PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2855-2856)
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 16, 2005
Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal criminal code to reinstate the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act's assault weapons ban to prohibit: (1) the manufacture, transfer, or possession of a semiautomatic assault weapon; (2) the transfer, possession, or importation of a large capacity ammunition feeding device; (3) the transfer of any assault weapon with such a device.
Specifies models and features of banned weapons.
Sets forth exceptions to such ban, including: (1) firearms or devices lawfully possessed under Federal law on the date of enactment of this Act; (2) any firearm that is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action that has been rendered permanently inoperable or is an antique firearm; and (3) firearms manufactured for, transferred to, or possessed by a Federal, State, or local government agency or for law enforcement. Prohibits: (1) any person from transferring a semiautomatic assault weapon to which the ban does not apply, except through a licensed dealer or a State or local law enforcement agency; or (2) a licensed manufacturer, importer, or dealer who transfers a device manufactured before enactment of this Act to fail to certify such date of manufacture.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Requires the serial number of any weapon or device manufactured after the enactment of this Act to clearly show the date of manufacture.
Directs the Attorney General to: (1) maintain, submit to Congress, and make publicly available a record of any semiautomatic assault weapon used in relation to a crime; and (2) study and report to Congress on the effects of this Act on violent and drug trafficking crime.
Prohibits the transfer of such a weapon or device to a juvenile.
People & committees
Sen. Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ] · D–NJ
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2855-2856)
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2854-2855)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.645 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.645 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.645 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.645 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.