Courtney Votes to Protect American Kids by Curbing Gun Violence and Increasing Firearm Safety

Press Release

Today, following the horrific mass shooting in Uvalde, TX that resulted in the deaths of nineteen innocent elementary school students and two teachers, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) voted to pass the Protecting Our Kids Act (H.R. 7910). The bill contains a series of commonsense measures aimed at increasing gun safety and curbing gun violence and mass casualty events. The Protecting Our Kids Act passed the House this evening by a vote of 223-204. It is now incumbent upon the Senate to act on the legislation.

"On May 24th, hundreds of people in Uvalde, Texas were faced with the same pain and anguish that our own neighbors in Newtown felt a decade ago," said Rep. Courtney. "Ten years separate these tragedies, and while Connecticut has worked to turn heartbreak into action, not one meaningful bill has been signed into law at the federal level that would help make these sorts of mass shootings at least less likely to occur. That hasn't been the story in the House of Representatives, however, and today it was my job and my moral obligation to families in eastern Connecticut to return to the negotiating table to try and hammer out some preliminary, commonsense, bipartisan steps forward to curb our nation's completely abnormal rates of gun violence. The Protecting Our Kids Act would keep assault-style rifles out of the hands of teenagers, require safe storage of firearms on residential premises if children or other vulnerable people are in the household, crack down on untraceable "ghost guns', and enact the same sort of responsible storage measures we've already implemented here in Connecticut. I was proud to help pass this bill in the House, and I implore my Senate colleagues to join us in finding a way forward."

The Protecting Our Kids Act would make a serious impact in the fight against gun violence. The bill includes seven titles, and would:

Raise the purchasing age for certain semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21 years old.
Crack down on gun trafficking and straw purchases to help get illegal guns off our streets.
Close the "ghost gun" loophole.
Strengthen safe storage requirements to protect children from accidental shootings, in the same way the State of Connecticut has already done.
Outlaw bump stocks and high-capacity magazines for civilian use, which make mass shootings even more deadly.
In addition to today's vote on the Protecting Our Kids Act, Rep. Courtney and the House of Representatives also passed two other bills in the 117th Congress to curb gun violence. On March 11, 2021, Courtney voted to pass the Enhanced Background Checks Act (H.R. 1446), which would ensure that guns are not sold to individuals before a background check is completed. That same day, Courtney also voted to pass the Bipartisan Background Checks Act (H.R. 8), which would ensure that all gun sales--including those made online or at gun shows--require a background check.

More information on the Protecting Our Kids Act can be found below.

Summary of the seven titles comprising the Protecting Our Kids Act:

Title I--The Raise the Age Act (H.R. 3015)

· Title I raises the lawful age to purchase certain semi-automatic centerfire rifles and shotguns from 18 to 21 years old. Currently, someone must be 21 years old to purchase a handgun, but they can purchase a semi-automatic, centerfire rifle or shotgun at age 18.

Title II--The Prevent Gun Trafficking Act (H.R. 2280)

· Title II establishes new federal offenses for gun trafficking and for the use of "straw purchasers."

· This title is designed to combat illegal gun purchases and transfers. Currently, every year, thousands of guns are diverted from legal to illegal markets. Guns also move easily from states with weak gun laws into states with strong gun laws, thereby undermining state-level gun safety laws and creating significant threats to public safety.

· Title II also establishes a new federal offense for the use of "straw purchasers" for guns. A "straw purchaser" is someone who purchases a gun for someone else, typically for someone who cannot pass a background check such as a convicted felon or a minor.

· Under current federal law, it is illegal to make false statements on certain gun purchase forms, but these forms are only required for some firearms purchases. By creating a new federal offense, Title II ensures that straw purchasing can be prosecuted as an independent offense rather than relying on prosecuting false statements to address straw purchasing.

Title III--The Untraceable Firearms Act (H.R. 3088)

· Ghost guns are firearms that lack serial numbers and are therefore untraceable. In recent years, the increased presence of ghost guns in our communities has made it harder for law enforcement to find and prosecute violent criminals.

