High-capacity magazine ban


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 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." Such devices are commonly called high-capacity magazines. 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. 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".
Most pistols sold in the U.S. are made and sold with magazines holding between 10 and 17 rounds. In November 2013, the National Rifle Association sued the city of San Francisco over an ordinance banning possession of magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds. In March 2014, the Supreme Court refused to halt a similar ban by the city of Sunnyvale, California. In March 2019, a United States District court in California declared magazine restrictions to be a violation of the Second Amendment and issued an injunction against the state's enforcement of the 10-round maximum capacity magazine.

Magazine bans by country

Canada

With the passage of Bill C-17 in 1993 under Prime Minister Kim Campbell, 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.

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 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 can still be owned on a section 1 firearms licence as 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 meaning that long barreled pistols can utilize high capacity magazines, though only 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. As for bolt action, straight pull, lever release and any other manually loading rifles they can be owned in any caliber however and utilize high capacity magazines also.
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. More can be found here Firearms policy in the United Kingdom.

United States

Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994

, 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. “No honest man needs more than 10 rounds in any gun,” Ruger told Tom Brokaw of NBC News in 1992. 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 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."
William B. Ruger

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

State high-capacity magazine bans

As of April 2019, Washington, D.C. and nine U.S. states have high-capacity magazine restrictions or bans.
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 resident to possess, as well as requiring a license to carry in certain counties and cities.

Municipal and county high-capacity magazine bans

U.S. cities with high-capacity magazine restrictions or bans include:
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. In 2015, the Second Circuit upheld this decision on appeal.
In December 2013, the National Rifle Association, 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, 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. In March 2015 the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the magazine capacity restriction, ruling that it does not violate the Second Amendment.
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.
In March of 2019, a Federal District Court judge struck down California's high-capacity magazine ban, noting that "nder the simple test of Heller, California's § 32310 directly infringes Second Amendment rights".

Public opinion

Most Americans support a ban on the sale and possession of high capacity magazines. 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%. 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. 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%. 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%. 70% of registered voters supported banning high-capacity magazines, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll with a margin of error +/- 2%.

Hunting

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

Impact

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 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." The authors speculated that "Nonetheless, reducing crimes with AWs and especially LCMs could have nontrivial effects on gunshot victimizations. As a general matter, hit rates tend to be low in gunfire incidents, so having more shots to fire rapidly can increase the likelihood that offenders hit their targets, and perhaps bystanders as well."
A 2018 Rand Corporation review concluded that effects of a ban on LCMs pertaining to firearm homicides in general were uncertain as the studies examined in the review were inconclusive in demonstrating a significant effect.
A 2019 study found that mass shootings involving high-capacity magazines "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 study acknowledged that with only 69 such incidents over a 28-year period, the magnitude of the effect of bans may be overestimated.
A 2020 study found that bans on large-capacity magazines, 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.