HR7827-119

What This Bill Does

The Stop Militarizing Our Streets Act would bar the Secretary of Defense and private operators of government-owned plants from selling military-grade assault weapons or covered ammunition in the commercial market. It would also bar the Defense Department from procuring any item from a firearm or ammunition dealer or manufacturer that commercially sells those products. Covered ammunition means ammunition of .22 caliber or larger and expressly includes .223 Remington and 7.62 NATO ammunition.

For other firearms and ammunition, Defense sales and procurement would be limited to businesses dealing through eligible sellers. A qualifying firearm dealer must hold a federal license; a qualifying ammunition dealer would need a new federal ammunition license. Dealers must satisfy a short-time-to-crime threshold, honor 30-day ammunition limits of 500 covered rounds or 1,000 other rounds per individual, run NICS checks, use specified security measures, avoid marketplaces without seller-wide background checks, refuse dangerous or impaired buyers, maintain searchable inventory or ammunition records, train employees, report ATF inspection results to suppliers, and avoid large financial ties to a noncompliant spin-off.

The Attorney General may issue regulations, share crime-gun trace data with Defense, coordinate compliance monitoring, and make ammunition-dealer licenses and NICS access available. ATF must send dealer inspection reports to Defense. Government-owned plants and the Defense Department must report annually to Congress on commercial customers, revenue, quantities, diversion controls, procurement sources, firearm types, and spending. The bill authorizes whatever sums are necessary for the Attorney General, including NICS upgrades and maintenance.

Who Benefits and How

Firearm dealers and ammunition dealers that meet the licensing, background-check, security, training, recordkeeping, and trace thresholds retain eligibility for Defense-linked sales and procurement. Communities exposed to illegal firearm diversion may benefit from stronger dealer controls, reporting, and trace-data sharing. ATF and Defense procurement offices gain more information for screening contractors and commercial buyers.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Manufacturers or dealers that commercially sell military-grade assault weapons or covered ammunition would lose Defense procurement opportunities. Other dealers must incur licensing, security, recordkeeping, employee-training, inspection-reporting, and background-check costs to remain eligible. Ammunition customers face 30-day quantity limits at participating dealers. Government-owned plants, Defense procurement staff, ATF, the Attorney General, and NICS operations must administer the restrictions, data sharing, licensing, oversight, and annual reports. Federal justice appropriations bear the authorized implementation costs.

Key Provisions

• Bars Defense-linked commercial sales of military-grade assault weapons and covered ammunition.
• Bars Defense procurement from businesses that commercially sell those prohibited products.
• Conditions other Defense firearm and ammunition business on dealer licensing and a short-time-to-crime threshold.
• Sets 30-day limits of 500 covered rounds or 1,000 other rounds per individual at participating ammunition dealers.
• Requires NICS checks, physical security, searchable records, employee training, inspection disclosure, and responsible-transfer practices.
• Creates federal ammunition-dealer licensing and authorizes licensed ammunition dealers to use NICS.
• Requires annual reports from government-owned plants and the Defense Department.
• Authorizes necessary funding for the Attorney General, including NICS upgrades and maintenance.