Does District of Columbia Have an Assault Weapons Ban?

D.C. Code section 7-2501.01 combines named models with feature tests. A semiautomatic rifle capable of accepting a detachable magazine reaches the definition through one listed feature, and pistols and shotguns have their own branches.

Section 7-2502.02 bars issuance of a registration certificate for an assault weapon. Because District law generally requires firearm registration, the definition and registration provisions must be read together rather than as a feature checklist alone.

There has been no federal assault weapons ban since the 1994 ban expired in 2004; no feature restrictions apply federally to semi-automatic rifles or pistols. The 2023 ATF pistol-brace rule was vacated nationwide and is not enforced, but federal SBR classification for a brace-equipped firearm still turns on whether the specific weapon is designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder. Cargill v. Garland (2024) made bump stocks federally legal. Feature bans are entirely a matter of state law.

Federal baseline verified 2026-07-31. Scope: State laws restricting semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns by configuration features: threaded barrels, pistol grips, folding or telescoping stocks, flash suppressors, forward grips, and similar. Magazine capacity limits are tracked as a separate class.