House Democrats introduce bills to hold gunmakers accountable for selling 'weapons of war' to civilians
19 August 2022
House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) has proposed two pieces of legislation aiming to incorporate more accountability measures for the firearm industry.
According to NBC News, the two bills seek to create penalties for gun manufacturers that sell "weapons of war" to civilian customers. The two measures focus on imposing tax increases and the creation of a criminal tracking system.
The first measure, the Firearm Industry Fairness Act, would "impose a 20% tax on the total revenue earned by manufacturers who produce assault weapons and high-capacity magazines."
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The Democratic lawmaker explained that the money generated from the newly-imposed tax would be utilized for "gun violence prevention efforts and to support shooting victims."
The second piece of legislation, which is the Firearm Industry Crime and Trafficking Accountability Act, per the news outlet "would require every company that manufactures guns to create a system that tracks crimes committed with firearms they've sold, using data collected by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives."
"This summer, my Committee heard from those touched by gun violence in this country, including parents who lost their child, a doctor who lost his patients, and the mother of a young boy who lost his father," Maloney said in a statement. "These Americans, along with so many others from Uvalde, Buffalo, and Highland Park, urged Congress to take action to stop gun violence."
She added, "House Democrats have already passed a ban on assault weapons, but as we wait for the Senate to act, we must pursue other crucial reforms."
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Per the House Oversight Committee, the proposed legislation would "mandate that those manufacturers cease distributing weapons to a retailer when they have reason to believe that the guns sold by that retailer are being trafficked or used for criminal purposes."
The latest follows a letter Maloney penned to executives from a number of gun manufacturers including Daniel Defense, Smith & Wesson Sturm, and Ruger & Co.
She noted that the information obtained from firearm manufaturers “has heightened the committee’s concern that your company is continuing to profit from the sale and marketing of weapons of war to civilians despite the harm these weapons cause."