Sen. Menendez Leads Legislative Effort to Ban High-Capacity Magazines

Even before the latest mass shooting event at Michigan State University, Sen. Bob Menendez led 27 Senate colleagues in reintroducing the Keep Americans Safe Act in an effort to protect Americans from gun violence.

The Keep Americans Safe Act would ban the importation, sale, manufacturing, transfer, or possession of gun magazines which hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

“This is a commonsense bill that will provide greater peace of mind to communities and families across the country that have felt the despair of losing a loved one, friend, or neighbor in a mass shooting with guns equipped with high-capacity magazines,” he said.

Gun Violence Epidemic

The legislation was released on Feb. 7, marking the last day of the annual Gun Violence Survivors Week and the anniversary of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, FL, which was one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history.

“We cannot afford to sit idly by as the gun violence epidemic continues to ravage communities and devastate families. We have a responsibility to take actions that will save lives, and I urge my colleagues to join me in advancing this commonsense legislation in the Senate,” Menendez added.

Menendez Notes Connections in Violence

High capacity ammunition magazines allow shooters to fire a large number of bullets without stopping to reload.

Menendez noted that in the 2009-to-2020 period, mass shootings where the shooter used high-capacity magazines lead to five-times as many people being shot per mass shooting incidents when compared to those that did not involve high-capacity magazines.

“High-capacity magazines were designed for one purpose and one purpose only – high capacity killing – and have been used in some of the deadliest mass shootings in America,” said Menendez, who authored the Keep Americans Safe Act.

Biden Strikes Similar Chord 

The message from President Joe Biden was similar in his State of the Union  address as he called to ban assault weapons once and for all. He reiterated the call the day after three students were gunned down in Michigan State on Feb. 13.

Biden pointed to his leadership in fighting to ban them in 1994.

“In the 10 years the ban was law, mass shootings went down. After Republicans let it expire, mass shootings tripled,” he said. “Let’s finish the job and ban assault weapons again.”

Additional Protections 

In addition to prohibiting large-capacity magazines, the bill included the following provisions:

1. Provides limited exceptions for devices possessed before enactment, for certain current and former law enforcement personnel, for certain Atomic Energy personnel and other purposes, for tubular devices that can only accept .22 rimfire ammunition, and for certain authorized testing or experimentation;
2. Modifies the high-capacity definition to prevent coupled or joined magazines;
3. Authorizes a buyback program for high-capacity magazines using Byrne JAG grants;
4. Requires devices manufactured after enactment to have conspicuous serial numbers and date of manufacturing to help law enforcement identify restricted magazines;
5. Harmonizes forfeiture provisions for magazines with current law (currently the FBI and ATF can seize and destroy certain firearms but not high-capacity magazines).