Federal assault weapons ban lapses after Congress lets the sunset provision expire without a vote

The federal assault weapons ban lapsed on September 13, 2004, after Congress allowed its sunset provision to take effect without a renewal vote. President George W. Bush had said he would sign a reauthorization, but Republican House leadership never brought the bill to the floor. The NRA lobbied aggressively against renewal and Congressional Republicans calculated that extending the ban carried too high a political cost with gun-rights voters. Sales of AR-15 rifles and high-capacity magazines surged immediately after the ban expired. No federal assault weapons restriction has been enacted since.