Where Military-Style Weapons Are Banned in the U.S.

An assault weapons and high capacity magazine ban has come into effect in Illinois after the state legislature voted for the law and governor J.B. Pritzker signed it Tuesday night. During the signing ceremony, Pritzker mentioned the mass shooting the state saw last year at a July 4 parade in Highland Park near Chicago as a reason to pass concrete legislation instead of paying lip service to improvements and sending "thoughts and prayers". 2022 saw a slew of mass shootings that rocked the United States, also including those at a supermarket in a predominantly black neighborhood in Buffalo, N.Y., at a primary school in Uvalde, Texas, at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo., and a Cheasapeake, Va., Walmart, among others. Semiautomatic rifles, often of the AR-15 style, were used in the majority of 2022 mass shootings.

Illinois joins eight states and the District of Columbia in implementing such a ban on military-style weapons. The vast majority of U.S. states do not restrict the sale of assault weapons or high-capacity magazines, according to Giffords Law Center. Seven more states currently have restrictions in place that fall short of an assault weapons ban, including bans on high-capacity magazines in five states.

Large capacity magazines are capable of holding up to 100 rounds, while states that restrict these magazine usually only allow ten to 15 rounds per magazine.