The Pittsburgh City Council is pushing a ban on AR-15s and other commonly-owned semiautomatic rifles, as well BB guns and starter pistols.
The ban would prohibit the possession of some weapons, while limiting the possession of other weapons to one’s own land and/or residence.
Regarding “assault weapons,” the City Council says, “It shall be unlawful to manufacture, sell, purchase, transport, carry, store, or otherwise hold in one’s possession within the City of Pittsburgh an assault weapon.”
They define “assault weapons” as weapons that run the gamut between full-auto to semiautomatic. In other words, a machine gun with select-fire switch is an “assault weapon” and an AR-15–which fires one round per trigger pull–is an “assault weapon” too.
Semiautomatic shotguns are listed as “assault weapons” if they have two of the following features:
- A folding or telescoping stock
- A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon
- A fixed magazine capacity in excess of five rounds
- An ability to accept a detachable magazine
The ban also references “facsimile firearms,” which the City Council describes as “any toy, antique, starter pistol, or other object that bears a reasonable resemblance to an operable firearm, or any object that impels a projectile by means of a spinning action, compression, or CO2 cartridge.”
The City Council bans the carry or possession of facsimile firearms outside of one’s own property: “No person shall carry in any vehicle or concealed or unconcealed on or about their person except when on their land or in their abode or fixed place of business any facsimile firearm with the intent to alarm, intimidate, terrify, or threaten any person.”
A public hearing on the final draft of the ban is scheduled for January 24, 2019.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.