House approves DeGette's legislation to ban high-capacity gun magazines

Press Release

The U.S. House of Representatives voted today to approve a series of gun-safety measures aimed at protecting America's schools and communities in the wake of two recent high-profile mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York.

The legislation -- known as the Protecting Our Kids Act (H.R. 7910) -- would, among other things, raise the minimum age required to purchase a semiautomatic assault rifle from 18 to 21. It also bans the sale and possession of high-capacity gun magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds of ammunition, a provision originally introduced by U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Ted Deutch (D-FL) after a gunman in Boulder, Colorado -- armed with an AR-style assault weapon and high-capacity magazine -- opened fire in a crowded supermarket killing 10 innocent people.

"There is no reason why any civilian in this country needs an AR-15-style assault weapon or a high-capacity magazine," DeGette said. "Yet, both remain legal and readily available for purchase in a majority of states across this country and that has to change. While there is no one, single piece of legislation that will fully prevent these horrific attacks from occurring in the future, the commonsense measures we approved today -- including our legislation to ban high-capacity magazines -- will save lives. Now, we need to strengthen our system of background checks and get these assault weapons off our streets as well."

The use of high-capacity gun magazines capable of holding 30, 60 or even 100 rounds of ammunition have become a staple of some of the nation's deadliest mass shootings -- including the recent shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York. The magazines allow a perpetrator to fire dozens of rounds before having to stop and reload, enabling a gunman to kill more people in less time.

In 2019, a gunman in Dayton, Ohio used a high-capacity magazine capable of holding up to 100 rounds of ammunition to fire 41 rounds -- and kill nine people -- in just 32 seconds. In 2012, a gunman in Aurora, Colorado -- also armed with a magazine drum capable of holding up to 100 rounds -- opened fire in a crowded movie theater killing 12 people and injuring 58 more.

The gunman who killed 20 children and six teachers in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut was armed with high-capacity magazines capable of holding up to 30 rounds each; as was the shooter who killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in 2016 at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida; and the gunman who killed 17 students and injured 17 more at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018.

In 1994, the federal government took steps to ban the sale of high-capacity magazines in the U.S. That ban, however, expired in 2004 and experts agree that reinstating it is one of the most effective things Congress can do to help protect communities across the country.

In addition to banning the sale, transfer or possession of high-capacity gun magazines in the U.S., the Protecting Our Kids Act will:

Raise the age to purchase a semi-automatic weapon from 18 to 21.
Strengthen safe storage requirements to protect children from accidental shootings
Crack down on gun trafficking and straw purchases to get illegal guns off of our streets
Close the ghost gun loophole
Ban bump stocks
The legislation now heads to the Senate for consideration.

Source