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{{under construction |placedby=[[User:Lightbreather|Lightbreather]] ([[User talk:Lightbreather|talk]]) 02:29, 14 March 2014 (UTC) |section= |nosection=yes |nocat= |notready= |comment= |category= |altimage= }}
{{About|assault weapon bans in the United States|the ban that was U.S. law from 1994 until 2004|Federal Assault Weapons Ban}}
{{About|assault weapon bans in the United States|the ban that was U.S. law from 1994 until 2004|Federal Assault Weapons Ban}}
An '''assault weapon ban''' is a form of [[gun control]] found in the [[United States]] (U.S.), where it is regularly debated. There was a federal-level ban there from 1994 until 2004, but it became defunct (expired) due to a sunset clause. Attempts to renew the ban failed, as have attempts to pass a new ban. On the state level, there are seven states that ban or otherwise regulate [[assault weapon]]s.
An '''assault weapon ban''' is a form of [[gun control]] found in the [[United States]] (U.S.), where it is regularly debated. There was a federal-level ban there from 1994 until 2004, but it became defunct (expired) due to a sunset clause. Attempts to renew the ban failed, as have attempts to pass a new ban. On the state level, there are seven states that ban or otherwise regulate [[assault weapon]]s.

Revision as of 02:34, 14 March 2014

This article is about assault weapon bans in the United States. For the ban that was U.S. law from 1994 until 2004, see Federal Assault Weapons Ban.

An assault weapon ban is a form of gun control found in the United States (U.S.), where it is regularly debated. There was a federal-level ban there from 1994 until 2004, but it became defunct (expired) due to a sunset clause. Attempts to renew the ban failed, as have attempts to pass a new ban. On the state level, there are seven states that ban or otherwise regulate assault weapons.

Assault weapons bans often go hand-in-hand with high-capacity magazine bans. Existing and proposed weapon and magazine bans often come under scrutiny in the wake of mass shootings, most recently after the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

The first U.S. assault weapons ban

Main article: Federal Assault Weapons Ban

In January 1989, 34 children and a teacher were shot in Stockton, Calif., using a semi-automatic replica of an AK-47 assault rifle. Five children died.[1][2][3]: 10  President George H.W. Bush banned the import of semiautomatic rifles in March 1989,[4] and made the ban permanent in July.[5] The assault weapons ban tried to address public concern about mass shootings while limiting the impact on recreational firearms use.[6]: 1–2 

In November 1993, the ban passed the U.S. Senate, although its author, Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, and other advocates said that it was a weakened version of the original proposal.[7] In January 1994, Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center, said handguns and assault weapons should be banned.[8] In May of that year, former presidents Gerald R. 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.[9] Rep. Jack Brooks, D-TX, then chair of the House Judiciary Committee, tried to remove the ban from the crime bill but failed.[10]

The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, commonly called the assault weapons ban (AWB), was enacted in September of 1994. The ban, including a ban on high-capcity magazines, became defunct (expired) in September 2004 per a sunset provision.

U.S. state assault weapon bans


U.S. county assault weapon bans


U.S. municipal assault weapon bans

References

  1. ^ "Senate restricts assault weapon imports, production". The Pittsburgh Press. Associated Press. May 23, 1990. p. A13.
  2. ^ Pazniokas, Mark (December 20, 1993). "One Gun's Journey Into A Crime". The Courant. Hartford, CT.
  3. ^ 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. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ Mohr, Charles (March 15, 1989). "U.S. BANS IMPORTS OF ASSAULT RIFLES IN SHIFT BY BUSH". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Rasky, Susan F. (July 8, 1989). "Import Ban on Assault Rifles Becomes Permanent". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Roth, Jeffrey A. (March 1999). "Impacts of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban" (PDF). National Institute of Justice Research in Brief (NCJ 173405). {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Bunting, Glenn F. (November 9, 1993). "Feinstein Faces Fight for Diluted Gun Bill". Los Angeles Times.
  8. ^ Sugarmann, Josh (1994). "Reverse FIRE: The Brady Bill won't break the sick hold guns have on America. It's time for tougher measures". Mother Jones. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  9. ^ Eaton, William J. (May 5, 1994). "Ford, Carter, Reagan Push for Gun Ban". Los Angeles Times.
  10. ^ Seelye, Katharine Q. (July 28, 1994). "Assault Weapons Ban Allowed To Stay in Anti-crime Measure". The New York Times.

Further reading

External links

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