Sponsors (51)
Introduced April 9, 2025 by Lucy Mcbath · Last progress April 9, 2025
The bill seeks to improve public safety by reducing civilian access to certain semi‑automatic firearms and large‑capacity magazines and by funding enforcement, but it does so by restricting legal markets, imposing new costs and compliance burdens, and expanding criminal penalties that may produce collateral consequences and litigation.
Communities and law enforcement: the bill reduces civilian availability of certain gas-operated semi‑automatic firearms and large‑capacity feeding devices through prohibitions, buy‑backs, and manufacturer controls, which could lower the risk of mass‑shooting incidents and improve public safety.
Law enforcement, courts, and sellers: clarifies statutory definitions and requires the ATF to publish a prohibited‑firearm list and record purchaser acknowledgments, reducing legal ambiguity and improving enforcement and consumer awareness at point of sale.
State and local governments and residents: allows Byrne grant funds to be used to run buy‑backs and pay individuals who surrender covered firearms and magazines, making buy‑backs easier to implement and providing a financial incentive for residents to turn in weapons.
Owners, retailers, and manufacturers: individuals and businesses who make, sell, or hold newly prohibited gas‑operated semi‑automatic firearms and large‑capacity feeding devices face lost market access and asset value, plus new application fees and review delays that may be passed to buyers.
Individuals who possess covered items and courts/taxpayers: the bill creates new misdemeanor and enhanced felony penalties that may criminalize lower‑level possession, produce collateral consequences (employment, housing), and increase incarceration and justice‑system costs.
Civilians, veterans, and firearm hobbyists: broad delegated agency discretion and a potentially wide prohibition could eliminate lawful firearm options for some owners and force costly judicial challenges to contest ATF listings or classifications.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Defines and bans certain gas‑operated semi‑automatic firearms and large‑capacity feeding devices, requires ATF to publish a prohibited list and preapprove new designs, adds penalties, and funds buybacks.
Prohibits the import, manufacture, sale, transfer, receipt, and possession of specified "gas‑operated" semi‑automatic firearms and large‑capacity ammunition feeding devices by adding precise statutory definitions and creating an ATF‑maintained prohibited list of covered models. It requires preapproval for new civilian semi‑automatic firearm designs, establishes criminal penalties (including enhanced penalties when such a firearm is used in other federal felonies), authorizes grant funding for buy‑back programs, and creates an ATF fee-and‑tax funded trust to support implementation and related administration. The bill directs ATF to publish the prohibited list within set timelines, to review manufacturer applications and appeals under defined deadlines, to collect application fees, and to follow specified procedures and standards for removals and judicial review. It also amends federal grant rules to allow Byrne grant funds to pay buy‑back compensation for the newly covered firearms and feeding devices.