· Title III closes the ghost gun loophole by amending the definition of "firearm" under federal law to include gun kits and partial receivers and by changing the definition of "manufacturing firearms" to include assembling firearms using 3D printing technology. By modifying these definitions, Title III ensures that ghost guns, including firearms manufactured or completed using 3D printing, are subject to existing federal firearm regulation, including:

o Requiring that anyone who participates in the production of frames or receivers has a manufacturing license.

o Requiring that the manufacturer serialize a partial receiver before it is transferred to another entity.

o Clarifying that purchasers must undergo a background check before acquiring a partial receiver.

o Prohibiting anyone other than a manufacturer or licensed importer from engraving a serial number on a firearm, to ensure that ATF can trace the firearm, kit, or receiver.

Title IV--Safe Storage

· The presence of unsecured firearms in the home increases the risk of unintentional and intentional shooting, particularly with minors in residence. Over 75 percent of firearms used in youth suicide attempts and unintentional firearm injuries were stored in the residence of the victim, a relative, or a friend.

· Below are brief descriptions of the three bills included in Title IV that together require and encourage the safe storage of firearms:

o Ethan's Law (H.R. 748)--These provisions set federal standards for safe gun storage on residential premises and give states incentives to create and implement safe gun storage laws.

o The Safe Guns, Safe Kids Act (H.R. 6370)--These provisions would impose a penalty of up to 5 years in prison if a child or a resident who is ineligible to possess a firearm accesses an unsecured firearm and causes injury or death.

o The Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act(H.R. 7545)--This section requires the Attorney General to establish best practices for the safe storage of firearms and requires most firearms to include a label that says, "Safe Storage Saves Lives" and directs people to a website with these best practices.

This section also expands the existing requirement that federally licensed firearms dealers provide a secure gun storage or safety device with handgun sales to also require dealers to provide compatible secure storage or safety devices with the sale of shotguns and rifles.
In addition, these provisions provide for the Assistant Attorney General to award Firearm Safe Storage Program grants to states and Indian tribes that apply for and meet the conditions for the grants.
Title V -- The Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act (H.R. 5427)

· A bump stock is a device that, when added to a semi-automatic firearm, allows the firearm to shoot more than one shot with a single pull of the trigger.

· On October 1, 2017, a shooter used bump stock devices to shoot more than 1,000 bullets into a crowd in Los Vegas -- killing 60 people and wounding 411, making it the deadliest mass shooting in American history.

· Under the National Firearms Act, it is already illegal for Americans to own fully automatic firearms and machine guns manufactured after May 19, 1986. However, due to a loophole in the law, bump stocks -- devices attached to semi-automatic rifles that increase their rate of fire to that similar to machine guns -- were unregulated, until a 2018 ATF rule added them to the definition of "machine gun."

· Title V builds on the 2018 rule by defining bump stocks and listing them under the National Firearms Act so that they are regulated the same as machine guns.

Title VI -- The Keep Americans Safe Act (H.R. 2510)

· Title VI prohibits the importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of a magazine that holds more than 15 rounds of ammunition, unless an individual falls under a particular exception.

· These high-capacity magazines are designed for shooting and killing en masse and have been the accessory of choice in some of the bloodiest mass shootings in America. For example, the Columbine High School shooting and the Virginia Tech shooting were perpetrated by shooters with high-capacity magazines.

· A grandfathering provision exempts possession of large capacity magazines lawfully possessed on or before the date of enactment, but sales and transfers of grandfathered magazines are prohibited.

· There are also exceptions for particular types of people and entities, including allowing possession or sale to qualified law enforcement officers for purposes of law enforcement (on- or off-duty), law enforcement agencies, licensees under Title I of the Atomic Energy Act, or to licensed manufacturers and importers for purposes of testing or experimentation authorized by the Attorney General.

· There is also an exception for possession by a person who is retired in good standing from service with a law enforcement agency if the magazine was sold or transferred to the person upon retirement or purchased for official use before retirement.

Title VII -- Miscellaneous

· Title VII contains one provision, providing that the Attorney General shall submit to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees an annual report containing demographic data of persons who were determined to be ineligible to purchase a firearm based on the background check performed by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, including race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender, age, disability, average annual income, and English language proficiency, if available.

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