition varies among regulating jurisdictions, but usually includes semi-automatic firearms with a detachable magaz ...

s. 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. Assault rifles (not assault weapons) are defined by federal law in the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934. The NFA specifically defines an assault rifle as one that can fire more than one round per trigger pull, i.e., capable of

selective fire Selective fire is the capability of a weapon to be adjusted to fire in semi-automatic, fully automatic, and/or burst mode. The modes are chosen by means of a selector switch, which varies depending on the weapon's design. Some selective-fire w ...

. The

Federal Assault Weapons Ban The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, popularly known as the Federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB), was a subsection of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, a United States federal law which includ ...

enacted in 1994 expired in 2004. This did little to regulate the actual firearms other than limit importation from specific countries. Attempts to renew this ban have failed, as have attempts to pass a new ban, such as the

Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 The Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 (AWB 2013) was a bill introduced in the 113th United States Congress as by Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, on January 24, 2013, one month after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. It was defeated in the S ...

(AWB 2013). Eight 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 (42) have no assault weapons ban, although two,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

, 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 Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

, local bans exist in certain cities or counties in each of these states. In 2018, most Americans who were polled supported a ban on assault weapons. The 1994 federal and 1989 state ban in California were prompted by the 1989 Cleveland Elementary School shooting in Stockton, California. Existing and proposed weapon legislation come under renewed interest in the wake of

mass shooting There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 20 ...

s, most recently after the May 2022

Robb Elementary School shooting On May 24, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, United States, where 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a former student at the school, fatally shot nineteen students and two teachers, and wounded seventeen othe ...

in Uvalde, Texas. In addition to state bans, Washington, D.C., and some U.S. counties and municipalities have assault weapons laws.

Federal assault weapons bans

Expired assault weapons ban of 1994

In January 1989, 34 children and a teacher were shot in Stockton California. The gunman used a semi automatic

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms d ...

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

; five children perished. President George H.W. Bush

banned A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meanin ...

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 United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

. The author of the ban,

Dianne Feinstein Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein ( ; born Dianne Emiel Goldman; June 22, 1933) is an American politician who serves as the senior United States senator from California, a seat she has held since 1992. A member of the Democratic Party, she wa ...

(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 Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

, and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

wrote to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

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 magazine A high-capacity magazine (or large-capacity magazine) is a magazine capable of holding more than the usual number of rounds of ammunition for a particular firearm. A magazine may also be defined as high-capacity in a legal sense, based on the nu ...

s, became defunct (expired) in September 2004 per a 10-year

sunset provision In public policy, a sunset provision or sunset clause is a measure within a statute, regulation or other law that provides that the law shall cease to have effect after a specific date, unless further legislative action is taken to extend the law ...

Proposed federal assault weapons bans

Proposed Assault Weapons Ban of 2015

The proposed bill H.R.4269, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2015, was introduced on December 16, 2015, to the 114th

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

, sponsored by Representative David N. Cicilline of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

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 On a firearm or other tools, a pistol grip is a distinctly protruded handle underneath the main mechanism, to be held by the user's hand at a more vertical (and thus more ergonomic) angle, similar to the how one would hold a conventional pis ...

, and certain types of firearm

stocks Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...

such as telescoping or collapsing stocks. Also included are lists of various classes and models of firearms, including

semi-automatic firearm A semi-automatic firearm, also called a self-loading or autoloading firearm ( fully automatic and selective fire firearms are also variations on self-loading firearms), is a repeating firearm whose action mechanism ''automatically'' loads a fol ...

AR-15 style rifle An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation ...

assault weapons In the United States, ''assault weapon'' is a controversial term used to define firearms with specified characteristics. The definition varies among regulating jurisdictions, but usually includes semi-automatic firearms with a detachable magaz ...

semi-automatic pistols A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single- chamber handgun (pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actua ...

semi-automatic shotguns A semi-automatic shotgun is a repeating shotgun with a semi-automatic action, i.e. capable of automatically chambering a new shell after each firing, but requires individual trigger-pull to manually actuate each shot. Semi-automatic shotguns ...

