Gun control is always a hot topic in the United States, especially after a mass shooting. One of the interesting things about gun control debates is that most times, folks on the side of gun control, including lawmakers, know very little about guns - the main topic of their argument. The media is as bad or worse. I will explore some of the history and important topics surrounding so-called "assault rifles" here.
Let me start by reminding everyone that weapons capable of firing fully automatic and commonly referred to as machine guns, have been banned in the United States, with limited exceptions, since 1934 pursuant to the National Firearms Act.
Assault Weapons: The Early Days
During Word War 2, the Nazis started using the term "Sturmgewehr" (meaning assault rifle) to describe a selective fire machine gun. Assault rifle then became a standard military term to describe a specific type of machine gun. The U.S. Department of Defense manual on communist small arms says that "Assault rifles are short, compact, selective-fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between submachinegun and rifle cartridges." It goes on to say they have mild recoil and are capable of delivering effective full automatic fire up to 300 meters. But that definition has been drastically changed by anti-gun legislators.
Legislation involving assault weapons generally fall into one of two categories: weapons defined by manufacturer and model of weapon, or by generic weapon criteria. In 1989, California became the first state to ban "assault weapons." The California law defined assault weapons to include a list of specific manufacturers and models, such as the Colt AR-15. But some of those names were names of fully automatic weapons, although the legislature thought they were banning semi-automatic rifles. Other jurisdictions began passing similar bans utilizing specific manufacturers and models. Some, like New York City, passed laws defining assault weapons by generic criteria, such as rifles with pistol grips, bayonet lugs, or flash suppressors.
In the case of Stenberg v. Carhart, a Supreme Court case decided in 2000, Justice Clarence Thomas pointed out that before 1989, the term assault weapon did not exist in the "lexicon of firearms. It is a political term, developed by anti-gun publicists to expand the category of 'assault rifles' so as to allow an attack on as many additional firearms as possible on the basis of undefined 'evil' appearance."
In 1994, Congress passed the federal Crime Act of 1994, banning assault weapons under both manufacturer/model lists and "copies or duplicates thereof" as well as generic criteria. The federal ban lasted until 2004. The federal law also banned "high capacity" magazines nationally. Challenges to assault weapon bans usually center around vagueness and the common ownership of the weapons in questions.
Also in 1994, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals became the first federal appeals court to rule on an assault weapon ban. The Court ruled that City of Columbus assault weapon ban was unconstitutionally vague and voided the ordinance (Springfield Armory v. City of Columbus). The ordinance defined assault weapons using a list of 46 specific firearms. But the list included names of machine guns, names of firearms that don't exist, and typos. The decision was unanimous. Aside from being found unconstitutionally vague, the Court hinted that the law was also a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as well. There is currently no federal ban on assault rifles.
State Regulation on Assault Rifles
Individual states have taken divergent approaches to regulating assault rifles. Some states have enacted strict measures, including bans on certain features or outright prohibition, while others have more permissive regulations (some have almost no regulations). The state-level variations contribute to the complex patchwork of laws governing assault rifles across the country.
California: As previously mentioned, California was the first state to ban assault rifles. Currently, the constitutionality of the ban is pending in two cases before federal district courts. One case (Rupp) held that AR-15 regulation was beyond the scope of the Second Amendment. The other case (Miller) held California's ban to be unconstitutional. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has remanded Rupp to the District Court for reconsideration in light of the US Supreme Court's Bruen decision.
New York is another notoriously anti-gun state. New York's SAFE Act of 2013 moved New York from a two-feature test to a one-feature test. That is, some states define assault rifles based upon certain features, that is - rifles that have certain features, such as: detachable magazines, pistol grips, flash suppressors, and bayonet lugs, will be considered assault weapons. Before the SAFE Act, a rifle had to have at least two such features to be deemed an assault rifle. Now, only one such feature is necessary.
Conclusion - For now
The legal landscape surrounding assault rifles is intricate and marked by a continuous tug-of-war between individual liberties and public safety concerns. As the national discourse on gun control evolves, it is crucial to consider the historical context, federal and state regulations, and the constitutional dimensions that shape the law concerning assault rifles in the United States. The ongoing debates underscore the necessity for nuanced and comprehensive approaches to address the complexities of gun control and uphold the principles enshrined in the Constitution.
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