State rankings
Assault Rifle Legality by State
Assault Rifle Legality by State: compare 50 US states on 2 metrics.
Legality of Assault Rifles
4 values across 50 entries
Data
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15 states
 California | California prohibits anyone from possessing an assault weapon (as defined by state law), unless they lawfully possessed the firearm before it was classified as an assault weapon and registered the firearm with the California Department of Justice (“DOJ”) within specified timef… |
 Connecticut | Connecticut prohibits any person from possessing an assault weapon unless the weapon was possessed prior to July 1, 1994 |
 Delaware | On June 30, 2022, Gov. Carney signed into law the Delaware Lethal Firearms Safety Act of 2022 prohibiting the manufacture, sale, offer to sell, transfer, purchase, receipt, possession, or transport of assault weapons in Delaware, subject to certain exceptions. |
 Hawaii | Hawaii criminalizes the manufacture, possession, sale or other transfer, barter, trade, gift or acquisition of an assault pistol |
 Illinois | On January 10, 2023, Illinois became the 9th state to pass comprehensive legislation to generally ban commerce and possession of assault weapons |
 Iowa | Iowa does not regulate assault weapons. However, any person who “sells or offers for sale a manual or power-driven trigger activating device constructed and designed so that when attached to a firearm increases the rate of fire of the firearm is guilty of an aggravated misdeme… |
 Maryland | Maryland now prohibits the possession, sale, offering of sale, transfer, purchase, receipt, or transportation into the state of an assault weapon, which includes assault pistols and assault long guns |
 Massachusetts | It is generally unlawful in Massachusetts to sell, offer for sale, transfer or possess an assault weapon that was not otherwise lawfully possessed on September 13, 1994.1 Firearms dealers are also specifically prohibited from selling, leasing, renting, transferring, delivering… |
 Minnesota | In 2023, Minnesota extended the waiting period for assault weapon purchases from federally licensed dealers from seven days to 30 days (effective August 1, 2023). Minnesota prohibits the possession of semiautomatic military-style assault weapons by persons who are under 18 yea… |
 New Jersey | Any person seeking to purchase or possess an assault firearm in New Jersey may apply for a license to do so by filing a written application with his or her county's superior court, setting forth in detail the reasons for desiring such a license. |
 New York | New York’s assault weapon law prohibits manufacturing, transporting, disposing of or possessing an assault weapon in the state |
 Ohio | Ohio has no law restricting assault weapons generally. However, Ohio includes within the definition of “automatic firearm” any semi-automatic firearm designed or specially adapted to fire more than thirty-one cartridges without reloading, other than a firearm chambering only .… |
 Texas | Texas has no law restricting assault weapons. As a result, researchers have found, Texas is a major source of assault weapons trafficked south of the border into Mexico and Central America |
 Virginia | The state prohibits possession by non-citizens who are not lawful permanent residents and by individuals under 18, with limited exceptions. Certain specific firearms, like the Striker 12, are outright banned. Virginia also regulates assault firearms based on features such as m… |
 Washington | Washington became the 10th state to generally ban the sale and manufacture of assault weapons. Unlike most other states with assault weapon bans, however, Washington does not ban or regulate the possession of assault weapons, only their sale, manufacture, import, and distribution |
Quick answers
- Where does this assault rifle legality by state data come from?
- Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Gun Laws - Giffords Law Center; State Issues Assault Weapon Certificates of Possession - Delaware; Guns of the Caribbean: Haiti, U.S. Virgin Islands flooded with firearms—often from Florida - University of South Florida; Which States Have 'Assault Weapons' Bans? - USCCA.