, and others, some of which have already been banned or restricted under existing legislation including

grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The mo ...

s. The legislation also proscribes

Assault Weapons Ban of 2021

The Assault Weapons Ban of 2021 was approved by a House committee in July 2022.

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 California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

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 A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

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 A grandfather clause, also known as grandfather policy, grandfathering, or grandfathered in, is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from t ...

in if registered with the California Department of Justice.

1999

In March 1999, State Senator

Don Perata Don Richard Perata (born April 30, 1945) is a California lobbyist
and former California Senate Bill 23 (1999), 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 Harri's 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 ''Miller v. Bonta'' is a pending court case before Judge Roger Benitez of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California concerning California's assault weapon ban, the Roberti–Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 (AWCA). J ...

.'' He issued a permanent injunction against enforcement of the law but stayed it for 30 days to give state Attorney General

Rob Bonta Robert Andres Bonta (born September 22, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the attorney general of California since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a member of the California State Assembly for ...

time to appeal. Benitez opened his opinion by stating that " ke the Swiss Army Knife the popular

AR-15 An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation ...

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 ''United States v. Miller'', 307 U.S. 174 (1939), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that involved a Second Amendment to the United States Constitution challenge to the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA). The case i ...

'', 307 U.S. 174 (1939)." A three-judge panel of the

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

issued a

stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...

of Benitez's ruling on June 21, 2021, leaving the ban in place as appeals were litigated.

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 The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. ...

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: * Was eligible to apply for a certificate of possession for the assault weapon by July 1, 1994; * Lawfully possessed the assault weapon prior to October 1, 1993, or inherited a defined assault weapon that was lawfully possessed prior to the aforementioned date; and * Is not in violation of Connecticut General Statutes §§ 53-202a to 53-202k (assault weapon regulations), and Connecticut General Statutes § 53-202o (affirmative defense in prosecution for possession of specified assault weapon). It also prohibits any person from distributing, transporting, importing into the state, keeping, offering or exposing for sale, or giving an assault weapon to any person. Connecticut defines an "assault weapon" as: * Any "selective-fire" firearm capable of fully automatic, semi-automatic or "burst fire" at the option of the user; * Any semi-automatic centerfire rifle, regardless of the date produced, that has the ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one of the following features: *#A folding or telescoping stock; *#Any grip of the weapon, including a pistol grip, thumbhole stock, or other stock, that would allow an individual to grip the weapon resulting in any finger on the trigger hand in addition to the trigger finger being directly below any portion of the action of the weapon when firing; *#A forward pistol grip; *#A flash suppressor; or *#A grenade or flare launcher; * A semi-automatic pistol that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one of the following features: *#The ability to accept a detachable ammunition magazine that attaches at some location outside the pistol grip; *#A threaded barrel capable of accepting a flash suppressor, forward pistol grip or silencer; *#A shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the firearm without being burned (except a slide that encloses the barrel); or *#A second hand grip; *A semi-automatic shotgun that has both of the following features: *#A folding or telescoping stock; or *#Any grip of the weapon, including a pistol grip, a thumbhole stock, or any other stock, the use of which would allow an individual to grip the weapon, resulting in any finger on the trigger hand in addition to the trigger finger being directly below any portion of the action of the weapon when firing; * A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has: *#A fixed magazine that can accept more than 10 rounds of ammunition; or *#An overall length of less than 30 inches; * A semiautomatic pistol with a fixed magazine that has the ability to accept more than 10 rounds of ammunition; * A semiautomatic shotgun that can accept a detachable magazine; or * A shotgun with a revolving cylinder. Connecticut also bans listed makes and models of semiautomatic firearms and copies of those firearms.

Grandfather clause A grandfather clause, also known as grandfather policy, grandfathering, or grandfathered in, is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from t ...

s 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 semi-automatic centerfire rifle, semi-automatic shotgun, or semi-automatic pistol with one or more specific banned cosmetic features.

