Sponsors (177)
Raises federal minimum ages for many firearm and ammunition purchases (bars sales to under‑18 and raises many purchases to 21) with limited exceptions for active military and authorized government employees; requires an FBI report on public access line information sharing.
Official title: To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit a Federal firearms licensee from selling or delivering certain semiautomatic centerfire rifles or semiautomatic centerfire shotguns to a person under 21 years of age, with exceptions for active duty military personnel and full-time law enforcement officers, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 26, 2025 by Glenn Ivey · Last progress March 26, 2025
The bill aims to improve public safety and clarity—by restricting access to high‑capacity firearms for younger adults, protecting minors, clarifying device definitions, and improving FBI intake oversight—while imposing significant restrictions on 18–20‑year‑olds, raising compliance and legal‑uncertainty costs for dealers and agencies, and creating some fairness and operational-security trade‑offs.
Young adults (ages 18–20) would lose legal access to many high-capacity semiautomatic rifles and large-capacity magazines, which is likely to reduce the number or severity of mass-shooting casualties tied to weapons with larger ammunition capacity.
Children and teens (under 18) would be prevented from acquiring firearms or ammunition from federally licensed dealers, reducing risks of accidental shootings and unauthorized youth access.
Members of law enforcement and the public (via FBI field offices) could get clearer and potentially faster follow-up from the FBI if intake and public‑access line processes are improved, which may help authorities act more quickly on credible threats or tips.
Adults ages 18–20 would lose the legal ability to purchase many common firearms and magazines from licensed dealers, imposing a substantial restriction on gun ownership rights for that age group.
Federally licensed firearms dealers would face increased compliance obligations and potential criminal exposure for mistakes about buyers' ages or device configurations, raising business costs and legal risk for FFLs.
The bill's new or clarified definitions (e.g., what devices a firearm 'can accept') create enforcement complexity and invite litigation over borderline cases, producing legal uncertainty for buyers, sellers, and enforcers.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits licensed firearms sellers from transferring any firearm or ammunition to people under 18, and raises the minimum age to 21 for most semiautomatic centerfire rifles/shotguns with magazines over five rounds and for other non‑rifle/shotgun firearms and related ammunition, with limited exceptions for certain active‑duty service members and authorized law enforcement or federal/state/local employees. Also requires the FBI Director to report to Judiciary Committees within 90 days on how the FBI public access line shares information with field offices and recommendations to improve that sharing.