A ban on assault-style weapons has expired, 10 years to the day after it was signed into law by former President Bill Clinton. What that means is a matter of debate.

How weapons are classified has played a major role in the federal ban and that's one reason why some say we won't notice a change now that it's gone.

The 1994 federal law banned the manufacture of certain guns but not the sale or possession of them. So manufactures were able to make simple changes in the design of a so-called assault rifle and continue making a similar weapon.

Dave Powers, with Bellevue Gun & Supply says, "It's a tempest in a teapot. These rifles have never stopped being sold."

Deputy Jim Maguire, with the Douglas County Sheriff's Union says, "There's certainly no reason why they would allow the ban to expire. These guns are simply too destructive."

The union is opposed to the ban being allowed to expire, "and there's a reason why they came up with the ban in the first place," Maguire says. "You have kids that are going to be able to get their hands on these guns and who knows what they'll do?"

But Dave Powers says, "The public feels that assault guns are just going to stream out onto the streets now. They've never left. It's much ado about nothing."

We contacted five area law enforcement agencies about the ban's expiration. The Douglas County Sheriff's Union was the only one that responded.

Certain assault weapons are still illegal. Foreign-made automatics like the AK-47 and Uzi are still prohibited under a separate, import ban.

The change has absolutely no impact on federal background checks. They're still required as part of the Brady Law, a separate piece of legislation that's still very much in effect.