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Prohibit High-Capacity Magazines

    Prohibit High-Capacity Magazines

      What does this solve?

      Firearms equipped with high-capacity magazines make instances of violence exceptionally deadly. High-capacity ammunition magazines, commonly defined as those capable of holding more than 10-rounds, are a threat to public safety and should be prohibited.

      A gun magazine is the rectangular piece that holds ammunition for feeding into the firearm’s chamber. High-capacity ammunition magazines make shootings more deadly. The more rounds a shooter can fire without reloading, the more wounds they can inflict.1Elzerie de Jager et al., “Lethality of Civilian Active Shooter Incidents with and without Semiautomatic Rifles in the United States,” JAMA 320, no. 10 (2018): 1034, https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.11009. Congress and state legislatures should act to prohibit high-capacity magazines to reduce the devastation of gun violence in America.

      Which states prohibit high-capacity magazines?

      15 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

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Alabama has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Alaska has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Arizona has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Arkansas has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      California has adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Colorado has adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Connecticut has adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Delaware has adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Florida has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Georgia has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Hawaii has adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Idaho has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Illinois has adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Indiana has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Iowa has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Kansas has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Kentucky has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Louisiana has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Maine has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Maryland has adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Massachusetts has adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Michigan has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Minnesota has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Mississippi has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Missouri has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Montana has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Nebraska has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Nevada has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      New Hampshire has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      New Jersey has adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      New Mexico has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      New York has adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      North Carolina has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      North Dakota has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Ohio has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Oklahoma has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Oregon has adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Pennsylvania has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Rhode Island has adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      South Carolina has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      South Dakota has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Tennessee has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Texas has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Utah has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Vermont has adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Virginia has adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Washington has adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      West Virginia has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Wisconsin has not adopted this policy

      High Capacity Magazines Prohibited

      Wyoming has not adopted this policy

      How it works

      Prohibiting high-capacity magazines would reduce mass shooting deaths.

      Assault Weapons and High-Capacity Magazines Report

      High-capacity magazines are commonly defined as ammunition feeding devices capable of holding more than 10-rounds. These devices enable a shooter to fire many bullets without pausing to reload. High-capacity magazines can hold as many as 100-rounds, and standard high-capacity magazines hold 30-rounds and can be purchased for as little as $8.1Alain Stephens, “The Gun Industry Is Betting on Bigger High-Capacity Magazines,” The Trace, June 12, 2019, https://bit.ly/2P4qlgh. But these inexpensive magazines have a costly human impact.

      High-capacity magazines are often used in the violence that plagues our nation.2Tannuja D. Rozario and Paige Tetens, “Assault Weapons and High-Capacity Magazines,” Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, June 24, 2026, https://everytownresearch.org/report/assault-weapons-and-high-capacity-magazines/; Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, “Guns Used in the Deadliest US Mass Shootings,” The Smoking Gun, https://smokinggun.org/guns-used-in-the-deadliest-u-s-mass-shooting; Jillian Peterson and James Densley, “The Violence Project Database of Mass Shootings in the United States (Version 10),” January 2026, https://www.theviolenceproject.org/databases/mass-shooters; Christopher S. Koper et al., “Criminal Use of Assault Weapons and High-Capacity Semiautomatic Firearms: An Updated Examination of Local and National Sources,” Journal of Urban Health 95, no. 3 (2018): 313–21, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-017-0205-7. Shootings involving high-capacity magazines result in more people killed or wounded than those that do not.

      In 1994, Congress passed a law generally prohibiting assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, but the prohibition expired in 2004.3Public Law 103-322, Title XI (1994). Part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Act prohibited semiautomatic assault weapons designated by specific make or model or by a combination of specific characteristics, such as a folding or telescopic stock or a pistol grip that extends below the action of the weapon (former 18 USC § 921(a)(30)(B)). It also prohibited ammunition magazines with more than 10 rounds (former 18 USC § 921(31)). The law took effect September 13, 1994, and expired on September 13, 2004. Vivian S. Chu, “Federal Assault Weapons Ban: Legal Issues,” Congressional Research Service, February 14, 2013, https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R42957.pdf. As a result, high-capacity magazines are legal unless state or local law prohibits them. This threat to public safety has no place in our communities.

      Research shows states with restrictions on magazine size experience mass shootings at lower rates than states without restrictions.4Louis Klarevas, Andrew Conner, and David Hemenway, “The Effect of Large-Capacity Magazine Bans on High-Fatality Mass Shootings, 1990–2017,” American Journal of Public Health 109, no. 12 (2019): 1754-61,https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305311. Study defined mass shooting as six or more shot and killed, excluding the shooter; Sam Petulla, “Here Is 1 Correlation between State Gun Laws and Mass Shootings,” CNN, October 5, 2017,https://cnn.it/2J4sWCC. Study defines mass shootings as incidents where three or more victims, not including the shooter, are shot and killed or shot and wounded. 

      Lawmakers should act urgently to prohibit these excessively dangerous devices.

      By the numbers

      Myth

      High-capacity magazines are not that prevalent.

      Fact

      Although the gun lobby has argued that these weapons are only used in a small percentage of firearm-related violent crime,1NRA-ILA, “The Truth About So-called ‘Assault Weapons,’” accessed April 27, 2026, https://www.nraila.org/the-truth-about-so-called-assault-weapons/. a 2018 study estimated that guns equipped with high-capacity magazines, which include assault weapons and other semiautomatic firearms, account for 22 to 36 percent of crime guns in most places, with some estimates upward of 40 percent for cases involving serious violence, including homicides of law enforcement officers. And the problem may be getting worse: research suggests that the prevalence of high-capacity magazines in guns used in crimes has grown substantially since the 2004 expiration of the federal prohibition on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.2Christopher S. Koper et al., “Criminal Use of Assault Weapons and High-Capacity Semiautomatic Firearms: An Updated Examination of Local and National Sources,” Journal of Urban Health 95, no. 3 (2018): 313–21, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-017-0205-7.

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      Did you know?

      Some estimates indicate guns equipped with high-capacity magazines account for upwards of 40 percent for cases involving serious violence, including homicides of law enforcement officers.

      Christopher S. Koper et al., “Criminal Use of Assault Weapons and High-Capacity Semiautomatic Firearms: An Updated Examination of Local and National Sources,” Journal of Urban Health 95, no. 3 (2018): 313–21, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-017-0205-7.