Florida

^{Assault weapon legislation has been previously proposed in the Legislature.}

Hawaii

Hawaiian law bans the manufacture, possession, sale or other transfer of what it defines as assault

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, a ...

s. Hawaii defines an "assault pistol" as a semiautomatic handgun that accepts a detachable magazine and that has two or more of: * An ammunition

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip; * A threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash

suppressor A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a muzzle device that reduces the acoustic intensity of the muzzle report (sound of a gunshot) and muzzle rise when a gun (firearm or air gun) is discharged, b ...

, forward hand grip, or silencer; * A shroud that is attached to or partially or completely encircles the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the second hand without being burned; * A manufactured weight of 50 ounces or more when the pistol is unloaded; * A

centerfire Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center A centerfire cartridge is a firearm metallic cartridge whose primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i.e. "case head"). Unlike rim ...

pistol with an overall length of 12 inches or more; or * A semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm. In tandem with the assault pistol ban is a law that bans the manufacture, possession, sale or other transfer of detachable ammunition magazines with capacities greater than 10 rounds that are capable of use with a pistol.

Maryland

Maryland law prohibits the possession, sale, transfer, purchase, receipt, or transportation into the state of assault weapons defined as assault pistols and assault long guns. Maryland's definition of an "assault long gun" includes a list of 45 specific firearms or their copies, with certain variations. Maryland's definition of an "assault pistol" includes a list of 15 specific firearms or their copies, with certain variations. Maryland also defines an assault weapon "copycat weapon" as: * A semiautomatic centerfire rifle that can accept a detachable magazine and has any two of the following: a folding stock; a grenade or flare launcher; or a flash suppressor; * A semiauto centerfire rifle that has a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds; * A semiauto centerfire rifle that has an overall length of less than 29 inches; * A semiauto pistol with a fixed magazine that can accept more than 10 rounds; * A semiauto shotgun that has a folding stock; or * A shotgun with a revolving cylinder. In tandem with the assault weapons ban is a law that bans the manufacture, sale or other transfer of detachable magazines with capacities greater than 20 rounds. The United States Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to the Maryland ban in November 2017. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond had upheld the ban, stating that: " sault weapons and large-capacity magazines are not protected by the Second Amendment." Attorneys general in 21 states and the NRA had asked the Supreme Court to hear the case.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts law bans the sale, transfer, or possession of assault weapons not otherwise lawfully possessed on September 13, 1994. Massachusetts defines "assault weapon" by the definition of "semiautomatic assault weapon" in the federal assault weapons ban of 1994. That definition included: * A list of firearms by name and copies of those firearms; * Semi-automatic rifles and pistols capable of accepting a detachable magazine and having at least two specified characteristics; and * Semi-automatic shotguns having at least two specified characteristics. In tandem with the assault weapons ban is a law that bans the sale, transfer, or possession of a large capacity feeding device unless such device was lawfully possessed on September 13, 1994. The definition of "large capacity feeding device" included: a fixed or detachable magazine, box, drum, feed strip or similar device capable of accepting, or that can be readily converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition or more than 5 shotgun shells; or a large capacity ammunition feeding device as defined in the federal assault weapons ban of 1994.

New Jersey

In May 1990, New Jersey became the second state in the U.S. to pass an assault weapons ban, after California. At the time, it was the most restrictive assault weapons ban in the nation.

semi-automatic rifle A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger, and uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber. For comparison, a bolt ...

s are illegal in New Jersey, and owning and publicly carrying other guns require separate licensing processes. Although it is commonly referred to as an assault weapons ban, New Jersey's law actually uses the term "assault firearm" to define banned and regulated guns. Among the list of firearms identified as 'assault firearms' are the Colt AR-15, AK variants and all 'M1 Carbine Type' variants. Some New Jersey gun advocates have called its laws "draconian". Attorney Evan Nappen, author of several books on New Jersey gun laws, says the term is "misapplied and carries with it a pejorative meaning."

