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[WASHINGTON, DC]. – U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) joined U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Congressman Ted Deutch (Fla.-22) in introducing the Keep Americans Safe Act, common sense public safety legislation that would ban the importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of gun magazines that hold more than ten rounds of ammunition. These high-capacity magazines are designed for shooting en masse and are an accessory of choice among many mass shooters.

Murphy, Blumenthal, Menendez, and Deutch made the announcement on Capitol Hill, just days before the anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. They were joined by Parkland parents, gun safety advocates, and Rep. Dina Titus (Nev.-01), who represents Las Vegas. 

“High-capacity magazines exist for a single purpose: to inflict the most lethal damage possible in the shortest period of time. Even if we cannot stop all killers with a gun, we can make their attacks less deadly by banning high-capacity magazines,” said Sen. Blumenthal. This week marks one year since seventeen students were murdered in their high school in Parkland, Florida – a rampage that only ended when the gunman was unable to load his assault rifle with a new magazine. In Newtown, Connecticut, eleven students managed to escape when the shooter reloaded his gun. In Parkland, Las Vegas, Orlando, Newtown, Aurora, and Tucson – how many lives could have been saved if the gunman had needed to change magazines more often?”

“How many more times do we have to wake up to the news that another mass shooting has taken place in America before we decide to act? By design, high capacity magazines enable shooters to kill as many people as possible in a short amount of time,” said Sen. Murphy. ”I’m proud to join Senator Menendez in introducing this bill. This week, as we honor the victims of the tragic shooting in Parkland, we should listen to the students’ calls for change. Banning high-capacity magazines will save lives.” 

The Keep Americans Safe Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Dick Durbin (D-Ili.), Angus King (I-Maine), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jackie Rosen (D-Nev.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ili.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.).

In addition to prohibiting large-capacity ammunition magazines, the Keep Americans Safe bill includes the following provisions:

  • Provides limited exceptions for devices possessed before enactment, for certain current and former law enforcement personnel, for certain Atomic Energy personnel and purpose, for tubular devices that can only accept .22 rimfire ammunition, and for certain authorized testing or experimentation; 
  • Modifies the high-capacity definition to prevent coupled or joined magazines; 
  • Authorizes a buyback programs for high capacity magazines using Byrne JAG grants; 
  • Requires devices manufactured after enactment to have conspicuous serial numbers and date of manufacture to help law enforcement identify restricted magazines
  • Harmonizes forfeiture provisions for magazines with current law; currently FBI and ATF can seize and destroy certain firearms but not high capacity magazines. 

Full text of the bill can be downloaded here.

The legislation is supported by Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence; Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence; March for Our Lives; Team ENOUGH; Change The Ref; Coalition to Stop Gun Violence; Center for American Progress; Violence Policy Center and Everytown. 

In 2017, almost 38,000 Americans lost their lives due to gun violence. High-capacity magazines have been used in some of the country’s deadliest mass shootings:

  • In Pittsburgh, Penn., on Oct. 27, 2018, a shooter killed eleven worshipers at the Tree of Life Congregation during Shabbat morning services--the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the United States--using an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle for his attack.
  • In Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14, 2018, a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 17 students and staff members and injuring 17 others. Witnesses identified nineteen-year-old former student.
  • In Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2017, a shooter killed 26 and injured 20 other worshipers who were attending regular Sunday church services. The attack, with an AR-15, was the deadliest mass shooting in Texas and the fifth-deadliest mass shooting in the United States.
  • In Las Vegas, Nev., on Oct. 1, 2017, a shooter opened fire on a crowd of concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, firing more than 1,100 rounds from his suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel, killing 58 people and leaving 851 injured – over 400 of them by gunfire and hundreds more in the ensuing panic. This is the deadliest mass shooting in the United States history.
  • In Orlando, Fla., on June 12, 2016, a shooter fired bullets from a 30-round assault rifle and a 17-round semi-automatic pistol into a crowded Pulse Nightclub, killing 49 and injuring more than 50 others in what was then the worst mass shooting in American history.
  • In San Bernardino, Calif., on Dec. 2, 2015, armed with assault rifles and other weapons, two shooters stormed a social services center where one had worked, fatally shooting 14 people and injuring at least 17 others.
  • In Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2012, a shooter used 30-round magazines to take the lives of 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. When the shooter reloaded his gun, eleven students managed to escape.
  • In Aurora, Colo., on July 20, 2012, a shooter used a 100-round drum magazine and a 40-round magazine ito kill 12 people and wound another 58. His 100-round magazine jammed during the shooting, preventing even more casualties.
  • In Tucson, Ariz., on Jan. 8, 2011, a shooter used two, 31-round magazines and two, 15-round magazines in the shooting that killed six people and wounded 13 more. The gunman was tackled to the ground while changing magazines and is one of many shootings – including the 1993 Long Island Railroad shooting and the 1998 Thurston High School shooting – that ended when the shooter attempted to reload his gun.
  • In Fort Hood, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2009, a shooter used 30- and 20-round magazines in the shooting that killed 13 people and wounded 34 more. The gun-shop owner who sold the extended magazines quotes the would-be shooter as saying he didn’t like spending time loading magazines.
  • In Blacksburg, Virginia, on Apr. 16, 2007, an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech shot 49 people on campus with two semi-automatic pistols, killing 32 and wounding 17. Several other victims were injured jumping from windows to escape the gunfire.
  • In Columbine, Colo., on Apr. 20, 1999, a pair of students murdered 12 classmates and one teacher. Ten students were murdered in the library, where the shooters subsequently committed suicide. At the time, it was the deadliest shooting at a high school in United States history.
  • In Killeen, Texas, on Oct. 16, 1991, a gunman drove his pickup truck through the front window of the Luby's Cafeteria and then proceeded to shoot and kill 23 people, wounding 27 others.
  • In San Diego, Calif., on July 18, 1984, a shooter killed 21 people and injured 19 others  in and around a McDonald's restaurant in the San Ysidro neighborhood of San Diego before being fatally shot by a SWAT team.

(Sources: Mother Jones, Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.)

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