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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.

","official_title":"To regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes.","short_title":"Assault Weapons Ban of 2015","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"Assault Weapons Ban of 2015\n\nThis bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD).\n\nThe prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is: (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; or (4) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model.\n\nAdditionally, the bill does not prohibit, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD:\n\n importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale...","summarized":true,"cost":null,"cost_commentary":"A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.","impact":"People who plan to buy assault weapons in the future, the public whose sense of security is affected, makers and sellers of firearms","argument_for":"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_against":"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. 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Should Assault Weapons Be Banned?