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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_weapon#Differing_state_law_definitions
Differing state law definitions[edit]
Seven states have assault weapon bans with different definitions and characteristics.[27]
- California defines assault weapons by name, by "series" (AK-47 or AR-15), and by characteristic.[28] A shotgun with a revolving cylinder is also defined as an assault weapon.[12]
- Connecticut defines assault weapons as selective-fire firearms (including assault rifles capable of fully automatic or burst fire); semi-automatic firearms specified by name; and semi-automatic firearms with specific characteristics.[13]
- Hawaii defines and bans assault pistols.[29]
- Maryland defines and bans assault pistols. It regulates 45 other assault weapons listed by make or model including copies, regardless of manufacturer.[29][30]
- Massachusetts defines assault weapons as semi-automatic firearms with the same definition provisions from the expired federal ban of 1994.[31]
- New York had an assault weapons ban prior to 2013, but on January 16 of that year it passed the SAFE Act, which created a stricter definition of assault weapons and banned them immediately.[32][33][34] The NY SAFE Act defines assault weapons as semi-automatic pistols and rifles with detachable magazines and one military-style feature, and semi-automatic shotguns with one military-style feature.[33]
In Illinois, proposed legislation in 2013 would have defined the term "semi-automatic assault weapon" as any semi-automatic firearm able to accept a detachable magazine, but it was never brought to a vote.[35][36] The Illinois State Rifle Association said most of the state's firearms owners owned one or more guns that would have been banned under the proposal.[37] The NRA said the proposal would have restricted about 75 percent of handguns and 50 percent of long guns in circulation.[37] As municipalities, Chicago and Cook County bans certain firearms defined as assault weapons and have no provision for legal possession of firearms owned before their laws were passed.[38][39] Minnesota also defines certain firearms as assault weapons and regulates their sales.[29] The State of Washington defines any semi-automatic rifle (except antiques), regardless of features, caliber, or magazine type, as a "semiautomatic assault rifle".[40]
Distinction from assault rifles[edit]
The term "assault rifle" is frequently used interchangeably with the term "assault weapon" but this use has been described as incorrect and a misapplication of the term.[8] The AP Stylebook suggests that newsrooms avoid the terms "assault weapon" and "assault rifle" instead using the term "semi-automatic rifle".[41] Part of the definition of "assault rifle", according to the Encyclopædia Britannica, is that it is selective-fire, which means that it is capable of both semiautomatic and fully automatic fire.[42] Civilian ownership of machine guns, including selective-fire rifles, has been tightly regulated since 1934 under the National Firearms Act and since 1986 under the Firearm Owners Protection Act.[11]
