Congressman Deutch Co-introduces Legislation Limiting High Capacity Gun Magazines

Press Release

U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch (FL-21) has co-introduced legislation Reps. Elizabeth Esty (CT-5) and Diana DeGette (CO-1) that bans the importation, sale, manufacturing, or transfer of large capacity magazines designed for shooting en masse. The Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act, also introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), bans a magazines that hold more than ten rounds of ammunition. According to Mayors Against Illegal Guns, 123 percent more people were shot and 54 percent more people were killed in mass shootings between January 2009 and January 2013 when shooters used large capacity magazines and assault weapons.

"During the dark day of December 14, 2012, eleven innocent children escaped the ravages of gun shots at Sandy Hook Elementary School because shooter Adam Lanza had to pause to reload his gun. Large capacity magazines that allow people to shoot up to 100 rounds of ammunition have no place in our schools, our movie theaters, our parks, or our streets. It's time for Congress to listen to the voices of over 90% of Americans who support commonsense gun safety reforms and reinstate reasonable restrictions on large capacity magazines," said Rep. Esty.

"We must put an end to the violence, anguish, and loss that too many families and too many communities know," said Rep. DeGette. "We may never be able to completely stop disturbed individuals from going into a school or a movie theater or a shopping mall and shooting people, but we can slow them down and give the people in their sights a fighting chance. That's why it is so important to me to introduce this bill banning the high-capacity magazines that were used in Newtown, used by the shooter in Aurora, and used in far too many massacres in this nation."

"That the last Congress failed to pass even the most basic gun safety legislation, like the ban on high capacity ammunition magazines that we are reintroducing today, is shameful," said Rep. Deutch. "The Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act of 2015 meets the test established by the Supreme Court in DC v. Heller, in which even Justice Scalia acknowledged that regulations on dangerous weapons pose no threat to the Second Amendment. I am honored to stand with the Newtown Action Alliance to introduce this bill. As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, I will push hard to hold hearings this Congress on sensible gun violence reforms that will ultimately save lives."

"There is no place in our communities for ammunition magazines designed for military-style shootouts, which have been used inside Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Aurora, in Fort Hood, and in Tucson -- and it is well-past time for Congress to listen to the American people and put this high-capacity magazine ban back in place," said Sen. Menendez. "The only thing more senseless than the gun violence that has taken too many of our nation's children and countless innocent Americans is the failure of Congress to pass common sense gun safety measures, like this one, that are supported by 90 percent of the American public."

"The Newtown Action Alliance applauds Senator Menendez and Representative Esty's efforts to reduce gun violence. High-capacity magazines, which can hold up to 100 rounds of ammunition, have significantly increased a shooter's ability to kill large numbers of people quickly. In Newtown, we know firsthand the devastating damage that is wrought when high capacity-magazines are paired with semi-automatic assault weapons. The Sandy Hook shooter used a 30-round high-capacity magazine to fire 154 shots in less than five minutes, killing 20 innocent children and six educators. The lives of 11 children were spared when the shooter changed his magazine on that tragic day. Too many innocent Americans have died in too many incidents involving high-capacity magazines, and it is time for Congress to take meaningful action to protect our children and families from gun violence," said Dave Stowe, Vice Chairman of the Newtown Action Alliance.