On September 13, 1994, President Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act into law. The 1994 Crime Bill included landmark legislation by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to prohibit the manufacture, transfer and possession of military-style assault weapons -- weapons designed for war that can fire dozens of rounds of ammunition in seconds.

Since passage of the legislation, Senator Feinstein has sought to strengthen the law by closing the loophole regarding import of foreign made high capacity ammunition magazines. In May 1999, the Senate approved the Feinstein amendment as part of the juvenile justice bill to ban their import.

"Weapons designed for war have no place on the streets of a civilized society. The time has come for common sense laws to stop the proliferation of military-style assault weapons, while protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens who use guns for hunting, household defense, or legitimate recreational purposes," said Senator Feinstein.

Senator Feinstein's assault weapons legislation prohibits the manufacture, transfer and possession of 19 specific types of semi-automatic assault weapons; The law also identifies key characteristics that qualify a weapon as an "assault weapon" so that so-called "copycat weapons" may be added to the list under the ban; and it bans the manufacture, transfer and possession of ammunition clips, magazines or other loading devices that hold more than 10 rounds. Weapons and ammunition clips that were manufactured prior to enactment of this law are not covered by the ban.

The legislation explicitly exempts from the ban 670 specific hunting rifles and other recreational guns. Weapons exempted from the ban include:

•Any gun that is loaded manually by a bolt, pump lever or slide action;
•Any semi-automatic rifle or shotgun that cannot accept detachable magazine that holds more than five rounds;
•Antique weapons;
•Use of semi-automatic assault weapons by law enforcement officials and police.

In 1996, the House of Representatives voted to repeal the assault weapons ban. Senator Feinstein threatened to filibuster any attempt to repeal the ban in the Senate, and the Senate took no action. President Clinton has vowed to veto any legislation that repeals the assault weapons ban.