Sponsors (21)
Official title: Amend title 18, United States Code, to restrict the possession of certain firearms, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 9, 2025 by Martin Heinrich · Last progress April 9, 2025
The bill seeks to reduce mass-shooting risk by restricting certain semi-automatic firearms, funding buy-backs, and strengthening federal penalties and regulatory controls — trading potential public-safety gains for increased criminal penalties, costs and compliance burdens on owners, manufacturers, dealers, and taxpayers, and an expansion of federal regulatory authority.
Communities (especially urban areas) would see reduced availability of gas-operated semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines, which could lower the risk and scale of mass-shooting events.
State and local governments (and law enforcement) can use federal Byrne formula grant funds to run buy-back programs that remove these weapons from circulation even where local budgets are limited.
The bill creates clearer federal criminal penalties for illegal possession of prohibited gas-operated semi-automatic firearms, giving prosecutors and law enforcement a more consistent statutory tool to deter and charge violations.
People convicted of prohibited-possession offenses face mandatory minimum prison terms (e.g., 2 years) and large fines, increasing incarceration exposure for defendants, economic hardship for families, and long-term costs to taxpayers.
The bill expands ATF/DOJ regulatory authority over firearm design and commerce and allows private parties to sue about list removals, increasing regulatory reach and creating litigation and administrative uncertainty for manufacturers and owners.
Manufacturers and importers face new compliance burdens, marking requirements, application fees, sample submissions and other costs that could slow product introductions, raise business costs, and push higher prices onto consumers.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Bans gas‑operated semi‑automatic firearms and certain parts, establishes an ATF prohibited‑model list with fees and appeals, adds criminal penalties, and allows Byrne grant‑funded buybacks.
Prohibits the import, manufacture, sale, transfer, receipt, and possession of gas-operated semi-automatic firearms and certain parts or devices that enable gas-operated cycling or materially increase rate of fire, and treats large-capacity magazines (over 10 rounds) similarly. Sets criminal penalties for violations, requires marking of covered firearms, directs ATF to publish and maintain a list of covered models and to process manufacturer applications and appeals, creates a Firearm Safety Trust Fund to collect fees and ATF taxes, and authorizes use of Byrne formula grant funds for buy‑back payments for surrendered covered firearms and magazines.