Bernie Sanders on guns: what the evidence says · JRE #1330
SUBJECT: GUNS
The short answer
Sanders claims the 1994 federal assault weapons ban was actively undone/repealed by a Republican majority. The 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (Public Law 103-322) banned the manufacture and sale of specified semiautomatic weapons and large-capacity magazines, and Sanders is correct that the ban ran for 10 years.
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
The idea of banning assault weapons has been done in 1994. We banned assault weapons, I believe it was for 10 years. That ban was undone by a Republican majority.
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
The 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (Public Law 103-322) banned the manufacture and sale of specified semiautomatic weapons and large-capacity magazines, and Sanders is correct that the ban ran for 10 years. However, the law contained a built-in 10-year sunset clause, meaning it was written to expire automatically in September 2004 unless Congress affirmatively renewed it; Congress never voted to repeal it. When the ban lapsed on September 13, 2004, the Republican-controlled Congress and President George W. Bush did not hold a vote to extend it, and reauthorization efforts, including one led by Senator Dianne Feinstein, failed to gain sufficient support to pass. Fact-checkers have specifically corrected the related but distinct claim that Bush "lifted" or repealed the ban, noting that he stated he would sign an extension if Congress sent him one but did not push lawmakers to act. Characterizing the ban as having been actively "undone" overstates what happened: it expired through inaction on renewal rather than through a repeal vote.