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Abstract
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Mass public shootings in the US account for a small fraction of all firearm-related homicides, but have an outsized role in stoking the public's concern with firearm violence. The vivid instances of attacks on people in churches, schools, and offices and at other public gathering places do vastly disproportionate damage to peace of mind by creating a sense of peril in places that should feel safe. These attacks have been increasing in frequency and deadliness in recent years. As reducing this particular type of firearm violence becomes more urgent, the case for a variety of prevention measures becomes even stronger.
This Viewpoint focuses on a measure that is highly specific to the gun violence problem--stringent regulation of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines (LCMs) for ammunition. Federal law banned the introduction of new LCMs and military-style semiautomatic firearms between 1994 and 2004, but that regulation ended in 2004 and Congress did not renew it. Now, years later, the nation is experiencing the dire effects of opening the door to the manufacture and import of these weapons; it is time to close that door.
History and Current Status of Bans
The history of federal bans on weapons of mass destruction goes back to the 1934 National Firearms Act. Among other provisions, the Act required submachine guns and other firearms capable of fully automatic fire (ie, firing several shots with a single pull of the trigger) to be registered with the federal government.1 All transactions involving such weapons were taxed at $200, a high confiscatory amount at the time. The registration and tax requirement remained in place, although inflation has substantially undercut the force of the transfer fee. The Act was expanded by Congress in 1986 to end the sale of new fully automatic weapons. There is every reason to believe that these restrictions have been effective. Even though the Thompson submachine gun was a notorious gangster weapon in the 1920s, fully automatic weapons of any kind are rarely used in crime in modern times or in mass public shootings.1
The 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban extended the regulation of military-style weapons to include some semiautomatic firearms. These weapons fire 1 round of ammunition for each pull of the trigger, and are capable of firing at a rate of roughly 1 per second. The 1994 Assault Weapons Ban ended the legal manufacture and import of specified firearms, as well as ammunition-feeding devices (magazines) that held more than 10 rounds of ammunition. At the time, most prohibited assault weapons were equipped with detachable magazines that held 30 rounds and could accept magazines that could hold as many as 50 or 100 rounds, thus making it possible to fire dozens of rounds without pausing to reload.2
The 1994 federal ban on new assault weapons had gaping loopholes. First, the federal ban did not restrict possession or transactions of existing assault weapons and LCMs. Second, manufacturers found ways to slightly modify the design of some of the banned weapons so that they met the letter of the law while preserving the military appearance and the possibility of accepting LCMs and firing high-powered ammunition quickly. Still, there is evidence that the ban had some salutary effect on mass public shootings.
The LCM ban, also in effect during 1994 to 2004, was not subject to the redesign problem because it provided a bright line that was difficult for manufacturers to overcome. There were, however, an estimated 25 million LCMs in circulation when the ban was enacted, and those remained in circulation, but with no new additions.2 It was not just assault weapons (as defined) that were designed to use LCMs, but a variety of other semiautomatic firearms as well, so the LCM ban had much broader scope.
When the law expired in 2004, manufacturing and importations of LCMs and previously banned weapons resumed, and a surge of sales followed. Current estimates suggest that approximately 20 million assault weapons are owned by private individuals in the US, with millions of new assault weapons manufactured and imported each year.3 The industry initially advertised these weapons as "assault rifles," and continues to promote them with military allusions but has now rebranded this type of weapon as the "modern sporting rifle."
Seven states have some version of a ban or stringent restrictions on assault weapons: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, as well as the District of Columbia.4 These laws are being challenged in the courts as a violation of the Second Amendment, but have survived these challenges to date...
Language: en |