House Passes Historic Legislative Package to Reduce Gun Violence in Communities Across America

Press Release

Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.) today issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 7910, the Protecting Our Kids Act, by a vote of 223 to 204. The package includes several commonsense proposals to effectively reduce gun violence, including raising the age to buy and own certain semiautomatic guns, banning bump stocks and high-capacity magazines, and cracking down on gun trafficking, among others.

"On May 24, a gunman walked into an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and killed 19 fourth graders and two teachers. Days before, 10 people in Buffalo, New York were shot and killed while shopping in a supermarket. In the days following these tragedies, many more mass shootings took place that killed several people and injured many more. It could not be clearer: America has a gun violence problem, and we are in desperate need of legislation that will keep our children, families, and neighborhoods safe," said Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash). "The scourge of gun violence has devastated communities across the country, and we must do more to prevent this senseless suffering. I am proud of the House vote today to turn this tragedy into action, and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to work together to come to an agreement that will deliver real results for the American people. It is past time for gun safety legislation. Lives are on the line."

Background

The Protecting Our Kids Act would:

* Raise the lawful age to purchase a semiautomatic centerfire rifle from 18 to 21 years old.
* Establish a new federal offense for the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of a large capacity magazines, with exceptions for certain law enforcement uses and the possession (but not sale) of grandfathered magazines; allow state and local governments to use the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program to compensate individuals who surrender large capacity magazines through a buyback program.
* Establish new federal offenses for gun trafficking and straw purchasers and authorize seizure of the property and proceeds of the offense.
* Establish voluntary best practices for safe firearm storage; award grants for Safe Firearm Storage Assistance Programs; provide a tax incentive to dealers for 10% of amounts received from the sale of safe storage devices.
* Establish requirements to regulate the storage of firearms on residential premises; create criminal penalties for violation of the requirements.
* Build on ATF's regulatory bump stock ban by listing bump stocks under the National Firearms Act (like machineguns) and statutorily banning the manufacture, sale, or possession of bump stocks for civilian use.
* Build on ATF's regulatory ban of ghost guns by ensuring that ghost guns are subject to existing federal firearm regulation by amending the definition of "firearm" to include gun kits and partial receivers and changing the definition of "manufacturing firearms" to include assembling firearms using 3D printing.

Source