Federal assault weapons ban - wikipedia Federal assault weapons ban This article is about the U.S. Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 that expired in 2004. For other assault weapons bans in the U.S., see Assault weapons legislation in the United States. President Bill Clinton signing the bill into law. Firearm legal topics of the United States of America Amendment II Assault weapon Assault weapons legislation Bump stocks Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ( ATF ) Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act Campus carry in the U.S. Concealed carry in the U.S. Connecticut Children 's Safety Act Constitutional carry Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban Federal Assault Weapons Ban Federal Firearms Act of 1938 Federal Firearms License Firearm case law Firearm Owners Protection Act Gun Control Act of 1968 Gun - Free School Zones Act ( GFSZA ) Gun law in the U.S. Gun laws in the U.S. by state Gun politics in the U.S. High - capacity magazine ban International treaties for arms control National Instant Criminal Background Check System ( NICS ) National Firearms Act ( NFA ) NY SAFE Act Open carry in the U.S. Right to keep and bear arms in the U.S. Sullivan Act ( New York ) Suppressor Tiahrt Amendment Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act United States portal The Federal Assault Weapons Ban ( AWB ), officially the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, is a subsection of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, a United States federal law, which included a prohibition on the manufacture for civilian use of certain semi-automatic firearms that were defined as assault weapons as well as certain ammunition magazines that were defined as `` large capacity. '' The 10 - year ban was passed by the US Congress on September 13, 1994, following a close 52 -- 48 vote in the US Senate, and was signed into law by US President Bill Clinton on the same day. The ban applied only to weapons manufactured after the date of the ban 's enactment. It expired on September 13, 2004, in accordance with its sunset provision. Several constitutional challenges were filed against provisions of the ban, but all were rejected by the courts. There were multiple attempts to renew the ban, but none succeeded. Studies have shown the ban had little effect in criminal activity. Other studies, using sources such as Mother Jones, a report prepared for Mayors Against Illegal Guns and a New York Police Department report, have shown small decreases in the rate of mass shootings followed by increases beginning after the ban was lifted. Contents 1 Background 2 Provisions 2.1 Definition of assault weapon 2.2 Cosmetic features 3 Legal challenges 4 Studies on effectiveness 5 Efforts at renewal 6 See also 7 References Background Efforts to create restrictions on assault weapons at the federal government level intensified in 1989 after 34 children and a teacher were shot and five children killed in Stockton, Calif. with a semi-automatic AK - 47 rifle. The Luby 's shooting in October 1991, which left 23 people dead and 27 wounded, was another factor. The July 1993 101 California Street shooting also contributed to passage of the ban. The shooter killed eight people and wounded six. Two of the three firearms he used were TEC - 9 semi-automatic handguns with Hell - Fire triggers. The ban tried to address public concerns about mass shootings by restricting firearms that met the criteria for what it defined as a `` semiautomatic assault weapon '', as well as magazines that met the criteria for what it defined as a `` large capacity ammunition feeding device ''. In November 1993, the proposed legislation passed the U.S. Senate. The bill 's author, Dianne Feinstein ( D - CA ) and other advocates said that it was a weakened version of the original proposal. In May 1994, former presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan, wrote to the U.S. 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 unsuccessfully to remove the assault weapons ban section from the crime bill. The National Rifle Association ( NRA ) opposed the ban. In November 1993, NRA spokesman Bill McIntyre said that assault weapons `` are used in only 1 percent of all crimes ''. The low usage statistic was supported in a 1999 Department of Justice brief. The legislation passed in September 1994 with the assault weapon ban section expiring in 2004 due to its sunset provision. Provisions The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Act was enacted as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The prohibitions expired on September 13, 2004. The Act prohibited the manufacture, transfer, or possession of `` semiautomatic assault weapons, '' as defined by the Act. `` Weapons banned were identified either by specific make or model ( including copies or duplicates thereof, in any caliber ), or by specific characteristics that slightly varied according to whether the weapon was a pistol, rifle, or shotgun '' ( see below ). The Act also prohibited the transfer and possession of `` large capacity ammunition feeding devices '' ( LCAFDs ). An LCAFD was defined as `` any magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device manufactured after the date ( of the act ) that has the capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition ''. The Act included a number of exemptions and exclusions from its prohibitions : The Act included a `` grandfather clause '' to allow for possession and transfer of weapons and ammunition that `` were otherwise lawfully possessed on the date of enactment. '' The Act exempted some 650 firearm types or models, including various types of Browning, Remington, and Beretta guns, as these were viewed as primarily `` suitable for target practice, match competition, hunting, and similar sporting purposes. This list was not exhaustive and the act provided that the absence of a firearm from the exempted list did not mean it was banned unless it met the definition of ' semiautomatic assault weapon. ' '' The Act `` also exempted any firearm that ( 1 ) is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action ; ( 2 ) has been rendered permanently inoperable ; or ( 3 ) is an antique firearm. '' The Act `` also did not apply to any semiautomatic rifle that can not accept a detachable magazine that holds more than five rounds of ammunition nor any semiautomatic shotgun that can not hold more than five rounds of ammunition in a fixed or detachable magazine. '' The Act provided an exemption for the use of `` semiautomatic assault weapons and LCAFDs to be manufactured for, transferred to, and possessed by law enforcement and for authorized testing or experimentation purposes '' as well as transfers for federal - security purposes under the Atomic Energy Act and `` possession by retired law enforcement officers who are not otherwise a prohibited possessor under law. '' In 1989, the George H.W. Bush administration had banned the importation of foreign - made, semiautomatic rifles deemed not to have `` a legitimate sporting use. '' It did not affect similar but domestically - manufactured rifles. ( The Gun Control Act of 1968 gives discretion to the Attorney General of the United States to choose whether to `` authorize a firearm or ammunition to be imported or brought into the United States, '' under what is known as `` the sporting purposes test. '' ) Following the enactment of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, the ATF determined that `` certain semiautomatic assault rifles could no longer be imported even though they were permitted to be imported under the 1989 ' sporting purposes test ' because they had been modified to remove all of their military features other than the ability to accept a detachable magazine '' and so in April 1998, it `` prohibited the importation of 56 such rifles, determining that they did not meet the ' sporting purposes test. ' '' Definition of assault weapon Under the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994, the definition of `` semiautomatic assault weapon '' included specific semi-automatic firearm models by name, and other semi-automatic firearms that possessed two or more from a set certain features : A semi-automatic Yugoslavian M70AB2 rifle. An Intratec TEC - DC9 with 32 - round magazine ; a semi-automatic pistol formerly classified as an assault weapon under federal law. Semi-automatic rifles able to accept detachable magazines and two or more of the following : Folding or telescoping stock Pistol grip Bayonet mount Flash suppressor, or threaded barrel designed to accommodate one Grenade launcher Semi-automatic pistols with detachable magazines and two or more of the following : Magazine that attaches outside the pistol grip Threaded barrel to attach barrel extender, flash suppressor, handgrip, or suppressor Barrel shroud safety feature that prevents burns to the operator Unloaded weight of 50 oz ( 1.4 kg ) or more A semi-automatic version of a fully automatic firearm. Semi-automatic shotguns with two or more of the following : Folding or telescoping stock Pistol grip Detachable magazine. The ban defined the following semi-automatic firearms and any copies or duplicates of them, in any caliber, as assault weapons : Name of firearm Preban federal legal status Norinco, Mitchell, and Poly Technologies Avtomat Kalashnikovs ( AKs ) ( all models ) Imports