High-capacity magazine ban

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A magazine for a SIG Sauer P365 XL, modified by the manufacturer to limit capacity to 10 rounds, rather than its full 12 rounds. Capacity is limited by the crimp seen slightly below the 10-round witness hole, for compliance with the high-capacity magazine ban in Massachusetts.

A high-capacity magazine ban is a law which bans or otherwise restricts high-capacity magazines, detachable firearm magazines that can hold more than a certain number of rounds of ammunition. For example, in the United States, the now-expired Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 included limits regarding magazines that could hold more than ten rounds. Eight U.S. states, and a number of local governments, ban or regulate magazines that they have legally defined as high-capacity. The majority of states (42) do not ban or regulate any magazines on the basis of capacity. States that do have large capacity magazine bans or restrictions typically do not apply to firearms with fixed magazines whose capacity would otherwise exceed the large capacity threshold.

The federal ban which was in effect from 1994 to 2004 defined a magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition as a large capacity ammunition feeding device. Likewise, the state of California defines a large capacity magazine as "any ammunition feeding device with a capacity to accept more than 10 rounds."[1] Such devices are commonly called high-capacity magazines.[2][3][4] Among states with bans, the maximum capacity is 10 to 20 rounds. Several municipalities, such as New York City, restrict magazine capacity to 5 rounds for rifles and shotguns.[5] The state of New York previously limited magazine capacity to 7 rounds, but a District Court ruled this ban to be excessive and could not "survive intermediate scrutiny".[6]

Magazine bans by country[]

Canada[]

With the passage of Bill C-17 in 1993 under Prime Minister Kim Campbell (in response to the 1989 Ecole Polytechnique Massacre), magazines designed for use in semi-automatic centrefire rifles and semi-automatic shotguns became limited to five rounds, and magazines designed for use in handguns are limited to 10 rounds. Magazines designed for use in semi-automatic rimfire rifles, as well as manually operated long guns, are exempt from the magazine capacity restrictions.

In recent years, there has been a growing trend of ways to legally work around the magazine capacity restrictions. Numerous semi-automatic centrefire rifles also happen to accept handgun magazines, thereby legally increasing magazine capacity. Numerous rifle and handgun magazines designed for a particular caliber also happen to fit an over-the-limit number of smaller caliber rounds, also legally increasing magazine capacity.[7]

United Kingdom[]

Further information: Firearms regulation in the United Kingdom

There is no ban, restriction or other additional legal requirements on the possession, purchase, sale or import of high-capacity magazines in the UK that are designed for use in rifles, shotguns and pistols. However, since January 1989 all semi-automatic rifles (other than those chambered for .22 rimfire cartridges) and since February 1998 all semi-automatic pistols have been generally prohibited for possession by the general public without a section 5 firearms licence due to legislation enacted after the 1987 Hungerford Massacre on semi-automatic rifles and after the 1996 Dunblane Massacre on semi-automatic pistols. Before those respective dates a member of the public could own them on a standard section 1 firearms licence. This means that even though high-capacity magazines are legal, they can only be legally used on semi-automatic rifles owned by citizens with a section 1 firearms licence if they are chambered to fire .22 rimfire cartridges only. Additionally though long-barreled pistols (pistols with a barrel length of at least 12 inches) can still be owned on a section 1 firearms licence, the legislation on pistols passed in February 1998 only affected firearms with a barrel length of less than 12 inches, meaning that long-barreled pistols are in effect regulated along the same lines as .22 rimfire semi automatic rifles, and so long-barreled pistols can utilize high-capacity magazines, though only when chambered to .22 rimfire cartridges like semi-automatic rifles. Revolvers are not classed as semi-automatic under UK law and thus can be owned in any caliber; however, they must still have a barrel length of at least 12 inches like semi-automatic rifles and pistols if owned on a section 1 firearms licence. Bolt action, straight pull, lever release and any other manually loading rifles can be owned in any caliber and utilize high capacity magazines.

As for shotguns, there is legislation on all lever action, pump action and semi-automatic shotguns that restricts them to holding a maximum of 3 cartridges at any one time if they are held on a section 2 shotgun licence. However shotguns with an unlimited capacity can be held on the more strict section 1 firearms licence if an applicant provides a 'good reason' to the chief officer of their local police force as to why they need a shotgun with a capacity over 3 shots. Typically a 'good reason' would be for example those hunting or controlling dangerous animals, or those who need to control large numbers of pests at once (such as herds of rabbits).[8]

United States[]

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Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994[]

Main article: Federal Assault Weapons Ban

William B. Ruger, a founder of Sturm, Ruger & Co., is often ascribed with providing the impetus for high capacity magazine restrictions. Ruger proposed that instead of banning firearms, Congress should outlaw magazines holding more than 15 rounds.[9] Ruger told Tom Brokaw of NBC News in 1992 that "No honest man needs more than 10 rounds in any gun".[10][11] On March 30, 1989, Ruger sent a letter to every member of the US Congress stating:

