The ten-year federal assault-weapons ban remains a major reference point in current debates over state rifle and magazine restrictions.
The ban was part of the 1994 crime law
Congress enacted the semiautomatic assault-weapons provisions in the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
Grandfathering mattered
The federal law generally did not prohibit continued possession of covered weapons or magazines that were lawfully possessed before the September 13, 1994 enactment date.
The statute included a ten-year sunset
Without extension, the federal provisions expired on September 13, 2004.
State bans can still remain
Expiration of the federal ban did not preempt states from enacting or retaining their own assault-weapon and magazine restrictions.
Where this fits in the larger timeline
This event is part of the History of Gun Laws in America series. Federal firearm law developed incrementally through constitutional amendments, taxation and commerce statutes, criminal prohibitions, background-check legislation and modern Second Amendment decisions.