Sen. Feinstein introduces bill on assault weapons, high-capacity magazines

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has announced the introduction of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013.

The bill bans military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition feeding devices capable of holding more than 10 rounds.

The following joined the Senate bill as cosponsors: Senators Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Carl Levin (D-Mich.), John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

“The bill introduced is the product of more than a year of work, with input from across the country,” Feinstein said.

“Getting this bill signed into law will be an uphill battle, and I recognize that — but it’s a battle worth waging. We must balance the desire of a few to own military-style assaults weapons with the growing threat to lives across America. If 20 dead children in Newtown wasn’t a wakeup call that these weapons of war don’t belong on our streets, I don’t know what is.”

The Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 has two principal goals:

• First, the bill prohibits the sale, manufacture, transfer and importation of 157 of the most commonly-owned military-style assault weapons. It also bans an additional group of assault weapons that can accept a detachable ammunition magazine and have one or more military characteristics.

• Second, the bill bans large-capacity magazines and other ammunition feeding devices that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. These devices allow shooters to fire numerous rounds in rapid succession without having to stop and reload.

The legislation also protects the rights of law-abiding citizens who use guns for hunting, household defense or legitimate recreational purposes.

The Assault Weapons Ban includes a grandfather clause that specifically exempts all assault weapons lawfully possessed at the date of enactment from the ban. The legislation also excludes:

• More than 2,200 legitimate hunting and sporting rifles by specific make and model;

• Any gun manually operated by bolt, pump, lever or slide action; and,

• Weapons used by government officials, law enforcement and retired law enforcement.

Other key provisions in the bill:

• Requires background checks on all future transfers of assault weapons covered by the legislation, including sale, trade and gift;

• Requires that grandfathered assault weapons be stored safely using a secure gun storage or safety device in order to keep them away from prohibited persons; and
Prohibits the sale or transfer of high-capacity ammunition feeding devices currently in existence.

“I believe this bill is a big step toward ending the mass shootings that have devastated families across the country – from Newtown to Aurora, from Tucson to Virginia Tech, from Columbine to Oak Creek,” Feinstein said.

“It’s time for Americans to stand up and tell the gun manufacturers that the lives of our children are more important than their profits and get these dangerous weapons out of our schools, our workplaces, our malls and our theaters. It’s time to take action, and we’ll get it done, not matter how long it takes.”

Senator Feinstein was joined at the press conference by Senators Durbin, Schumer, Blumenthal and Murphy; Reps. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) and Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.); Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter (also president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors); Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey (also president of the Major Cities Chiefs Police Association); and a wide range of groups that have endorsed the bill.

The full text of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 as well as additional background information is available on Senator Feinstein’s website at feinstein.senate.gov/assaultweapons.

President Obama called on Congress to pass the assault weapons and high-capacity magazine ban on Jan. 16.

The administration said it supports Feinstein's bill.

The legislation bans the sale, transfer, manufacturing and importation of:

• All semiautomatic rifles that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one military feature: pistol grip; forward grip; folding, telescoping, or detachable stock; grenade launcher or rocket launcher; barrel shroud; or threaded barrel.

• All semiautomatic pistols that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one military feature: threaded barrel; second pistol grip; barrel shroud; capacity to accept a detachable magazine at some location outside of the pistol grip; or semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm. 
• All semiautomatic rifles and handguns that have a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.

• All semiautomatic shotguns that have a folding, telescoping, or detachable stock; pistol grip; fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 5 rounds; ability to accept a detachable magazine; forward grip; grenade launcher or rocket launcher; or shotgun with a revolving cylinder.

• All ammunition feeding devices (magazines, strips, and drums) capable of accepting more than 10 rounds.

• 157 specifically-named firearms (listed at the end of this document).

The legislation excludes the following weapons from the bill:

• Any weapon that is lawfully possessed at the date of the bill’s enactment;

• Any firearm manually operated by a bolt, pump, lever or slide action;

• Assault weapons used by military, law enforcement, and retired law enforcement; and

• Antique weapons.

The legislation protects hunting and sporting firearms:

• The bill excludes 2,258 legitimate hunting and sporting rifles and shotguns by specific make and model. The legislation strengthens the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban and state bans by:

• Moving from a 2-characteristic test to a 1-characteristic test.

• The bill also makes the ban harder to evade by eliminating the easy-to-remove bayonet mounts and flash suppressors from the characteristics test.

• Banning dangerous aftermarket modifications and workarounds.

• Bump or slide fire stocks, which are modified stocks that enable semi-automatic weapons to fire at rates similar to fully automatic machine guns.

• So-called “bullet buttons” that allow the rapid replacement of ammunition magazines, frequently used as a workaround to prohibitions on detachable magazines.

• Thumbhole stocks, a type of stock that was created as a workaround to avoid prohibitions on pistol grips.

• Adding a ban on the importation of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines.

• Eliminating the 10-year sunset that allowed the original federal ban to expire.

The legislation addresses the millions of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines currently in existence by:

• Requiring a background check on all sales or transfers of a grandfathered assault weapon.

• This background check can be run through the FBI or, if a state chooses, initiated with a state agency, as with the existing background check system.

• Prohibiting the sale or transfer of large-capacity ammunition feeding devices lawfully possessed on the date of enactment of the bill.

• Allowing states and localities to use federal Byrne JAG grant funds to conduct a voluntary buy-back program for grandfathered assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition feeding devices.

• Imposing a safe storage requirement for grandfathered firearms, to keep them away from prohibited persons.

• Requiring that assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition feeding devices manufactured after the date of the bill’s enactment be engraved with the serial number and date of manufacture of the weapon.