banned in 1989 * Action Arms Israeli Military Industries UZI and Galil Imports banned in 1989 * Beretta AR - 70 ( SC - 70 ) Imports banned in 1989 * Colt AR - 15 Legal Fabrique National FN / FAL, FN - LAR, FNC Imports banned in 1989 * SWD ( MAC type ) M - 10, M - 11, M11 / 9, M12 Legal Steyr AUG Imports banned in 1989 * INTRATEC TEC - 9, TEC - DC9, TEC - 22 Legal Revolving cylinder shotguns such as ( or similar to ) the Street Sweeper and Striker 12 Legal Cosmetic features Gun control advocates and gun rights advocates have referred to at least some of the features outlined in the federal Assault Weapon Ban of 1994 as cosmetic. The NRA Institute for Legislative Action and the Violence Policy Center both used the term in publications that were released by them in September 2004, when the ban expired. In May 2012, the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence said that `` the inclusion in the list of features that were purely cosmetic in nature created a loophole that allowed manufacturers to successfully circumvent the law by making minor modifications to the weapons they already produced. '' The term was repeated in several stories after the 2012 Aurora shooting and Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Senator Marco Rubio cited that issue during a town hall forum, responding to questions from survivors of the 2018 Stoneman - Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. Legal challenges A February 2013 Congressional Research Service ( CRS ) report to Congress said that the `` Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 was unsuccessfully challenged as violating several constitutional provisions '' but that challenges to three constitutional provisions were easily dismissed. The ban did not make up an impermissible bill of attainder. It was not unconstitutionally vague. Also, it was ruled to be compatible with the Ninth Amendment by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Challenges to two other provisions took more time to decide. In evaluating challenges to the ban under the Commerce Clause, the court first evaluated Congress 's authority to regulate under the clause and then analyzed the ban 's prohibitions on manufacture, transfer, and possession. The court held that `` it is not even arguable that the manufacture and transfer of ' semiautomatic assault weapons ' for a national market can not be regulated as activity substantially affecting interstate commerce. '' It also held that the `` purpose of the ban on possession has an ' evident commercial nexus ' ''. The law was also challenged under the Equal Protection Clause. It was argued that it banned some semi-automatic weapons that were functional equivalents of exempted semi-automatic weapons and that to do so, based upon a mix of other characteristics, served no legitimate governmental interest. The reviewing court held that it was `` entirely rational for Congress... to choose to ban those weapons commonly used for criminal purposes and to exempt those weapons commonly used for recreational purposes. '' It also found that each characteristic served to make the weapon `` potentially more dangerous '' and were not `` commonly used on weapons designed solely for hunting. '' The Federal Assault Weapons Ban was never directly challenged under the Second Amendment. Since its 2004 expiration, there has been debate on how the ban would fare in light of cases decided in following years, especially District of Columbia v. Heller ( 2008 ). Studies on Effectiveness Total deaths in US mass shootings from 1982 to 2017, according to Mother Jones. A 2002 study by Koper and Roth found that around the time when the ban became law, assault weapon prices increased significantly, but the increase was reversed in the several months afterward by a surge in assault weapons production that occurred just before the ban took effect. In 2003, the Task Force on Community Preventive Services, an independent, non-federal task force, examined an assortment of firearms laws, including the AWB, and found `` insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of any of the firearms laws reviewed for preventing violence. '' A 2004 critical review of firearms research by a National Research Council committee said that an academic study of the assault weapon ban `` did not reveal any clear impacts on gun violence outcomes. '' The committee noted that the study 's authors said the guns were relatively rarely used criminally before the ban and that its maximum potential effect on gun violence outcomes would be very small. In 2004, a research report commissioned by the National Institute of Justice found that if the ban was renewed, the effects on gun violence would