(Tony Sifert, Headline USA Bypassing sensible gun safety legislation from Congressional Republicans like Elise Stefanik and Beth Van Duyne, Democrats in the House have engineered the passage of a bill that would, among other things, raise the age for purchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21.
The Democrat-led House voted 223-204 to pass the Protecting Our Kids Act (HR 7910), reported The Hill, which would:
- prohibit the sale of semiautomatic firearms to anyone under 21;
- establish new federal criminal offenses for gun trafficking;
- regulate guns without serial numbers;
- regulate the storage of firearms in homes;
- regulate “bump stocks”;
- prohibit “the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, and possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices.”
Five House Republicans ignored a memo from Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and joined the Democrats in passing the bill, the Daily Wire reported:
- Brian Fitzpatrick, Pennsylvania
- Anthony Gonzalez, Ohio
- Chris Jacobs, New York
- Adam Kingzinger, Illinois
- Fred Upton, Michigan
Of the five, only Upton is seeking reelection this year, according to The Hill.
In his memo, Scalise encouraged Republicans to vote against the bill.
“In the wake of the senseless, malevolent shootings seen in recent months, the Majority has thrown together this reactionary package comprised of legislation that egregiously violates law-abiding citizens’ 2nd Amendment rights and hinders Americans’ ability to defend and protect themselves and their families,” Scalise wrote.
After the vote, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, attacked the Democrats’ bill.
“The speaker started by saying this bill is about protecting our kids,” Jordan said. “What this bill does is take away second amendment rights, God-given rights, protected by our Constitution from law-abiding American citizens.”
Provisions in the bill that regulate bump stocks and that restrict anyone under 21 from buying semiautomatic rifles garnered additional Republican support, but the bill is unlikely to pass the Senate, CNN reported.
While Politico has reported that Senate Republicans are “mostly open to a gun safety proposal,” only Mitt Romney has indicated that he would support the Protecting Our Kids Act.
GOP Sen. Mitt Romney tells CNN he backs raising age to buy assault weapons from 18 to 21
— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) June 9, 2022
