Sugarmann has opposed the widespread availability of semi-automatic rifles. In 1988 he published a study, "Assault Weapons and Accessories in America". It examined the growing popularity of semiautomatic firearms, referring to them as "assault weapons". Together with the response to a mass shooting in Stockton, California, the following year, his study has been credited for popularizing the use of the term "assault weapons." The Violence Policy Center 1988 study documents advertising by the gun industry that specifically refers to these weapons as assault rifles.