likely be small and perhaps too small for reliable measurement, because rifles in general, including rifles referred to as `` assault rifles '' or `` assault weapons '', are rarely used in gun crimes. That study, by Christopher S. Koper, Daniel J. Woods, and Jeffrey A. Roth of the Jerry Lee Center of Criminology, University of Pennsylvania, found no statistically significant evidence that either the assault weapons ban or the ban on magazines holding more than 10 rounds had reduced gun murders. The authors also report that `` there has been no discernible reduction in the lethality and injuriousness of gun violence, based on indicators like the percentage of gun crimes resulting in death or the share of gunfire incidents resulting in injury. '' In 2004, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence examined the impact of the Assault Weapons Ban, On Target : The Impact of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapon Act. Examining 1.4 million guns involved in crime, `` in the five - year period before enactment of the Federal Assault Weapons Act ( 1990 -- 1994 ), assault weapons named in the Act constituted 4.82 % of the crime gun traces ATF conducted nationwide. Since the law 's enactment, however, these assault weapons have made up only 1.61 % of the guns ATF has traced to crime. Page 10 of the Brady report, however, adds that `` an evaluation of copycat weapons is necessary ''. Including `` copycat weapons '', the report concluded that `` in the post-ban period, the same group of guns has constituted 3.1 % of ATF traces, a decline of 45 %. '' A spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ( ATF ) stated that he `` can in no way vouch for the validity '' of the report. A study conducted by Dube in 2013, showed that the passing of the FAWB in 1994 had an insignificant impact on violent crime in Mexico, while the expiration of the FAWB in 2004 combined with political instability was correlated with an increase in gun - related homicides among Mexican municipalities near the border. Also in 2013, Koper reviewed the literature on the ban 's effects and concluded that its effects on crimes committed with assault weapons were mixed due to its various loopholes. He also concluded that the ban did not seem to affect gun crime rates, but may have been able to reduce shootings if it had been renewed in 2004. Research by gun advocate John Lott found no impact of these bans on violent crime rates, but provided evidence that the bans may have reduced the number of gun shows by over 20 percent. Koper, Woods, and Roth studies focus on gun murders, while Lott 's look at murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assaults. Unlike their work, Lott 's research accounted for state assault weapon bans and 12 other different types of gun control laws. In a 2013 report Samantha Bricknell from the Australian Institute of Criminology, Frederic Lemieux and Tim Prenzler compared mass shootings between America and Australia and found the `` 1996 NFA coincided within the cessation of mass shooting events '' in Australia, and that there were reductions in America that were evident during the 1994 -- 2004 US Federal Assault Weapon Ban. Efforts at renewal The assault weapons ban expired on September 13, 2004. Legislation to renew or replace the ban was proposed numerous times unsuccessfully. Between May 2003 and June 2008, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, D - CA, and Representatives Michael Castle, R - DE, Alcee Hastings, D - FL, and Mark Kirk, R - IL, introduced bills to reauthorize the ban. At the same time, Senator Frank Lautenberg, D - NJ, and Representative Carolyn McCarthy, D - NY, introduced similar bills to create a new ban with a revised definition for assault weapons. None of the bills left committee. After the November 2008 election, the website of President - elect Barack Obama listed a detailed agenda for the forthcoming administration. The stated positions included `` making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent. '' Three months later, newly sworn - in Attorney General Eric Holder reiterated the Obama administration 's desire to reinstate the ban. The mention came in response to a question during a joint press conference with DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart, discussing efforts to crack down on Mexican drug cartels. Attorney General Holder said that `` there are just a few gun - related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons. '' Efforts to pass a new federal assault weapons ban were made in December 2012 after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, in Newtown, Connecticut. On January 24, 2013, Senator Feinstein introduced