The best way to address the firepower concern is therefore not to try to outlaw or license many millions of older and perfectly legitimate firearms (which would be a licensing effort of staggering proportions) but to prohibit the possession of high capacity magazines. By a simple, complete and unequivocal ban on large capacity magazines, all the difficulty of defining 'assault rifle' and 'semi-automatic rifles' is eliminated. The large capacity magazine itself, separate or attached to the firearm, becomes the prohibited item. A single amendment to Federal firearms laws could effectively implement these objectives.[12]

The Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 included a ban on magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition.[13]: 1–2  The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, commonly called the assault weapons ban (AWB), was enacted in September 1994. The ban, including its ban on magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition, became defunct (expired) in September 2004 per a sunset provision. Attempts to renew the ban have failed on the federal level.

State high-capacity magazine bans[]

See also: Gun laws in the United States by state

As of April 2019, Washington, D.C. and nine U.S. states have high-capacity magazine restrictions or bans.[14]

In Virginia, high-capacity magazines, which are defined as being over 20 rounds for a semi-automatic, centerfire rifle or pistol, and 7 shells for a shotgun, are not in and of themselves banned, but using one in combination with a firearm changes its status to an "assault firearm" which is prohibited for foreign nationals without permanent residence to possess,[15][16] as well as requiring a license to carry in certain counties and cities.[17]

Municipal and county high-capacity magazine bans[]

U.S. cities with high-capacity magazine restrictions or bans include:

Legal status[]

In 2013, a federal judge in New York struck down the state's prohibition against gun owners loading more than seven rounds into a magazine, calling the limit "an arbitrary restriction" that violated the Second Amendment, but upheld the state's ban on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.[20] In 2015, the Second Circuit upheld this decision on appeal.[21]

In December 2013, the National Rifle Association (NRA), representing five residents of Sunnyvale, California, filed a lawsuit to stop enforcement of the city's ban on possession of magazines able to hold more than 10 rounds,[22] in a case known as Fyock v. Sunnyvale. In March 2014, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy rejected a request to block enforcement of the law pending appeals.[23] In March 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the magazine capacity restriction, ruling that it does not violate the Second Amendment.[24]

Eugene Volokh, constitutional scholar, says that a Federal District Court judge was correct to decide that a local high-capacity magazine ban was constitutional, comparing limits on magazine capacity to limits on free speech.[25]

California's statewide high-capacity magazine ban (enacted by voters in Proposition 63) is the subject of an ongoing legal challenge in Duncan v. Becerra. In March 2019, Judge Roger Benitez of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of California issued a ruling striking down the ban, concluding that it that infringed Second Amendment rights. The decision was suspended after six days, pending further litigation. In August 2020, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held, in a 2–1 decision, that California's ban on large-capacity magazines violated the Second Amendment. However, in February 2021, the panel decision was vacated after the Ninth Circuit voted to rehear the case en banc (by an 11-member panel).[26]

Public opinion[]

Further information: Public opinion on gun control in the United States

In 2012 62% of Americans favored banning the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines, according to a Gallup poll with a margin of error of ±4%.[27] In 2017, 65% of American adults supported banning high-capacity magazines, according to a Pew Research Center survey with an error attributable to sampling of ±2.8% at the 95% level of confidence.[28] In late February – early March 2018, after the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, 63% of American adults supported a ban on the sale and possession of high-capacity or extended ammunition magazines, according to a CNN poll with a margin of error of ±3.7%.[29][30] 73% of American adults supported banning high-capacity ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, according to an NPR/Ipsos poll with a margin of error of ±3.5%.[31] 70% of registered voters supported banning high-capacity magazines, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll with a margin of error ±2%.[32]

Hunting[]

Some jurisdictions apply magazine limits to hunters. For example, Maine and Oregon have a 5-cartridge limit on auto-loading firearms for hunting.[33]: 18 [34]

Impact[]

On gun homicide rates and lethality[]

A 2004 study examining the effects of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban in effect from 1994 to 2004 which included a prohibition on sales of magazines with over ten rounds. The study found that, while the ban was effective at reducing crimes committed with assault weapons, the ban was not associated with a reduction in firearm homicides or the lethality of gun crimes in general. The authors suggest this may be due to the concurrent rise in use of non-banned semiautomatic weapons with large capacity magazines. The authors note that high-capacity magazines have a greater potential for affecting gun crime as compared to assault weapons due to the fact that high-capacity magazines are used in firearms not classified as assault weapons. The authors further note, "However, it is not clear how often the ability to fire more than 10 shots without reloading (the current magazine capacity limit) affects the outcomes of gun attacks." Overall the authors reported that "there has been no discernible reduction in the lethality and injuriousness of gun violence, based on indicators like the percentage of gun crimes resulting in death or the share of gunfire incidents resulting in injury, as we might have expected had the ban reduced crimes with both AWs and LCMs."[35]

