WASHINGTON – Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund released the following statements applauding Representative Lucy McBath for introducing the GOSAFE Act, which would regulate gas-operated semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity magazines. Senator Heinrich introduced the Senate companion of the GOSAFE Act last November.
“As weapons of war have become commonplace in America, so has the unfathomable carnage they wreak on our communities,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “We applaud Representative McBath for introducing innovative legislation that would regulate assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, which are capable of creating devastating destruction in an instant. We urge Representative McBath’s colleagues to pass this bill before yet another community is forever scarred by someone filled with hate and armed with an AR-15.”
“The GOSAFE Act is a common-sense bill that will keep our communities safe while respecting the Second Amendment,” said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action. “Military-style weapons, designed for battlefield destruction, have no place in our neighborhoods. We are grateful to Representative McBath for leading the charge on this groundbreaking legislation to stop the senseless mass shootings that devastate our communities.”
More About the GOSAFE Act:
- The Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion (GOSAFE) Act takes a novel approach to preventing far-too-common mass tragedies by prohibiting the sale, transfer, and receipt of gas-operated semi-automatic firearms and large-capacity magazines that hold 10 or more rounds of ammunition — which includes all semi-automatic rifles today, including AR-15s and AK-47s.
- The term “gas-operated” refers to firearm operating systems in which the gas generated from firing one round is used to load subsequent rounds into the chamber — all of which happens in milliseconds.
- These are the types of rifles that, especially when paired with large-capacity magazines, allow mass shooters to unleash exceptionally destructive, rapid-fire barrages on unsuspecting victims in seconds.
- The GOSAFE Act effectively targets deadly semi-automatic rifles while providing certain exemptions for firearms commonly used for hunting, self-defense, and recreational shooting, including most pistols, manually operated firearms, and semi-automatic shotguns.
Gun makers can choose to modify current semi-automatic models to make them safer — and therefore legal under the GOSAFE Act.