
The Assault Weapon Ban of 2023
In 2023, Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI 1) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced the Assault Weapon Ban of 2023. This live-saving legislation would ban the sale, manufacture, transfer, and importation of 205 military-style assault weapons by name, as well as outlaw any other assault weapon that can accept a detachable magazine and has one or more military characteristics. But under the leadership of Speaker Mike Johnson, Congress has failed to bring this live-saving legislation up for a vote. Now, in the 118th Congress, we’re calling on the U.S. House and Senate to pass S. 25 and H.R. 698, the Assault Weapon Ban of 2023.
The proposed Assault Weapon Ban of 2023 is similar to the 1994 assault weapon ban but is notably different in that it requires only one additional military feature instead of two. It also bans any large-capacity magazine that can accept any more than 10 rounds of ammunition, along with bump stocks and other devices that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire at a rate that mimics fully automatic weapons. Any gun or large-capacity magazine that is lawfully possessed at the day of enactment will be grandfathered in and exempted from the ban.