A 2019 study found no statistically significant association between state-level LCM bans and homicide rates.[36]

A 2020 RAND Corporation review indicated that there were few methodologically rigorous studies on the impact of LCM bans on violent crime rates, and concluded that "High-capacity magazine bans have uncertain effects on firearm homicides. Evidence for the effect of high-capacity magazine bans on firearm homicides is also inconclusive."[37]

On mass shooting rates and lethality[]

Further information: Mass shootings in the United States

A 2019 study examined the effect of large-capacity magazine (LCM) bans on the frequency and lethality of "high-lethality mass shootings" (defined as those resulting in six or more fatalities) in the United States from 1990 to 2017. Of the 69 high-fatality mass shootings in the U.S. over that period, at least 44 (64%) involved LCMs.[38] Attacks involving LCMs "resulted in a 62% higher mean average death toll" than mass shootings in which high-capacity magazines were not used. States which had banned high-capacity magazines had a substantially lower incidence of mass shootings, as well as far fewer fatalities in mass shootings: "The incidence of high-fatality mass shootings in non–LCM ban states was more than double the rate in LCM ban states; the annual number of deaths was more than 3 times higher."[38] The study acknowledged that because 69 incidents over a 28-year period was, for statistical purposes, "a relatively small number and limits the power to detect significant associations," it was possible that the magnitude of the effects detected was overestimated.[38] The study authors "did not have the statistical power (and thus did not even try) to determine whether different aspects of the various LCM laws might have differential effects on the incidence of high-fatality mass shootings."[38]

A 2020 study, examining fatal mass shootings in the U.S. for the period 1984–2017, found that, when controlling for other variables, LCM bans, and handgun purchaser licensing laws, were associated with a significant reduction in fatal mass shootings, while assault weapon bans, background checks, and de-regulation of civilian concealed carry were not.[39]

Law criticism[]

About forty states presently in the United States allow citizens to keep and purchase magazines over ten rounds for privately owned firearms. Over 70 million of these magazines presently are in privately owned citizen hands.

Many critics of laws restricting firearm magazine capacity or mandating registration will only affect law-abiding persons, not criminals bent on committing acts of violence and murder.

