KEY VOTE: "NO" on the Protecting Our Kids Act (H.R. 7910)

This week, the House will vote on a package of eight gun control bills, combined into H.R. 7910, the so-called “Protecting Our Kids Act.” This partisan package chips away at the Second Amendment and seeks to disarm law-abiding Americans by imposing new restrictions and legal burdens. These new burdens will do little to prevent future acts of violence, likely wouldn’t have had any impact on previous shootings, and would only restrict Americans’ constitutional right to bear arms.

Additionally, members should be aware that, under the House Rule, all six titles of the bill will receive individual votes. The House will then vote on final passage of the remaining titles. Heritage Action will consider the vote on final passage for our legislative scorecard.

The titles that comprise this package are:

• Title I — Raise the Age

• Title II — Prevent Gun Trafficking

• Title III — Untraceable Firearms

• Title IV — Safe Storage

• Title V — Closing the Bump Stock Loophole

• Title VI — Keep Americans Safe

Included in these titles are a number of bad provisions that would inherently restrict Second Amendment rights. For example, the bill would raise the age for purchasing semi-automatic rifles and shotguns from 18 to 21 in every state. This is a senseless move that restricts law-abiding, constitutionally protected adults from exercising their Second Amendment rights despite still being eligible for military service where they would ultimately be entrusted with defending those rights with their lives.

The bill would also establish new regulations to dictate how individuals must store their firearms in their own homes, restricting law-abiding Americans from having ready access to a firearm for self-defense, while also creating criminal penalties for violating those regulations. The legislation also bans the sale of certain capacity magazines, further limiting an individual’s ability to defend themselves. Additionally, the bill creates new federal offenses for gun trafficking and straw purchasers that would prevent community organizations from having firearms training programs. Under this provision, there is a high potential for Americans to unknowingly become criminals as it would become illegal to give someone a firearm as a gift except in limited circumstances between certain family members.

Also of concern is that the bill would further limit Americans’ access to firearms by making it illegal for an individual to construct their own firearms. This is yet another knee-jerk reaction that tramples Americans’ right to self-defense while doing nothing about the problem of violent crime.

Predictably, Democrats have elected to use recent tragedies as a pretext to curtail Second Amendment rights while furthering their own gun-grabbing agenda. If Democrats are truly interested in addressing the problem, they should abandon their partisan plans to deprive Americans of their constitutionally protected right of self-defense and should instead focus on the root causes of violence and the safety of our children. Policy solutions should address the clear crises in our country, including the breakdown of society and family, mental health, violent crime, and school safety — all of which were worsened by COVID shutdowns.

Any policy solutions must equip teachers, administrators, and community leaders to address mental health problems in students and secure schools with proven measures to protect students, all while preserving the Second Amendment. The time for partisan, political games is over and we urge Congress to shift its focus to actual solutions.