State Legality Matrix / Assault Weapon Feature Bans / Massachusetts
Statute-cited, last verified 2026-07-10
Yes. Two-or-more-feature test plus a named-model list and copies or duplicates; sale, transfer, and possession are banned except lawful pre-ban possession. Effective 2024-10-02.
Controlling law: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, §§ 121 & 131M; St. 2024, c. 135
Triggering features: folding stock, telescoping stock, pistol grip, thumbhole stock, flash suppressor, grenade launcher, threaded barrel, bayonet mount, forward grip, barrel shroud.
The original 1998 ban adopted the 1994 federal list and features; Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024 broadened the definition (assault-style firearm, copies and duplicates, two-or-more-feature test) effective October 2, 2024 under the emergency preamble. Post-1994 copies were already banned under the Attorney General's 2016 enforcement notice. Pre-existing lawful possession is grandfathered.
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 by the Fifth Circuit and is not enforced, so braced pistols are not SBRs under federal law. Cargill v. Garland (2024) made bump stocks federally legal. Feature bans are entirely a matter of state law.
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.
Yes. Two-or-more-feature test plus a named-model list and copies or duplicates; sale, transfer, and possession are banned except lawful pre-ban possession. Effective 2024-10-02. Controlling law: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, §§ 121 & 131M; St. 2024, c. 135.
The controlling law is Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, §§ 121 & 131M; St. 2024, c. 135. Two-or-more-feature test plus a named-model list and copies or duplicates; sale, transfer, and possession are banned except lawful pre-ban possession.
Massachusetts's rule took effect 2024-10-02. The original 1998 ban adopted the 1994 federal list and features; Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024 broadened the definition (assault-style firearm, copies and duplicates, two-or-more-feature test) effective October 2, 2024 under the emergency preamble. Post-1994 copies were already banned under the Attorney General's 2016 enforcement notice. Pre-existing lawful possession is grandfathered.
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 by the Fifth Circuit and is not enforced, so braced pistols are not SBRs under federal law. Cargill v. Garland (2024) made bump stocks federally legal. Feature bans are entirely a matter of state law.
In a feature-ban state, swapping the pistol grip for a featureless grip is the cheapest path to a compliant rifle that keeps its detachable magazine. These grips are purpose-built for that test.
Wider fin-style featureless grip with a fuller palm shelf for shooters who want more support than the Simple grip.
Fin-style featureless grip that replaces the protruding pistol grip on a feature-restricted AR-15 build.
Billet aluminum featureless grip for California AR-15 builds that keeps a standard magazine release.
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Full picks and fitment notes: Featureless AR Build Guide