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Read. Follow. Verify.North Carolina House Bill 784 prohibits semiautomatic assault weapons and high-capacity magazines
Last action · April 7, 2025: Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (House action)Sponsors: Abe Jones and 15 others
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What This Bill Would Do
North Carolina House Bill 784 prohibits individuals from manufacturing, transferring, or possessing s and large-capacity ammunition feeding devices holding more than 10 rounds, effective December 1, 2025. Violating this prohibition is classified as a .
Residents who acquire or possess specified firearms or magazines after the effective date face felony prosecution, while existing owners of lawfully possessed items and law enforcement personnel are exempted.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
North Carolina residents
Individuals face new criminal restrictions on acquiring, transferring, or possessing specified semiautomatic firearms and high-capacity magazines.
Law enforcement officers
Law enforcement personnel and agencies are explicitly exempted from the manufacturing, transfer, and possession prohibitions for official duties.
Licensed manufacturers and importers
Firearms manufacturers and importers must comply with new identification marking requirements and restrictions on producing banned items for civilian markets.
Key Facts
- It is unlawful for any person in North Carolina to manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon or to transfer or possess a large-capacity ammunition feeding device.
- A large-capacity ammunition feeding device is defined as any magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device with a capacity of, or capable of being converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
- The prohibition does not apply to weapons or devices lawfully possessed on or before the effective date of December 1, 2025.
- Exemptions are provided for law enforcement officers, military departments, retired law enforcement officers receiving service firearms, and licensed manufacturers or importers testing under federal law.
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- Manually operated firearms, antique firearms, permanently inoperable firearms, and certain low-capacity shotguns and rifles are excluded from the ban.
- Violating the provisions of this new statute is punishable as a Class E felony.
- Newly manufactured semiautomatic assault weapons and large-capacity feeding devices produced within the State after the effective date must bear distinct serial numbers and manufacturing date markings.
- The act takes effect on December 1, 2025, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.
Frequently Asked Questions
What firearms are affected by this bill?
Can I keep weapons I already own before the law takes effect?
What is the penalty for violating this prohibition?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
3 actions- Apr 7, 2025HouseRef To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Apr 7, 2025HousePassed 1st Reading
- Apr 3, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 11 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Comprehensive State-Level Firearms Restriction
The bill marks a significant policy shift by criminalizing the possession and transfer of specific semiautomatic rifles and standard high-capacity magazines for private citizens, backed by felony penalties.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.ncleg.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance90How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy95Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz85Current news / social attention level
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