Assault weapons legislation in the United States

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, but typically they are semi-automatic rifles with a detachable magazine and a pistol grip.

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). Seven U.S. states have assault weapons bans: three were enacted before the 1994 federal ban and four more passed before the federal ban expired. The majority of states (43) have no assault weapons ban, although two, Minnesota, 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 3 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 and Illinois, 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.^[1][2][3]

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 bans come under renewed interest in the wake of mass shootings, most recently after the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. In addition to state bans, Washington, D.C. and some U.S. counties and municipalities have assault weapons laws.