Sponsors (5)
The bill tightens federal restrictions and clarifies enforcement to keep recently violent misdemeanor offenders from obtaining guns while protecting certain due-process outcomes and local authority — but it imposes rights limits on some individuals, increases compliance and litigation burdens, and may still leave enforcement gaps.
People with a violent misdemeanor conviction in the prior 5 years will be barred from obtaining firearms or ammunition, reducing the risk that recently violent offenders are armed and potentially lowering gun violence, related medical costs, and law-enforcement burdens.
Clarifying which transfers and persons are prohibited and aligning statutory language with NICS and background-check rules should reduce gaps that allow prohibited transfers and make enforcement more consistent for sellers and prosecutors.
People whose convictions were expunged, set aside, pardoned, or whose civil rights were restored — and defendants convicted without counsel or without a knowing waiver — will not be treated as having a disqualifying violent misdemeanor, protecting due-process rights and restoration outcomes.
People with a single recent violent misdemeanor conviction lose the ability to purchase firearms for five years, restricting lawful owners' rights and potentially creating collateral consequences that hinder reintegration and employment.
Exceptions for expunged/pardoned convictions and convictions where defendants lacked counsel could exclude some misdemeanor convictions from federal disqualification, potentially allowing individuals with histories of violent conduct to possess firearms under federal law and creating public-safety risks.
The bill increases administrative, compliance, and recordkeeping burdens — for background checks, form and guidance updates, training, and NICS reporting — imposing costs on federal/state agencies, courts, and small firearm businesses.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Adds a five-year federal firearms disqualification for those convicted of a defined "violent misdemeanor," defines that term, and updates related firearms statutes and references.
Introduced April 3, 2025 by Joseph Neguse · Last progress April 3, 2025
Prohibits the purchase, sale, receipt, or possession of a firearm or ammunition by anyone convicted of a defined “violent misdemeanor” within the prior five years. It adds a federal definition of “violent misdemeanor,” requires certain conviction-procedure protections to count (representation by counsel or a knowing waiver, and an additional jury-trial-related requirement), excludes expunged/pardoned convictions unless a pardon/expungement expressly preserves firearms disqualification, and makes many technical cross-reference changes across federal firearms statutes. The new disqualification applies only to convictions occurring on or after six months after enactment.