New York

New York law bans the manufacture, transport, disposal or possession of an assault weapon in the state. It defines an "assault weapon" as: * A semi-automatic rifle or pistol able to accept a detachable magazine and that has at least one from a list of characteristics; * A semi-automatic shotgun that has at least one from a list of characteristics; or * A revolving cylinder shotgun. In tandem with the assault weapons ban is a law that bans the manufacture, transport, disposal or possession of a "large capacity ammunition feeding device", defined as: "a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that: 1) has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than ten rounds of ammunition; 2) contains more than seven rounds of ammunition; or 3) is obtained after January 15, 2013 and has a capacity of, or can be readily restored or converted to accept more than seven rounds of ammunition." In January 2016 the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association sued and a Federal Judge ruled that "the seven round limit is arbitrary and unenforceable"; because of this, the limit in New York is now 10 rounds.

Local assault weapons bans

Some local governments have laws that ban or restrict the possession of assault weapons.

District of Columbia

A Washington, D.C. law banning the possession of assault weapons was upheld by a federal appeals court in 2011.

Illinois

The law that set up Illinois' concealed carry system in 2013 also established state preemption for certain areas of gun law, including restrictions on assault weapons. Laws passed before July 20, 2013, are

in, and a number of local governments in the Chicago area have laws that either prohibit or regulate the possession of firearms that they define as assault weapons. These include the city of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

. On December 7, 2015, the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. Federal tribunals in the United States, federal court cases, and over Stat ...

refused to grant a

writ of certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...

to take up a challenge brought against a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit which had upheld a local law banning assault weapons and large-capacity magazines in the Chicago suburb of

Highland Park, Illinois Highland Park is a suburban city located in the southeastern part of Lake County, Illinois, United States, about north of downtown Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 30,176. Highland Park is one of several municipalities located ...

. In refusing to hear the case, the Supreme Court allowed the ruling to stand and the ban to remain in place.

Indiana

In March 1989 the Northwest Indiana cities of Gary and East Chicago city councils passed ordinances prohibiting both sale and possession of assault weapons. Gary City Councilman Vernon G. Smith (D-4th) sponsored the ordinance making it a crime to possess or sell assault-type weapons. Both of these ordinances were invalidated under statewide pre-emption legislation enacted by the

Indiana General Assembly The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate. Th ...

and signed into law by Governor

Mitch Daniels Mitchell Elias Daniels Jr. (born April 7, 1949) is an American academic administrator, businessman, author, and retired politician. A Republican, Daniels served as the 49th governor of Indiana from 2005 to 2013. Since 2013, Daniels has been pr ...

in 2011.

Massachusetts

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

has a law prohibiting the possession or transfer of assault weapons without a license from the Boston Police Commissioner.

Public opinion

Shortly after the 2016

Orlando nightclub shooting On , 2016, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old man, killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States. Orlando Police officers shot and killed him after a three-hour standoff. In a ...

, a

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the '' CBS Evening News'', '' CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 4 ...

poll found that a majority of Americans (57%) supported a ban on assault weapons.

Gallup Gallup may refer to: * Gallup, Inc., a firm founded by George Gallup, well known for its opinion poll * Gallup (surname), a surname *Gallup, New Mexico, a city in New Mexico, United States ** Gallup station, an Amtrak train in downtown Gallup, New ...

noted a similarly high percentage of Americans thought that a ban would be an effective response to terrorism after the

2015 San Bernardino attack On December 2, 2015, a terrorist attack, consisting of a mass shooting and an attempted bombing, occurred at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California. The perpetrators, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, a married couple ...

(55%), and in 2013 when the question was put in a referendum format ("Would you vote for or against a law that would reinstate and strengthen the ban on assault weapons that was in place from 1994 to 2004?") (56% support). But it noted that "Support for stricter gun control laws often rises after high-profile shooting incidents and then often subsides again," and that support for stricter gun controls, although still a majority view, had declined since the early 1990s. By October 2016, support for an assault weapons ban had fallen to a historical low of 36%. In 2017 68% of American adults supported banning assault weapons, including 48% of gun owners and 77% of non-gun owners, and 38% of

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

s who own guns and 66% of Democrats who own guns, according to a

Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and th ...

survey with an error attributable to sampling of +/- 2.8% at the 95% level of confidence.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Gun politics in the United States United States firearms law