Press Releases

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to advance legislation co-sponsored by Congressman Salud Carbajal that would ban the sale, import, manufacture, or transfer of certain semi-automatic weapons.

“As a Marine Corps veteran, I’ve seen firsthand the destruction that assault rifles are capable of. They are weapons of war. They’re designed to do more harm, faster. And they have no place in our communities or on our streets,” said Rep. Carbajal. “But tragically, the vast majority of the deadliest mass shootings that we have seen in recent years have been carried out with one of these deadly weapons. It was wrong of Congress to let the assault weapons ban expire in 2004, and I’ve been fighting to revive it since my first day in office. If we want to end gun violence, we have to crack down on the weapons that mass shooters and criminals prefer.”

The passage of the measure today marks the first time either chamber of Congress has approved an assault weapons ban since 1994. The 1994 assault weapons ban expired in 2004.

Eight of the ten deadliest mass shootings in recent U.S. history involved an assault weapon that would have been banned for purchase under the 1994 assault weapons ban.

Researchers estimate that if a federal assault weapons ban was still in place, we would see 70 percent fewer mass shooting deaths.

The House today approved the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021 (H.R. 1808), which would make it unlawful for a person to import, sell, manufacture, or transfer the following:

• All semi-automatic rifles that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one of the following military features: (1) pistol grip; (2) forward grip; (3) folding, telescoping, or detachable stock; (4) grenade launcher; (5) barrel shroud; or (6) threaded barrel.
• All semi-automatic rifles that have a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
• Bump fire stocks and any part, combination of parts, component, device, attachment, or accessory that is designed or functions to accelerate the rate of fire of a semi-automatic rifle but not convert the semi-automatic rifle into a machine gun.
• All semi-automatic pistols that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one of the following military features: (1) threaded barrel; (2) second pistol grip; (3) barrel shroud; (4) capacity to accept a detachable magazine at some location outside of the pistol grip; or (5) semi-automatic version of an automatic firearm.
• All semi-automatic shotguns that have at least one of the following (1) a folding, telescoping, or detachable stock; (2) pistol grip; (3) fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 5 rounds; (4) ability to accept a detachable magazine; (5) forward grip; (6) grenade launcher; or (7) shotgun with a revolving cylinder.
• High capacity feeding devices (magazines, strips, and drums) capable of accepting more than 10 rounds.           

The measure approved today would allow for the sale, transfer, or possession of assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices lawfully possessed on the date of enactment of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021.

It would also specify that its restrictions do not apply to antique firearms, manually-operated firearms, and more than 2,000 specified models of hunting and sporting firearms.

This measure passed today builds on the recent enactment of the first federal gun safety law since the 1994 assault weapons ban: the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

That landmark breakthrough approved earlier this summer included a provision long-championed by Congressman Carbajal to expand the use of ‘red flag’ laws.

The new law includes $750 million set aside for states to create and administer ‘red flag’ laws and other measures that can keep guns out of the hands of those who are deemed to be a threat to themselves or others, something Rep. Carbajal originally proposed in his Extreme Risk Protection Order Act.