S. 150, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 ( AWB 2013 ). The bill was similar to the 1994 ban, but differed in that it would not expire after 10 years, and it used a one - feature test for a firearm to qualify as an assault weapon rather than the two - feature test of the defunct ban. The GOP Congressional delegation from Texas, and the NRA, condemned Feinstein 's bill. On March 14, 2013, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a version of the bill along party lines. On April 17, 2013, AWB 2013 failed on a Senate vote of 40 to 60. See also United States portal Law portal Assault weapon Gun politics in the United States References ^ Jump up to : Lemieux, Frederic ; Bricknell, Samantha ; Prenzler, Tim ( 2015 ). `` Mass shootings in Australia and the United States, 1981 -- 2013 ''. Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice. 1 ( 3 ) : 131 -- 142. doi : 10.1108 / JCRPP - 05 - 2015 - 0013. ISSN 2056 - 3841. Jump up ^ `` Senate restricts assault weapon imports, production ''. The Pittsburgh Press. Associated Press. May 23, 1990. p. A13. Retrieved September 30, 2013. A campaign for curbs on assault weapons began in January 1989 after a deranged gunman with an AK - 47 semiautomatic rifle opened fire on a Stockton, Calif., school yard at recess time, leaving five children dead and 30 wounded. Jump up ^ Pazniokas, Mark ( December 20, 1993 ). `` One Gun 's Journey Into A Crime ''. The Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. Retrieved September 30, 2013. The campaign to ban assault weapons began Jan. 17, 1989, after Patrick Purdy shot 34 children and a teacher in a Stockton, Calif., schoolyard, using a semiautomatic replica of an AK - 47 assault rifle. Jump up ^ More Stockton schoolyard shooting sources : Adams, Jane Meredith ( May 29, 1995 ). `` Sparked By School Massacre, Gun Debate Still Rages ''. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 17, 2014. Every murder horrifies, but the massacre of five children as they ran screaming that sunny January morning, and the wounding of 30 others, including a teacher, packed such emotional power it ignited the nascent anti-assault weapons movement. Roth, Jeffrey A. ; Koper, Christopher S. ( 1997 ). `` Impact Evaluation of the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act of 1994 '' ( PDF ). Washington, D.C. : The Urban Institute. Retrieved September 30, 2013. Nonetheless, the involvement of assault weapons in a number of mass murder incidents such as those discussed above ( including the Stockton schoolyard shooting ) provided an important impetus to the movement to ban assault weapons. Cowan, Lee ( December 16, 2012 ). `` 1989 Calif. school shooting led to assault weapons ban ''. CBS News. Retrieved March 17, 2014. Johnson, Kevin ( April 2, 2013 ). `` Stockton school massacre : A tragically familiar pattern ''. USA Today. Retrieved March 17, 2014. Like Newtown, the Stockton shooting helped prompt a heated national debate about gun control, culminating in a landmark, 10 - year federal ban on assault weapons, which expired in 2004. Jump up ^ `` Assault Weapons Ban. '' Encyclopedia of Gun Control and Gun Rights. Glenn H. Utter and Robert J. Spitzer. 2nd ed. Amenia, NY : Grey House Publishing, 2011. 24 -- 25. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. August 20, 2016. Quote : `` Two events spurred the introduction of an assault weapon ban in Congress : the January 1989 schoolyard shooting in Stockton, California, that left five children dead and 29 others wounded ; and the Killeen, Texas, cafeteria shooting in which 22 people were killed and 23 others wounded before the shooter took his own life. '' Jump up ^ Bingham, Amy ( July 27, 2012 ). `` Shootings That Shaped Gun Control Laws : 101 California Street Shooting ''. ABC News Internet Ventures. ^ Jump up to : Roth, Jeffrey A. ; Christopher S. Koper ( March 1999 ). `` Impacts of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban '' ( PDF ). National Institute of Justice Research in Brief ( NCJ 173405 ). Jump up ^ Bunting, Glenn F. ( November 9, 1993 ). `` Feinstein Faces Fight for Diluted Gun Bill ''. Los Angeles Time. Jump up ^ Eaton, William J. ( May 5, 1994 ). `` Ford, Carter, Reagan Push for Gun Ban ''. Los Angeles Times. Jump up ^ Seelye, Katharine Q. ( July 28, 1994 ). `` Assault Weapons Ban Allowed To Stay in Anti-crime Measure ''. The New York Times. Jump up ^ `` Senate Acts To Ban Assault Weapons : Brady Bill Still Awaiting Action ''. Chicago Tribune. November 18, 1993. ^ Jump up to : Vivian S. Chu, Federal Assault Weapons Ban : Legal Issues, Congressional Research Service ( February 14, 2013 ), pp. 3 -- 5. Jump up ^ Rasky, Susan F. ( July 8, 1989 ). `` Import