Which States are Currently Facing Assault Weapons Bans

Currently, 10 states and Washington, DC ban either the sale or possession of “assault weapons.” But this month, two more states will decide whether to severely curb their populations’ civil liberties. Let’s take a look at Colorado and Virginia, two states that are considering assault weapons bans right now.

AK-74s like this one would be banned by name in the proposed Colorado and Virginia assault weapons ban.

Colorado Assault Weapons Ban

Colorado lawmakers are currently considering a ban on “assault weapons.” According to the people who wrote the bill, this includes a lot of firearms.

Aside from banning a bunch of different rifles by name (including most AK and AR variants), the bill also bans:

• Any .50-caliber rifle.
• Rifles: Essentially any semi-auto rifle. Also any non semi-auto rifle with a pistol grip, barrel shroud, threaded barrel, muzzle break, or a folding, telescopic, or detachable stock.
• Pistols: A semi-auto pistol that can accept a detachable magazine AND also has a threaded barrel, second pistol grip, shroud attached to the barrel, muzzle break, or stabilizing brace.
• Shotguns: Any semi-auto shotgun with a pistol grip, fixed large-capacity magazine (anything beyond 15 rounds), or a folding, telescoping, or thumbhole stock.

Colorado Democrats tried to pass a similar bill last year. It failed to progress past its initial phases, and died in committee.

But things are different this year. Two members of the board that shot down last year’s bill are no longer on the committee. This puts some question marks around what will happen with this year’s bill.

March 19th is the big day. We’ll see if this bill has legs. Even if lawmakers pass the bill, it’s unsure whether Governor Jared Polis will sign it into law.

With that being said, gun stores in Colorado are currently very nervous this law will pass. They’re so nervous, in fact, that some of them are refusing to buy semi-auto rifles for fear that they won’t be able to sell them anymore once the law passes.

This Frankenglock would be illegal under Colorado’s proposed assault weapons ban thanks to its removable magazine and threaded barrel.

Virginia Assault Weapons Ban

The second state facing an assault weapons ban right now is one you wouldn’t expect: Virginia. Virginia has always been a somewhat gun-friendly state. But now, the state’s Democratic majority is trying to push extensive gun control legislation.

The bill itself looks pretty similar to the proposed Colorado law. Semi-auto guns would become illegal if they have a detachable magazine and some other cosmetic features. The bill also outlaws semi-auto guns with a fixed magazine larger than 10 rounds.

Fortunately, the Virginia bill doesn’t look like it’s going to pass. Not while Glenn Younkin is the state’s governor. Youngkin has already vetoed two different gun control bills this year, and looks poised to veto Virginia’s assault weapons ban.

The senate would need to muster a two-thirds majority to override Youngkin’s veto, and there aren’t enough Democrats to make that happen.

Federal Assault Weapon Ban

During President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech on March 7, he repeated his call to ban “assault weapons and high capacity magazines.” Fortunately, a Federal assault weapons ban is pretty unlikely to become law. While anti-gun Democrats may have infiltrated once staunchly red or purple states like Virginia and Colorado, they still don’t have the power to enact gun control on a national stage.

Final Thoughts

Anyone who lives in Colorado or Virginia should have their fingers crossed that these assault weapon bans don’t pass. Once states enact these kinds of laws, they tend not to go anywhere. In fact, the only assault weapon ban that has ever gone away was the Federal one from 1994 through 2004, and that only happened because the law had a sunset provision written into it.

We’ll keep you posted with whatever happens with both Virginia and Colorado in the coming weeks.