THE MOST important part of the semiautomatic assault weapons ban that expires today is probably the restriction on large ammunition magazines, not the ban on military-style firearms. New research findings could provide the basis for a compromise between pro- and anti-ban legislators.
The ban attempts to reduce crimes committed with semiautomatics having large ammunition capacities - which enable shooters to fire many shots rapidly - and other outward, military-style features such as flash hiders, threaded barrels for silencers and bayonet mounts. Those features are useful in nighttime military assaults, Mafia hits and hand-to-hand combat but unnecessary in shooting sports or self-defense.
The law prohibits 19 named gun models plus other semiautomatics having two or more military-style features. But removing the guns' military features, as some manufacturers have done, is sufficient to make the weapons legal. So the law doesn't really ban guns, it just limits accessories.
The most important restriction is the law's ban on large-capacity ammunition magazines, defined as those holding more than 10 rounds. Why is this important?
A large magazine is the key component of an assault weapon because it allows the shooter to fire up to 100 rounds without reloading. Removing the magazines from these guns limits their firepower.
Second, the magazine ban potentially affects more gun crimes because many nonbanned semiautomatics also accept large magazines. Despite their notoriety, assault weapons were used in only about 2 percent of gun crimes before the ban, while guns equipped with large magazines were used in up to 25 percent of gun crimes.
So is the ban working? It's a work in progress.
Reducing crimes with these guns and magazines could take time because it's still legal to own and sell those manufactured before the ban's effective date, Sept. 13, 1994. That's a stock of at least 1.5 million assault weapons and nearly 25 million guns equipped with large magazines. Gun industry sources estimated that 25 million large magazines still were available for sale in the United States as of 1995.
Perhaps surprisingly, the stock of large magazines has continued to grow because it's still legal to import those made before the ban. Importers brought in 4.7 million for commercial use from 1995 to 2000 and received authorization to import an additional 42 million that may be on the way.