Ban on Assault Rifles Becomes Permanent ''. The New York Times. Jump up ^ Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, H.R. 3355, 103rd Congress ( 1993 -- 1994 ), Government Printing Office. Retrieved January 26, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Finally, the End of a Sad Era -- Clinton Gun Ban Stricken from Books ! ''. Fairfax, Virginia : National Rifle Association, Institute for Legislative Action. September 13, 2004. Law - abiding citizens, however, will once again be free to purchase semi-automatic firearms, regardless of their cosmetic features, for target shooting, shooting competitions, hunting, collecting, and most importantly, self - defense. Jump up ^ `` Violence Policy Center Issues Statement on Expiration of Federal Assault Weapons Ban '' ( Press release ). Washington, D.C. : Violence Policy Center. September 13, 2004. Archived from the original on October 10, 2013. Soon after its passage in 1994, the gun industry made a mockery of the federal assault weapons ban, manufacturing ' post-ban ' assault weapons with only slight, cosmetic differences from their banned counterparts. Jump up ^ `` Assault Weapons Policy Summary ''. San Francisco, California : Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. May 21, 2012. Jump up ^ Seitz - Wald, Alex ( February 6, 2013 ). `` Do n't mourn the assault weapons ban 's impending demise ''. Salon. ( The National Rifle Association ) says the ban created an artificial distinction between ' assault weapons ' and other semi-automatic weapons, based almost entirely on cosmetic features. This is largely true. Jump up ^ More cosmetic sources : McArdle, Megan ( November 12, 2012 ). `` Just Say No to Dumb Gun Laws ''. The Daily Beast... ' assault weapon ' is a largely cosmetic rather than functional description. Kopel, David ( December 17, 2012 ). `` Guns, Mental Illness and Newtown ''. Wall Street Journal. None of the guns that the Newtown murderer used was an assault weapon under Connecticut law. This illustrates the uselessness of bans on so - called assault weapons, since those bans concentrate on guns ' cosmetics, such as whether the gun has a bayonet lug, rather than their function. Yager, Jordy ( January 16, 2013 ). `` The problem with ' assault weapons ' ''. The Hill. Gun companies quickly realized they could stay within the law and continue to make rifles with high - capacity magazine clips if they steered away from the cosmetic features mentioned in the law. Sullum, Jacob ( January 30, 2013 ). `` What 's an Assault Weapon ? ''. Reason. The distinguishing characteristics of ' assault weapons ' are mainly cosmetic and have little or no functional significance in the context of mass shootings or ordinary gun crimes. Jump up ^ `` Read Stoneman students ' questions at the CNN town hall ''. CNN. Retrieved February 22, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Chu, Vivian S. ( February 14, 2013 ). `` Federal Assault Weapons Ban : Legal Issues '' ( PDF ). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved April 24, 2014. ^ Jump up to : Navegar Inc. v. United States, 103 F. 3d 994 ( D.C. Cir. 1999 ). Jump up ^ United States v. Starr, 945 F. Supp. 257 ( M.D. Ga. 1996 ) ( `` Accordingly, the statute is not unconstitutionally vague and Defendant Starr 's motion is hereby DENIED. '' ). Jump up ^ San Diego Gun Rights Comm. v. Reno, 98 F. 3d 1121 ( 9th Cir. 1996 ) ( `` To grant plaintiffs standing to challenge the constitutionality of the Crime Control Act in the circumstances of this case would eviscerate the core standing requirements of Article III and throw all prudential caution to the wind. '' ). Jump up ^ Olympic Arms v. Buckles, 301 F. 3d 384 ( 6th Cir. 2002 ) ( `` Accordingly, it is entirely rational for Congress, in an effort to protect public safety, to choose to ban those weapons commonly used for criminal purposes and to exempt those weapons commonly used for recreational purposes. '' ). Jump up ^ Olympic Arms v. Buckles, 301 F. 3d 384 ( 6th Cir. 2002 ) ( `` Each of the individual enumerated features makes a weapon potentially more dangerous. Additionally, the features are not commonly used on weapons designed solely for hunting. '' ). Jump up ^ Kopan, Tal ( August 8, 2012 ). `` If Congress, W.H. wanted to ban assault weapons, could they ? ''. POLITICO. Retrieved April 24, 2014. Jump up ^ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/12/mass-shootings-mother-jones-full-data Jump up ^ Koper, Christopher S. ; Roth, Jeffrey A. ( 2002 ). `` The Impact of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban on Gun Markets : An Assessment of Short - Term Primary and Secondary Market Effects ''. Journal of Quantitative Criminology. 