House Passes Bill Raising Age For Semi-Automatic Gun Ownership To 21

The House of Representatives passed a gun control package Tuesday that would raise the purchasing age of certain semi-automatic rifles to 21, but it is likely dead-on-arrival in the Senate.

The Protecting Our Kids Act was introduced by New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler in the aftermath of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting. In addition to raising the age at which Americans can legally purchase certain semi-automatic weapons, it also requires gun owners to store firearms in gun safes or other locations, and expands the regulation of bump stocks. Many Republicans have described the legislation as unconstitutional, noting court rulings prohibiting states from implementing similar regulations.

“All of us in this Chamber were shaken by the images of parents in Uvalde standing in line to match their DNA to the remains of their nine- and ten-year-old children — parents who should be picking their children up from school right now but who, instead, are picking up the pieces of their lives, shattered by this unimaginable loss,” Nadler said in a floor speech.

The age provision passed mostly along party lines, with 218 Democrats and ten Republicans voting in favor and 197 Republicans and two Democrats voting against. Following a request from 21 Democrats, party leadership agreed to hold separate votes on different parts of the package. Those members hoped that splitting the legislation up would help it retain bipartisan support.