Assault Weapons Ban (S.25 / H.R.698)

The Assault Weapons Ban (S.25 / H.R.698) was reintroduced in the Senate in January 2023 and in the House in February 2023, yet no legislative action has been taken in either chamber. 

Research consistently shows that 60-70% of Americans support a federal ban on assault  weapons.

The previous assault weapons ban existed for ten years, from 1994-2004, and in that time, 70 percent fewer people died in mass shooting events compared to the years without a  ban between 1981-2017. Nearly every year since that ban’s expiration, gun massacres and deaths from mass shootings have increased in number.  

Why do we need a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines? 

Since the expiry of the prior federal ban, semiautomatic weapons with large-capacity magazines represent a larger proportion of crime guns. When comparing the prevalence of semiautomatic weapons with large-capacity magazines used as crime guns in 3 major US cities in the time frame of 2003-2007 versus 2008-2014, there has been an increase of 48-112%. In the 10-year period after the prior federal ban expired, there was a 183% increase in gun massacres and a 239% increase in deaths from gun massacres.

During the prior federal prohibition on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines from 1994 to 2004, fatalities from mass shootings were 70% less likely to occur. The same paper found: 

• Assault weapons accounted for 86% of fatalities in the 44 mass shooting incidents that occurred between 1981-2017. 
• A linear regression analysis found that there were statistically significant 9 fewer mass shooting-related deaths per 10,000 firearm homicides per year during the 1994-2004 period of the prior assault weapons ban. 
• If the assault weapons ban were in place during non-ban periods studied in this linear regression analysis, 314 of 448 mass shooting deaths would have been prevented.
• During the period of the assault weapons ban, gun massacres (defined as incidents in which 6 or more people are shot and killed) fell by 37% and the number of deaths from gun massacres fell by 43%. 

Mass shootings

Over the last five years, there has been a continued upward trend in school shootings, school mass shootings, and related deaths. Notably, gun violence disproportionately affects boys, especially Black boys, with much higher gun deaths per capita for this group than for any other group of youth.

2022 has become the deadliest year for mass shootings. A Professor of Criminology, Law, and Public Policy notes that as of early October 2022, there have been an average of about two mass shootings per week compared with the usual average of two per month. Since 1950, six of the ten deadliest mass shootings happened within the last decade and all of them involved an assault weapon. 

Assault weapons are used in 26% of mass shootings. High-capacity magazines are  used in 59% of mass shootings. There is higher morbidity and mortality from mass shootings in which assault weapons and high-capacity magazines are used.

As of April 18, 2023, this is a map of the communities affected by mass shootings in 2023 alone.

What makes assault weapons so deadly?

The functionality of an assault weapon is inherently different from that of any other weapon. The velocity of a bullet is a greater determinant of tissue injury than the mass of the bullet itself. When the velocity of a bullet is doubled, the energy increases fourfold. Bullets from 9 mm handguns are less than 1000 ft/s while bullets from rifles are greater than 2500 ft/s. These firearms have enhanced lethality compared to other guns because they have features that allow them to fire many bullets, from close to medium range, with a high degree of accuracy and mobility, including in close quarters like a school or other urban buildings.

High-velocity rounds used by assault weapons and high-capacity magazines tend to create a pressure wave. This pressure wave can force tissue away, resulting in a cavity that is much larger than the bullet itself. Organs that are likely to split or shatter due to the development of such a cavity include the liver, spleen, kidney, and brain. The lethality of assault weapons has to do with their mobility, maneuverability, accuracy, and rate of fire.