18 ( 3 ) : 239 -- 266. doi : 10.1023 / A : 1016055919939. Jump up ^ `` First Reports Evaluating the Effectiveness of Strategies for Preventing Violence : Early Childhood Home Visitation and Firearms Laws. Findings from the Task Force on Community Preventive Services '' ( PDF ). MMWR. Atlanta, Georgia : Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 52 ( RR - 14 ) : 11 -- 20. 2003. ISSN 1057 - 5987. Jump up ^ Wellford, Charles F ; Pepper, John V ; Petrie, Carol V, eds. ( 2013 ) ( Print ed. 2005 ). Firearms and Violence : A Critical Review ( Electronic ed. ). Washington, D.C. : National Academies Press. p. 97. ISBN 0 - 309 - 54640 - 0. Jump up ^ Koper, Christopher S. ; Woods, Daniel J. ; Roth, Jeffrey A. ( June 2004 ) ( First published 1997 ). `` An Updated Assessment of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban : Impacts on Gun Markets and Gun Violence, 1994 -- 2003 -- Report to the National Institute of Justice, United States Department of Justice '' ( PDF ). Philadelphia : Jerry Lee Center for Criminology, University of Pennsylvania. Jump up ^ `` On Target : The Impact of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapon Act '' ( PDF ). Washington, D.C. : Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. March 2004. Jump up ^ Ove, Torsten ( March 28, 2004 ). `` Assault Weapon Ban 's Effectiveness Debated ''. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Jump up ^ DUBE, ARINDRAJIT ; DUBE, OEINDRILA ; GARCÍA - PONCE, OMAR ( July 10, 2013 ). `` Cross-Border Spillover : U.S. Gun Laws and Violence in Mexico ''. American Political Science Review. 107 ( 03 ) : 397 -- 417. doi : 10.1017 / S0003055413000178. Jump up ^ Koper, Christopher S. ( 2013 ). Reducing Gun Violence in America : Informing Policy with Evidence and Analysis ( PDF ). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 187. Jump up ^ Lott, John R. ( May 24, 2010 ). More Guns, Less Crime : Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws ( 3rd ed. ). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 226 - 49367 - 1. Retrieved December 31, 2012. Jump up ^ Lott, John R. ( February 1, 2003 ). The Bias Against Guns. Washington, D.C. : Regnery Publishing. ISBN 978 - 0895261144. Retrieved December 31, 2012. Jump up ^ S. 1034, S. 2109, S. 620, H.R. 3831, H.R. 5099, H.R. 6257 Jump up ^ S. 1431, S. 645, H.R. 2038, H.R. 1312, H.R. 1022 Jump up ^ `` Urban Policy Agenda ''. Office of President - elect Barack Obama. Archived from the original on November 16, 2008. Retrieved December 31, 2012. Jump up ^ Ryan, Jason ( February 25, 2009 ). `` Obama to Seek New Assault Weapons Ban ''. ABC News. 6960824. Retrieved December 31, 2012. Jump up ^ C-SPAN.org Archived February 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Barron, James ( December 15, 2012 ). `` Children Were All Shot Multiple Times With a Semiautomatic, Officials Say ''. New York Times. New York Times Company. Retrieved April 12, 2014. Jump up ^ Levy, Gabrielle ( December 21, 2012 ). `` Obama responds to gun violence petition '' ( blog ). United Press International. Retrieved May 26, 2014. ^ Jump up to : Steinhauer, Jennifer ( January 24, 2013 ). `` Senator Unveils Bill to Limit Semiautomatic Arms ''. The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2014. Jump up ^ Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Rev. Gary Hall, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy et al. ( January 24, 2013 ). Assault Weapons Ban Bill ( video ). Washington, D.C. : National Cable Satellite Corporation. Retrieved April 13, 2014. Jump up ^ Kucinich, Jackie ( January 24, 2013 ). `` Democrats reintroduce assault weapons ban ''. USA Today. Retrieved April 13, 2014. Jump up ^ Freedman, Dan ( January 24, 2013 ). `` Feinstein offers new assault weapons ban ''. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved January 24, 2013. Jump up ^ Steinhauer, Jennifer ( March 14, 2013 ). `` Party - Line Vote in Senate Panel for Ban on Assault Weapons ''. The New York Times. Retrieved March 14, 2013. Jump up ^ Simon, Richard ( April 17, 2013 ). `` Senate votes down Feinstein 's assault weapons ban ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Federal_Assault_Weapons_Ban&oldid=856816990 '' Categories : 1994 in law Gun politics in the United States Legal history of the United States United States federal firearms legislation Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Use mdy dates from February 2018 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2018 Talk More Contents About Wikipedia Français Edit links This page was last edited on 27 August 2018, at 18 : 22 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when did automatic weapons become legal in the us
Answer: September 13, 2004