GOSAFE Act
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
This bill would ban the sale, manufacture, transfer, and importation of gas-operated semi-automatic firearms and large capacity ammunition feeding devices that hold more than 10 rounds. It defines gas-operated broadly to include long stroke piston, short stroke piston, direct impingement, blowback, and recoil-operated systems. Existing owners can keep their firearms but cannot transfer them except to licensed dealers or family members. The ATF would maintain a list of prohibited firearms and review applications from manufacturers seeking approval for new semi-automatic designs. Violations carry fines up to ,000 and up to 12 months imprisonment, with enhanced penalties of 2-10 years for committing another federal crime while possessing a banned firearm. The bill also allows Byrne Justice Assistance Grant funds to be used for gun buy-back programs.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Bans the sale, manufacture, transfer, and importation of gas-operated semi-automatic firearms and large capacity ammunition feeding devices (over 10 rounds), with grandfathering for existing owners and an ATF-administered approval process for new semi-automatic firearm designs.
Who Benefits
- Gun violence prevention organizations
- Public safety (reduced access to high-capacity firearms)
- Non-gas-operated firearm manufacturers (bolt-action, lever-action, pump-action)
Who Bears Costs
- Gas-operated semi-automatic firearm manufacturers (AR-15, AK-pattern, etc.)
- Firearm retailers selling banned models
- Existing owners (restricted transfer rights)
Key Policy Areas
{'domain': 'Firearms', 'evidence': 'Prohibits gas-operated semi-automatic firearms using long/short stroke piston, direct impingement, blowback, or recoil systems, and magazines over 10 rounds'}, {'domain': 'Criminal Justice', 'evidence': 'Creates new federal criminal penalties including up to 12 months imprisonment for possession violations and 2-10 years for committing another federal offense while in possession'}, {'domain': 'Government Operations', 'evidence': 'Directs ATF to publish and maintain a prohibited firearms list, review manufacturer applications, and establish an appeal process'}
Primary Purpose
Bans the sale, manufacture, transfer, and importation of gas-operated semi-automatic firearms and large capacity ammunition feeding devices (over 10 rounds), with grandfathering for existing owners and an ATF-administered approval process for new semi-automatic firearm designs.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Uses a mechanical operating-system definition (gas-operated) rather than cosmetic features to define prohibited firearms, aiming to close loopholes in previous assault weapons bans while grandfathering existing ownership"
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Heinrich (for himself, Mr. King, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Bennet, …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced in Senate
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Firearm retailers and dealers, Gas-operated semi-automatic firearm manufacturers, Large capacity ammunition device manufacturers
Current firearm owners, Gun owners participating in buy-back programs
Positive-direction: Gun owners participating in buy-back programs
Negative-direction: Current firearm owners
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "attorney_general"
- → Attorney General (enforcement authority)
- "atf_director"
- → Director of ATF
- "attorney_general"
- → Attorney General
- "licensed_manufacturer"
- → Licensed firearm manufacturers
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Semi-automatic using long stroke piston, short stroke piston, direct impingement, hybrid, blowback, or recoil systems to cycle the action
Firearm that fires first cartridge, uses energy to extract, chamber next, prepare firing mechanism; requires separate trigger pull per cartridge; is not a machinegun
Magazine, belt, drum, or similar device with capacity over 10 rounds, not permanently fixed; excludes .22 rimfire-only devices
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology