Banning Assault Weapons
Federal laws have banned the possession of automatic-fire weapons since 1934 and their importation and manufacture for private use since 1986. In response to Patrick Purdy's 1989 killing of five children with a semiautomatic rifle at an elementary school in Stockton, California, several states passed laws banning the sale and possession of semiautomatic weapons (also called assault weapons).
A semiautomatic firearm is not the same as an automatic gun or a machine gun. Unlike a machine gun, which shoots out a stream of bullets every time the trigger is pulled, a semiautomatic gun allows the user to shoot one bullet each time the trigger is pulled without having to pull back the hammer or use a bolt to put the bullet into the chamber. The user can fire as fast as he or she can pull the trigger. Some semiautomatic guns can be converted to automatic firearms.
The tragedy at Stockton and rising levels of violent crime across the country led in 1994 to passage of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (PL 103-322), which bans the manufacture, transfer, or possession of semiautomatic rifles but does not outlaw firearms lawfully possessed before the enactment of the law. The Violent Crime Control Act defined the banned weapons as guns with a detachable magazine and two or more of the following: a bayonet lug, flash suppressor, protruding pistol
FIGURE 3.6
grip, and folding stock or threaded muzzle. The federal law also bans the making or sale of "large-capacity" ammunition magazines that hold more than ten rounds. The law listed nineteen types of semiautomatic rifles, such as the Uzi, the TEC-9, the Street Sweeper, and their copy-cats. The law exempted at least 650 different sporting rifles. It was legal under this law to buy the accessories to convert semiautomatic guns to automatic firearms, but the conversion itself was against federal law.
Although the Violent Crime Control Act had several different provisions pertaining to guns, the focus of the debate over passage was on the banning of semiautomatic military-style weapons. Pro-gun forces repeatedly stressed that the use of the term "assault weapons" to describe the weapons banned under the law was misleading. They complained that the legislation was intended to ban military-style weapons but actually encompassed ordinary rifles used in hunting and target shooting. They argued that this type of weapon was seldom used to commit crimes.
In 1997 and 1998 the importation of semiautomatic assault weapons again became an issue after the ATF approved the importation of sixty makes and models of semiautomatic rifles. In November 1997 a group of senators asked President Bill Clinton to prohibit this importation, because they felt that these guns fell under the ban in the Violent Crime Control Act. After a six-month review, the president and the secretary of the treasury imposed a ban on the importation of these sixty assault rifles. The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 1999 (PL 105-277) authorized reimbursement to firearms importers who had been granted authority to import the semiautomatic assault rifles and who had released the firearms to the Customs Service by February 10, 1998.
The semiautomatic assault weapons ban expired on September 13, 2004, despite broad support for its renewal. Chapter 8 includes a discussion of public opinion regarding the ban on assault weapons.
Youth Handgun Safety
The 1994 Violent Crime Control Act prohibited the possession of a handgun or ammunition by a juvenile under eighteen years of age. It also prohibited the sale or private transfer of a handgun or ammunition to such a juvenile. Exemptions included cases in which the juvenile temporarily used the handgun for employment, with the permission of the owner, such as in ranching or farming where predatory animals often kill livestock. Other exemptions included using a handgun for target practice, hunting, or a course of instruction on the safe and lawful use of a handgun. Minors who were members of the Armed Forces of the United States or the National Guard were also exempt from this regulation.
Other Provisions
The Violent Crime Control Act imposed stiffer penalties for using a gun during a violent crime or drug felony. Amendments to the act and policies enacted by the ATF prohibited the possession of firearms by persons who committed domestic abuse. It also tightened rules for firearms dealers.
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