Prohibit High-Capacity Magazines
What does it 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 shells for feeding into the firearm’s chamber. High-capacity ammunition magazines, commonly defined as those capable of holding more than 10-rounds, make shootings more deadly. The more rounds a shooter can fire without reloading, the more wounds they can inflict. Nine states and D.C. have enacted some type of high-capacity magazine prohibition. Congress and the remaining 41 states should act to prohibit high-capacity magazines to reduce the devastation of gun violence in America.
Mass Shootings Involving High-Capacity Magazines
High-capacity magazines killed 2x as many people and injured 14x as many people.

Myth & Fact
Myth
Fact
How it works
Prohibiting high-capacity magazines would reduce mass shooting deaths.
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. But these inexpensive magazines have a costly human impact.
Shootings involving high-capacity magazines have more fatalities and injuries than those that do not. In mass shootings between 2009 and 2018, events that involved high-capacity magazines had 2x as many deaths and 14x as many injuries.
High-capacity magazines are often used in the violence that plagues our nation. Firearms equipped with high-capacity magazines account for an estimated 22 to 36% of crime guns. This threat to public safety has no place in our communities.
In 1994, Congress passed a law generally prohibiting high-capacity magazines, but the prohibition expired in 2004. As a result, high-capacity magazines are legal unless state or local law prohibits them. Nine states and DC have some type of high-capacity magazine prohibition in place. Research shows that states with restrictions on magazine size experience mass shootings at less than half the rate of states without restrictions. Another study estimated that mass shooting deaths were 70% less likely to occur when the federal prohibition on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines was in effect.
By the numbers
14x
Mass shootings involving high-capacity magazines result in 14x as many shot and wounded per incident on average compared to those that did not include the use of high-capacity magazines.
59%
In mass shootings from 2009 to 2018, 59 percent involved firearms with high-capacity magazines.
5x
High-capacity magazines lead to 5x as many people shot per mass shooting.
$8