Assault weapons ban

An assault weapons ban is legislation (proposed or enacted) which defines and bans assault weapons. It can also refer specifically to:

United States laws and bills

• The Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989, sometimes referred to as California's assault weapons ban.
• The Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 (AWB 1994), a federal-level U.S. law that expired in 2004 based on a sunset provision and is now defunct.
• The Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 (AWB 2013), a bill proposed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting of December 2012 and that failed in Congress in April 2013.

Legislation in other countries

• The Canadian Firearms Act, strengthened in Canada in the years following the 1989 École Polytechnique Massacre in Montreal.
• The 1996 National Firearms Agreement and Buyback Program in Australia after the Port Arthur massacre.
• The Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 effectively banned civilian handgun ownership in the U.K. after the Dunblane Primary School massacre.