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Old December 18, 2012, 04:50 AM   #1
Theohazard
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1994 Assault Weapons Ban: banned features

I'm starting this topic in response to the locked topic where the OP asked what the actual banned features of the 1994 AWB were. The topic got locked because people went off on a political tangent even after they were warned not to. Please, if you respond to this topic try to refrain from discussing politics.

The 1994 Assault Weapons Ban allowed a rifle to have only two (2) of the following:

-a collapsible or folding stock
-a pistol grip that extends below the weapon
-a detachable magazine
-a bayonet lug
-a threaded barrel that can accept a flash suppressor

The other poster was incorrect, barrel length had nothing to do with it; that has been regulated since the 1934 NFA. Also, notice that flash suppressors weren't specifically banned, just their method of attachment.

Naturally, most manufacturers chose to keep the pistol grip and detachable magazine, though some manufacturers used a thumbhole stock to allow the rifle to have another one of the options, usually a threaded barrel.
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Old December 18, 2012, 07:32 AM   #2
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Thanks, Theohazard, nice and concise.

Out of curiosity, what was the general reasoning behind the stock and pistol grip restrictions? I can maybe see an argument that a "moving" stock increases concealability. The pistol grip rule baffles me, as that seems more an ergonomic feature than having anything to do with a rifle's function/capability.
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Old December 18, 2012, 08:06 AM   #3
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Quote:
The pistol grip rule baffles me, as that seems more an ergonomic feature than having anything to do with a rifle's function/capability.
AR's and AK's were much rarer then than they are now. The lawmakers were afraid of the "hunters" vote. They were trying to ban AR's and AK's without offending the owners of traditional hunting semi-autos like BAR's and Remington 7400s.

The pistol grip was one of the primary distinguishing features (along with the other 4 described in post #1) between what the lawmakers thought people would see as 2 different classes of rifles. Unfortunately for the lawmakers the vast majority of people weren't as stupid as they hoped. The people understood that the function of a magazine-fed semi-auto rifle was independent of the 5 Evil Features, and the next step would possibly include a ban of all semi-autos. The massive Democratic losses in the 1994 legislative elections were a result of the ban, as well as the increasing popularity of the AR weapon platform.

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Old December 18, 2012, 08:40 AM   #4
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You can easily see the falacy of banning cosmetic features. Legislation purely based on emotion, and perception. It failed in 2004, and it will fail again.
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Old December 18, 2012, 08:44 AM   #5
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I gotta be honest, I'm a little nervouse right now. I am about to order a Precision Rifle with the Accuracy International stock with a threaded barrel for a compensator/supressor. Which would have 4 of the items listed.

Would the Bolt Action alone be the decideing factor on classifying this as NOT an "assault rifle"? This thing is gonna cost me around $5k and now I'm hesitant to spend the money.

Do you now if "they" are wanting to re-instate the bill of 94'?
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Old December 18, 2012, 09:34 AM   #6
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I read somewhere that the bill Dianne Feinstein is introducing will affect even weapons already owned.
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Old December 18, 2012, 11:16 AM   #7
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Quote:
Would the Bolt Action alone be the decideing factor on classifying this as NOT an "assault rifle"?
Yes, semi-autos were the only kind of rifle addressed by the 1994 AWB.
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Old December 18, 2012, 12:12 PM   #8
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I heard Feinstein say on CNN that current owners would be grandfathered in. Still a bunch of BS though.

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Old December 18, 2012, 01:09 PM   #9
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What lawmakers could do however is sneak some wording into the grandfather clause that limts which weapons the gradfathering applies to or expires the gradfathering protection... if its burried deep enough it could be very hard to find.

Im guessing that along w AWB re-instatement it will be stricter. We could see something like a rifle can only have 1 of the 5 characteristics, magazines above a certain capacity would be banned and not grandfathered, and private sales and gunshows made illegal.

none of which makes a difference to bad guy intent on doing harm.
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Old December 18, 2012, 01:30 PM   #10
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I was around in 1993. Schumer, Boxer, and Feinstein selected the rifles they wanted banned based on what they'd seen on television. They used a Sportsman's Guide catalog to identify them by name, and the "features" list was written to prevent clones of those weapons from passing muster. I wish I was kidding. I'm not.

I'll do my best to explain the methodology as I remember it.

Quote:
-a collapsible or folding stock
Makes the weapon easier to conceal under a jacket or something. Has nothing to do with allowing the rifle to accommodate shooters of taller or shorter height.

Quote:
-a pistol grip that extends below the weapon
For shooting from the hip, even though no military training curriculum I've ever seen teaches that.

