Literature Review of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban

Abstract

A literature review was completed on the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban and whether it achieved the purpose its designers intended. The topic of assault weapons, whether they should be banned in their entirety, strictly regulated, or just left alone is still a cause for much debate in this country. The 1994 Assault Weapons Ban was allowed to expire in 2004, but well before its end, a new debate began on what type of law should replace it. The purpose of this research is to determine whether the 1994 AWB was successful in reducing the criminal use of "assault weapons". This research will also provide a definition of the term "assault weapon" and how it came into use to describe a certain class of firearms that were banned and under the 1994 law. In addition, research will be presented to reflect the type of weapon that criminals prefer and the statistical evidence of their use of assault weapons.

Table of Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................4

Research Purpose...............................................................................................5

Research Questions.............................................................................................5

Research Question One: Did the 1994 AWB have any effect on gun violence in the United States...........................................................................................6

Research Question Two: What is an "assault weapon" and what criteria was used to develop the list of firearms whose ownership was banned......................................9

Research Question Three: Has the recent rise in popularity of "assault weapons" with large capacity magazines resulted in an increased use by criminals..........................11

Conclusions....................................................................................................12

References.....................................................................................................14

Introduction

The 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB), or its formal name as the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, was passed by the U. S. Congress on September 13, 1994 and "very publicly" signed into law by then President William Jefferson Clinton on the same day. This law included many provisions whose intention was to reduce the criminal use of "assault weapons" by severely limiting their public access. Perhaps one of the most important provisions was a prohibition on the manufacture for "civilian" use of certain semi-automatic firearms that the law classed as "assault weapons". Although the ban only applied to weapons that were manufactured after the ban's effective date, there were numerous attempts to add other firearms to the listed of banned weapons. The 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban expired on September 13, 2004 and there were several attempts to renew the ban, but none was successful.

Semi-automatic rifles and pistols with detachable magazines were classed as "assault weapons" if they possessed two or more of the "cosmetic" features that were on a list contained in the law. A semi-automatic shotgun, while not capable of using a detachable magazine, however was restricted from manufacture or possession if it possessed two or more of the cosmetic features for this class of firearms.

Americans are by their very nature "law abiding", but nothing can provoke them to heated debate as much as restricting a "right" they believe is guaranteed to them in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. When news first reached the public that a new law was being passed that would limit their access to certain types of firearms, store shelves rapidly emptied of the firearms and the prices on those still available skyrocketed. It was not long until firearms manufacturers and designers found ways to circumvent the law's provisions merely by renaming the firearms that appeared on the "banned" list or modifying those already in production to remove the offending cosmetic features" (Koper, Woods, & Roth, 2004, p.10).

"After President Clinton signed the Crime Law that banned so-called 'assault weapons', he used a duck hunting trip to announce that hunters still have guns and can use them, since hunting weapons were not banned. The Second Amendment, however, does not say, 'The permission to hunt being necessary to the security of a free state'. It recognizes the Militia and protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms, and above all, arms related to use in a Militia" (Garcia, 1995, p. 37).

Research Purpose

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban (Title XI of the Federal Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994) on gun related violence and the class of firearms titled "assault weapons".

Research Questions

This literature review will answer the following three research questions:

1. Did the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban have any effect on gun violence in the United States?

2. What is an "assault weapon" and what criteria was used to develop the list of firearms whose ownership was banned?

3. Has the recent rise in popularity of "assault weapons" with large capacity magazines resulted in an increased use by criminals?

Research Question One: Did the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban have any effect on gun violence in the United States?

Federal firearms crime statistics reflect that assault weapons with large capacity magazines were used in only a minority of gun crimes prior to the passage of the AWB. The Assault Weapons Ban required the Department of Justice to look at the ban's effect on crime, before and after the decade that it was in place. The study failed to show a significant impact on "assault weapon" use or support the allegation that large capacity magazines contributed to a higher murder rate. Hahn, Bilukha, and Crosby (2003) say:

Results of studies of firearms and