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    Q&A

    Do laws regulating assault weapons reduce gun violence?

    7.11.2020

      Yes. A 2024 study found that the federal prohibition on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines was associated with a significant decrease in public mass shootings and related casualties, preventing up to five public mass shootings during the 10 years (1994–2004) it was in effect. The researchers also estimated that, had the law remained in effect from 2005 through 2022, it would have prevented 38 public mass shootings.1Alex Lars Lundberg et al., “Public Mass Shootings: Counterfactual Trend Analysis of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban,” JMIR Public Health and Surveillance 10 (2024): e62952, https://doi.org/10.2196/62952. Similarly, a 2019 study found that the federal assault weapons and high-capacity magazine bans reduced mass shooting fatalities, and had the law continued, it would have prevented hundreds of mass shooting deaths.2Charles DiMaggio et al., “Changes in US Mass Shooting Deaths Associated with the 1994–2004 Federal Assault Weapons Ban: Analysis of Open-Source Data,” Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery 86, no. 1 (2019): 11–19, https://doi.org/10.1097/TA.0000000000002060. State assault weapons prohibitions are also associated with a lower likelihood of an active shooter event.3Sam Petulla, “Here Is 1 Correlation Between State Gun Laws and Mass Shootings,” CNN, October 5, 2017, https://cnn.it/2J4sWCC; Charles J. DiMaggio et al., “State Assault Weapons Bans Are Associated with Fewer Fatalities: Analysis of US County Mass Shooting Incidents (2014–2022),” Injury Prevention 32 (2026): 317–22, https://doi.org/10.1136/ip-2024-045263.

      Assault Weapons Prohibited

      11 states have adopted this policy

      AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

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      Alabama has not adopted this policy

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      Alaska has not adopted this policy

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      Arizona has not adopted this policy

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      Arkansas has not adopted this policy

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      California has adopted this policy

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      Colorado has not adopted this policy

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      Connecticut has adopted this policy

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      Delaware has adopted this policy

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      Florida has not adopted this policy

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      Georgia has not adopted this policy

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      Hawaii has not adopted this policy

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      Idaho has not adopted this policy

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      Illinois has adopted this policy

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      Indiana has not adopted this policy

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      Iowa has not adopted this policy

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      Kansas has not adopted this policy

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      Kentucky has not adopted this policy

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      Louisiana has not adopted this policy

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      Maine has not adopted this policy

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      Maryland has adopted this policy

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      Massachusetts has adopted this policy

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      Michigan has not adopted this policy

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      Minnesota has not adopted this policy

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      Mississippi has not adopted this policy

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      Missouri has not adopted this policy

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      Montana has not adopted this policy

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      Nebraska has not adopted this policy

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      Nevada has not adopted this policy

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      New Hampshire has not adopted this policy

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      New Jersey has adopted this policy

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      New Mexico has not adopted this policy

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      New York has adopted this policy

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      North Carolina has not adopted this policy

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      North Dakota has not adopted this policy

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      Ohio has not adopted this policy

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      Oklahoma has not adopted this policy

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      Oregon has not adopted this policy

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      Pennsylvania has not adopted this policy

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      Rhode Island has adopted this policy

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      South Carolina has not adopted this policy

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      South Dakota has not adopted this policy

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      Tennessee has not adopted this policy

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      Texas has not adopted this policy

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      Utah has not adopted this policy

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      Vermont has not adopted this policy

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      Virginia has adopted this policy

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      Washington has adopted this policy

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      West Virginia has not adopted this policy

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      Wisconsin has not adopted this policy

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      Wyoming has not adopted this policy

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      Did you know?

      Every day, nearly 130 people in the United States are killed with guns, twice as many are shot and wounded, and countless others are impacted by acts of gun violence.

      Everytown Research analysis of CDC, WONDER, Provisional Mortality Statistics, Multiple Cause of Death, 2021–2025; Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project nonfatal firearm injury data, 2020; and SurveyUSA, Market Research Study #26602, 2022.

      Last updated: 10.7.2026