United States Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) introduced a bill that calls for the regulation of firearms by outlawing weapons with a magazine capacity greater than 10 rounds, among other measures aimed at increasing gun control.
The Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion (GOSAFE) Act, which Heinrich reportedly began drafting in 2017, is cosponsored by Senators Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.).
Unlike other legislations that have largely targeted firearms for their appearance, the GOSAFE Act would ban the mechanisms, notably the “gas operation” that is the cornerstone of most semi-automatic firearms. It further would place a ban on magazines larger than 10 rounds, while simultaneously banning modifications including the use of bump stocks as well as the manufacture of so-called “ghost gun kits.”
“I firmly believe we must uphold the laws that protect safe and responsible gun ownership,” Heinrich said in a statement. “This bill achieves that, while taking steps to get those firearms that are inherently dangerous and unusually lethal, designed for maximum harm, out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves or others.”
The GOSAFE Act would establish a list of “prohibited firearms,” prevent “unlawful modifications” on permissible firearms, and would also mandate that future gas-operated designs are approved before manufacture. It would also create a voluntary gun buy-back program to remove violating firearms from circulation.
Certain firearms – notably .22 caliber rimfire, bolt action rifles, semi-automatic shotguns, and recoil-operated handguns – would be exempt. A flowchart was released to highlight which firearms would be banned.
“For years, I have said that rather than using the appearance of these guns to restrict them, we should instead focus on how these weapons work and the features that make them especially dangerous,” added King.
The GOSAFE Act has been endorsed by Everytown for Gun Safety and the Brady Campaign.
The bill is unlikely to pass in the United States Senate – and it does not have a companion bill in the House of Representatives at the present time. However, the fact that it still called for a ban on essentially all gas-operated semi-automatic firearms resulted in a swift rebuke from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearm industry’s trade association.
“The legislation introduced by Senators King and Heinrich is openly defiant of the rights protected by the U.S. Constitution. There is no path forward for legislation of this nature that would deprive law-abiding citizens the ability to lawfully possess the firearm of their choosing and the full spectrum of their Second Amendment rights,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel. “This legislation is a knee-jerk reaction to a travesty for which the American public is still demanding answers as to why the Lewiston murderer, who clearly showed signs of mental instability and professed to violent threats, was allowed by state and federal agencies to continue to possess firearms. Depriving law-abiding citizens of their Constitutional rights for the criminal acts of a depraved individual doesn’t make our communities safer.”