Quote:
-a detachable magazine
Lots of rounds for spray-and-pray. Also, it's called a clip when you're a politician.

Quote:
-a bayonet lug
Because a bayonet, yes a bayonet, makes the weapon even more deadly. I remember a congressman on Frontline fumbling to open the one attached to an SKS. He wanted to show it in its full menacing glory.

Quote:
-a threaded barrel that can accept a flash suppressor
For silencers, which are apparently available at your local Wal Mart.
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Old December 18, 2012, 01:37 PM   #11
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Quote:
Yes, semi-autos were the only kind of rifle addressed by the 1994 AWB.
Thank you.
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Old December 18, 2012, 09:02 PM   #12
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I'm sure glad my 1898 Krag w/bayonet is PRE-BAN.
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Old December 18, 2012, 11:20 PM   #13
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In CA you can have all the evil features as long as you have a bullet button . A bullet button makes a detatchable mag a fixed mag and you need a tool to remove it . something thin and pointed like a bullet will work .

If I may be so bold .

If they are unable to pass a complete AWB like Diane Feinstein wants , It would ban the sale , transfer , importation and the possession of all said assault weapons not retroactively but prospectively .

I would bet money that the rest of the country would be introduced to the bullet button . as well as not being able to have more then 2 of the before above mentioned restrictions .

I would ad this . In CA if your gun has a bullet button you can not put a mag in it that exepts more then 10 rounds . Even if you bought the mag before the ban took effect and are legally aloud to own it . I had some 30 round AK mags from before the first AWB that I sent out of state cus I was not able to use them legally . They were just sitting in my basement for 16 years getting rusty .
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Old December 19, 2012, 03:19 AM   #14
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Thanks again, Tom Servo, nice summary. Not to harp on one aspect (and maybe I'm being naive) but the pistol grip restriction seems particularly absurd. I can understand, though not agree with, legislating certain features, but ergonomics?
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Old December 19, 2012, 09:32 AM   #15
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Andy, the problem they came across when trying to ban "assault weapons" is that there is no definition of "assault weapon". A true assault rifle goes burst or full-auto; these are just scary-looking semi-automatic rifles. The features I listed weren't banned because they were specifically dangerous, but because they were the only features that distinguished "assault weapons" from sporting rifles. Pistol grips were one of those features, therefore they're on the list.

Think of it this way: What if a bunch of politicians decided to ban sports cars? How do you do that, do you just ban cars with powerful engines? No, because many SUVs and luxury cars have powerful engines also. So what specifically and technically defines a sports car? Nothing really, it's just an overall look. So they would have to ban things like spoilers, sporty rims, low body work, and flashy paint jobs.
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Old December 19, 2012, 09:55 AM   #16
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Well stated. I guess I can see those features being banned when defining "scary rifles" from the outside instead of internal workings. Thanks again, good food for thought.
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Old December 19, 2012, 10:00 AM   #17
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Exactly. All they could do was limit those external scary features, because an "assault weapon" is internally no different than any other semi-automatic rifle.
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Old December 19, 2012, 04:49 PM   #18
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I think that I could live with 10rd mags
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Old December 19, 2012, 04:53 PM   #19
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I will live with the boxes of 30 round mags I own.
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Old December 19, 2012, 04:54 PM   #20
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Dammit, that's not the point I'm still young but this already feels like deja vu.
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Old December 19, 2012, 05:15 PM   #21
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Quote:
I will live with the boxes of 30 round mags I own.
Remember if the bullet button becomes national you will not be able to use all those 30 round mags you own unless you permanently modify them to only hold ten rounds .
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Old December 19, 2012, 06:29 PM   #22
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Lol, I have two 30rd mags. I'd gladly destroy them to keep my favorite rifle. But it's a mini14...two minute swap of the stock to remove most evil features. I'd rather loose mag capacity over ergonomics.
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Old December 19, 2012, 09:55 PM   #23
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They need to add beer bottle openers, anti-psychotics, and PCP to the list of banned features.
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Old December 19, 2012, 11:28 PM   #24
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Wasn't the original AWB primarily motivated by gangland activity and all the wanna-be's and small-timers buying "choppers" to live the gangsta lifestyle?
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Old December 20, 2012, 11:28 AM   #25
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Reading this thread, my first thought for you all is "welcome to New Jersey!". We live with this kind of BS -- no flash supressors, no collapsible stocks, searching for odball 15 round AR mags. I hope it doesn't come to pass nationally for the sake of all of our freedoms, but it is interesting to see you all grappling with the same nonsense we live with.
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