Such laws requiring registration or bans of magazines would be nearly impossible to enforce as there are likely over 70 million firearm magazines privately owned in the United States that hold eleven or more rounds of ammunition.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Office of the Attorney General (November 2001). "Assault Weapons Identification Guide 2000" (PDF). oag.ca.gov. California Department of Justice. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  2. ^ Polisar, Joseph M. (September 2004). "President's Message: Reauthorization of the Assault Weapons Ban". Police Chief Magazine. International Association of Chiefs of Police. Retrieved April 21, 2014. The ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines has been a crucial component of our national crime-fighting strategy.
  3. ^ Kerlikowske, R. Gil (August 24, 2004). "Save the Assault Weapons Ban". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  4. ^ Peterson, Phillip (2008). Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Assault Weapons. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. p. 11. ISBN 978-0896896802. In the context of this book, however, 'assault weapon' refers to a semi-automatic firearm that accepts high capacity magazines (10+ rounds) and is patterned after military issue select-fire weapons.
  5. ^ New York, N.Y. Consolidated Laws, General Business Law, Article 26: Miscellaneous (PDF). p. 328. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  6. ^ New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v Cuomo, 38 (W.D.N.Y. December 31, 2013) ("Unlike the restrictions on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, the seven-round limit cannot survive intermediate scrutiny.").Text
  7. ^ "Maximum Permitted Magazine Capacity". Special Bulletin for Businesses No. 72. Royal Canadian Mounted Police. 2014-12-08. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  8. ^ "Firearms Act 1968".
  9. ^ Patrick Sweeney (2007). Gun Digest Book of Ruger Pistols and Revolvers. Gun Digest Books. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-89689-472-3.
  10. ^ Harkinson, Josh (June 14, 2016). "Fully Loaded: Inside the Shadowy World of America's 10 Biggest Gunmakers". Mother Jones. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  11. ^ "Magazine limits were first proposed by Connecticut gun maker". Connecticut Magazine. New Haven Register. April 1, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  12. ^ William B. Ruger (1992). "An Open Letter". American Handgunner. 12 (5): 18.
  13. ^ Roth, Jeffrey A.; Christopher S. Koper (March 1999). "Impacts of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban" (PDF). National Institute of Justice Research in Brief (NCJ 173405).
  14. ^ "Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines Policy Summary". smartgunlaws.org. Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. May 31, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  15. ^ "2006 Code of Virginia § 18.2-308.2 – Possession or transportation of firearms, stun weapons, tasers, explosives or concealed weapons by".
  16. ^ "Former Virginia Tech student was allowed to have gun, but not with high-capacity magazine".
  17. ^ "2006 Code of Virginia § 18.2-287.4 – Carrying loaded firearms in public areas prohibited; penalty".
  18. ^ "Municode Library". www.municode.com. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  19. ^ "Assault Weapons". Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  20. ^ Kaplan, Thomas (December 31, 2013). "U.S. Judge Upholds Most New York Gun Limits". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  21. ^ New York State Rifle and Pistol Ass'n, Inc. v. Cuomo, 804 F.3d 242 (2d Cir. 2015)
  22. ^ Richman, Josh (December 17, 2013). "NRA sues Sunnyvale over ammo magazine ban". San Jose Mercury News. San Jose, California. Retrieved March 13, 2014. in fact, most pistols sold in the U.S. are made and sold with magazines holding between 10 and 17 rounds.
  23. ^ Richman, Josh (March 12, 2014). "Sunnyvale gun law: Supreme Court justice refuses to stay ban on large-capacity magazines". San Jose Mercury News. San Jose, California. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  24. ^ Mintz, Howard (March 4, 2015). "Gun Rights Showdown: Sunnyvale Restrictions Upheld by Appeals Court", San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  25. ^ Root, Damon (March 7, 2014). "Court: Bans on High-Capacity Magazines Are 'Only the Most Minor Burden on the Second Amendment'". reason.com. Reason Foundation. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  26. ^
  27. ^ Saad, Lydia (December 27, 2012). "Americans Want Stricter Gun Laws, Still Oppose Bans". Gallup. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  28. ^ Parker, Kim; Menasce Horowitz, Juliana; Igielnik, Ruth; Oliphant, Baxter; Brown, Anna (June 22, 2017). "America's Complex Relationship With Guns". Pew Research Center. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  29. ^ Agiesta, Jennifer (February 25, 2018). "CNN Poll: Seven in 10 favor tighter gun laws in wake of Parkland shooting". CNN. Retrieved March 19, 2018. There is widespread support for several specific changes to gun laws, ... 63% who support a ban on the sale and possession of high-capacity or extended ammunition magazines (up from 54% in October, a new high in CNN polling)
  30. ^ Hart, Benjamin (February 25, 2018). "Two New Polls Show Widespread Support for Stricter Gun Laws". New York. Retrieved March 19, 2018. Some specific measures that are broadly popular ... 63 percent favor a ban on high-capacity magazines.
  31. ^ Khalid, Asma (March 2, 2018). "NPR Poll: After Parkland, Number of Americans Who Want Gun Restrictions Grows". Morning Edition. NPR. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  32. ^ Shepard, Steven (February 28, 2018). "Gun control support surges in polls". Politico. Retrieved March 19, 2018. Seventy percent of voters support a ban on high-capacity magazines, and 68 percent want to ban assault-style weapons.
  33. ^ "Maine Hunting & Trapping: The Official 2013–14 State of Maine Hunting & Trapping Laws and Rules" (PDF). Warden Service Documents. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. January 7, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  34. ^ "ODFW Weapons Restrictions". www.dfw.state.or.us. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  35. ^ Koper, Christopher S.; Woods, Daniel J.; Roth, Jeffrey A. (July 2004). "Updated Assessment of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban: Impacts on Gun Markets and Gun Violence, 1994-2003; Report to the National Institute of Justice, United States Department of Justice" (PDF). Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  36. ^ Michael Siegel & Claire Boine, Policy Brief: What Are the Most Effective Policies in Reducing Gun Homicides, Rockefeller Institute of Government/Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium (March 29, 2019), p. 9.
  37. ^ Effects of Assault Weapon and High-Capacity Magazine Bans on Violent Crime, Rand Corporation (April 22, 2020).
  38. ^ a b c d Klarevas, Louis; Conner, Andrew; Hemenway, David (2019-10-17). "The Effect of Large-Capacity Magazine Bans on High-Fatality Mass Shootings, 1990–2017". American Journal of Public Health. 109 (12): e1–e8. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2019.305311. ISSN 0090-0036. PMC 6836798. PMID 31622147.
  39. ^ Webster, Daniel W.; McCourt, Alexander D.; Crifasi, Cassandra K.; Booty, Marisa D.; Stuart, Elizabeth A. (2020). "Evidence concerning the regulation of firearms design, sale, and carrying on fatal mass shootings in the United States". Criminology & Public Policy. 19: 171–212. doi:10.1111/1745-9133.12487.

Further reading[]

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