
8 The law was adopted with a sunset clause, however, and expired in 2004, despite overwhelming public support for its renewal. In 1994, Congress adopted the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which made it “unlawful for a person to manufacture, transfer, or possess” a semiautomatic assault weapon. 7 Summary of Federal Law The Lapsed Federal Assault Weapons Ban 67% of Americans- including half of all Republicans-support a ban on assault weapons.
The American public strongly supports efforts to better regulate assault weapons.
Importantly, researchers have been able to demonstrate that the federal assault weapons ban prevented mass shootings and decreased the diversion of assault weapons to criminal use, despite limitations in law which allowed manufacturers to circumvent the regulations. In several major cities, the share of recovered crime guns that were assault weapons declined by at least 32% after the federal ban was adopted. Studies also suggest that state level assault weapons bans help to prevent mass shooting deaths.
During the 10-year period the federal assault weapons ban was in effect, mass shooting fatalities were 70% less likely to occur compared to the periods before and after the ban. Studies of both the lapsed federal assault weapons ban and state-level assault weapons bans show that these laws help to reduce fatalities and injuries from mass shootings, as well as the use of assault weapons in crime. 3Ī growing body of research demonstrates that banning assault weapons can help to prevent gun violence. An assailant with an assault rifle is able to hurt and kill twice the number of people compared to an assailant with a non-assault rifle or handgun. An analysis of public mass shootings resulting in four or more deaths found that more than 85% of such fatalities were caused by assault rifles. Assault weapons have been used in the seven deadliest mass shootings in the last decade. Because of this lethality, assault weapons are frequently the guns of choice for individuals who carry out horrific public attacks. Wounds caused by assault weapons are more severe and lethal than wounds caused by other firearms, and, particularly when paired with large capacity magazines, assault weapons can injure more people more quickly. 1 Between 19, certain “semiautomatic assault weapons” were banned at the federal level, but currently there is no federal law regulating these highly lethal weapons.
They are a relatively new class of weapon-during the 1980s, the gun industry sought to reverse a decline in consumer demand for guns by developing and marketing new types of weapons based on high-powered military designs. Assault weapons are a class of semi-automatic firearm specifically designed to kill humans quickly and efficiently.