Bills
| 3.23.22

Should Assault Weapons Be Banned? (H.R. 4269)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 4269?

(Updated June 5, 2021)

This bill would reinstate a Bill Clinton-era ban on assault weapons that expired in 2004. Specifically, it would prohibit the sale, transfer, production, and importation of assault weapons. 

This bill defines assault weapons as:

  • Any semi-automatic rifle or handgun that has both:

    • a detachable magazine that allows the shooter to snap on a new, fully loaded magazine instead of reloading bullet-by-bullet;
    • anything from list of “military-style features” like pistol grips or barrel shrouds.
  • Semi-automatic shotguns with any “military-style features”;

  • Semi-automatic rifles and handguns with a fixed (not easily detachable) magazine that can hold more than 10 rounds;

  • Any ammunition feeding device that can hold more than 10 rounds.

Semi-automatic firearms self-eject the used cartridge after firing and load a new cartridge — so all the shooter has to do to fire again is pull the trigger. This bill also names 157 specific firearms that would be prohibited.

The ban would not apply to firearms that are already owned or on the market. It also excludes guns owned by military, law enforcement, and retired law enforcement.

The so-called “Charleston Loophole,” would be closed. The loophole is named for the quirk of law that allowed Dylann Roof to purchase the weapon used in his 2015 mass shooting at a church in Charlston, South Carolina. Currently, if an FBI background check on a potential gun buyer is not completed within three days, the dealer is permitted to go ahead with the sale. 

The Assault Weapons Ban would extend the FBI background check waiting period from three to 14 days for resales of assault weapons that are already on the market. The FBI would be required to notify law enforcement if an employee of the agency realizes a gun has been sold to a prohibited individual after the 14-day window.

Argument in favor

Under current law, it is far too easy for criminals to access assault rifles. Nobody in the U.S., besides authorized personnel, should be able to own them, because the danger they pose is unreasonable.

Argument opposed

This ban would do nothing to prevent criminals from accessing assault rifles. It only burdens law abiding gun owners who use their weapons for perfectly legal activities.

Impact

People who plan to buy assault weapons in the future, the public whose sense of security is affected, makers and sellers of firearms

Cost of H.R. 4269

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In Depth: Assault weapons are used in a very small percentage of gun crimes. However, they were used in several high-profile mass shootings in recent years — including the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history in June 2016. Targeting a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing at least 50 people and injuring another 53. Other mass shootings involving assault rifles include ones at the Department of Public Health in San Bernardino, CA; a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut; a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado; and a community college near Roseburg, Oregon.

Of Note: This legislation is a reauthorization of a 1994 assault weapon ban, which expired in 2004. Members of congress — including the author of the 1994 bill, Sen. Dianne Feinstein — have unsuccessfully attempted to reauthorize the bill several times.

Media:

Summary by: Katie Rose Quandt

(Photo Credit: Adaptation of an image from Flickr user Paul Keller)