Here we go again, another bill, but this time federal

[PapaT]

Thank you, I appreciate that.
I hope shooters will read it as it is meant: don’t panic, do your own research (not AI LOL). Be influenced by your research and rational thought, not by social media alone.

Your post was exactly the kind of discourse I appreciate. Avoiding panic and sensationalism, and promoting the ability to self-research and provide constructive feedback/opinions to our elected officials (regardless of side someone falls on) is always my goal. Knowledge is power, and I am a fan of sharing so that others can be empowered.

The truth is that we could use with more people who read the information, form their own conclusions, and provide logical discourse. Both in the government, and amongst the general populous.

As for the bill itself, I also do not believe it will pass this time and with how many holes were left open with it I'm not sure it was necessarily intended to. It is, at the least, a testing of the waters and setting the stage for continued efforts. But, that is also all the more reason that we should share (through conversations with others and fact based videos designed to promote information) so that everyone has their opportunity to have their voice heard by those elected to represent us. It is also why knowing, and supporting, those who are helping to lobby for our rights through education and engagement, such as the ASA, is important.

 

[Doctor of Airguns]

I won’t provide a link, why promote it in search engines.
Text:
“Washington, D.C. – Modern airguns can be powerful enough to cause serious injury or death, yet face far fewer safeguards than traditional firearms simply because they use compressed air instead of gunpowder. To close this dangerous gap, Rep. Kevin Mullin (CA-15) introduced Garrett’s Law today after one of his constituents lost her son to suicide involving a high-powered airgun.

Existing law requires licensed firearms manufacturers and dealers to conduct a background check on prospective buyers to identify individuals who are prohibited from owning a firearm, such as felons or those with certain severe mental health conditions. Yet, lethal airguns are regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission as consumer products, rather than as dangerous weapons regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. As a result, any individual can bypass a background check to purchase a type of airgun that is as deadly as a firearm, regardless of criminal history or ability to otherwise legally own a firearm.

This loophole has caused irreparable and, in some cases, fatal harm. Garrett Edwards, a constituent of Rep. Mullin, struggled with mental health during the pandemic and was prohibited from possessing a firearm by law. Yet, sadly, when his condition worsened, Garrett legally purchased a lethal airgun online and used it to take his own life. To prevent similar tragedies, Garrett’s Law would close this dangerous gap in federal lawby designating high-powered, lethal airguns as firearms.

“Garrett should still be here today,” said Rep. Mullin. “If a weapon is powerful enough to kill, it should be subject to the same common-sense safety standards as any other gun. It makes no sense that someone prohibited by law from purchasing a firearm can still walk into a store or go online and legally obtain an airgun capable of killing. This bill closes that gap and, hopefully, helps prevent another family from facing this kind of unimaginable loss.”

“Garrett’s Law represents every person’s right to be protected from a needless death,” said Garrett’s mother, Ann Edwards. “Garrett was an elite athlete, scholar, and meant the world to me. Despite the countless efforts made by his community, his late onset psychosis was unforgiving, and in a moment of crisis, he was able to access a lethal airgun through Amazon. Garrett ran out of time to fully live his life. I hope this law gives another child the chance to keep fighting.”

“Airguns can be lethal, and current federal law ignores that by allowing unfettered access to them,” said Emma Brown, Executive Director at GIFFORDS. “We’re glad to see Rep. Mullin introducing this legislation to create basic guardrails for these previously unregulated weapons, and we urge Congress to swiftly pass it.”

“Lethal weapons should be treated like lethal weapons,” said Jaclyn Corin, Co-Founder of March For Our Lives Foundation. “March For Our Lives supports Garrett’s Law because our laws should reflect the real-world risks posed by high-powered airguns capable of taking a life. We’re grateful to Congressman Mullin for his leadership in addressing this gap in federal law and advancing a common-sense measure to help prevent gun violence and save lives.”

Garrett’s Law, introduced by Rep. Mullin, would designate lethal airguns as firearms under the purview of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. This would ensure that they receive the same common-sense gun safety protections as traditional firearms, such as background check and serialization requirements.

Specifically, Garrett’s Law would:

• Designate lethal, high-powered airguns as firearms under the Gun Control Act;
• Exclude paintball and airsoft guns that are unlikely to cause serious injury; and
• Require the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to produce guidance on how manufacturers and sellers can comply with this change.

This bill has been endorsed by GIFFORDS and March For Our Lives. “

Thanks for letting us know about this

 

[Doctor of Airguns]

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Included a quick video from @Macabespeed, his point is pretty good; in that it will harm the air rifle industry.
Seems they are suggesting to keep the power specs fairly low, slightly above sub-12?

Yikes that is not good

 

[Chief_Pellet_Officer]

Hello all,

I have been tracking the developments on this bill. As I am traveling out of the country until next week, my response here will be very limited. Do not take that to mean that the industry ( and the ASA) is ignoring this issue. My quick comment is that not much will happen until after the New Year, and the outcome in the November Elections will have a large affect on what that looks like.

What we had to deal with in NY last year will look like a preseason game, if this moves forward.
Please get out and vote and if you have not already joined the ASA please consider doing so.

 

[Ezana4CE]

Has anyone located any articles surrounding the young man’s suicide? I haven’t located anything of note. I don’t know where this happened, the date of death, or the cause of death. Just a vague claim. Where’s the evidence? I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but evidence is important. Without it, what are we even discussing?

Conduct a search engine search or use AI searching “Garret/Garrett Edwards airgun suicide California” and let us know if any substantial news articles emerge. I want to read the details and I’m coming up with a lot of nothing outside of the proposed bill and discussion surrounding the proposal.

Edit: I posed a question (of sorts) to AI and here’s part of that response. Below in quotation is my initial prompt:
“I’d like information surrounding the suicide of Garrett Edwards in California. New articles would be best with details surrounding his death.”



It appears that the bulk of information on Garrett’s death is coming from Mullin’s congressional office. Surely there’s an obituary, coroner’s report, and death certificate on file somewhere.

 

[Ezana4CE]

I’d like to link these two discussions for reference purposes.

Post in thread 'Airguns Under Attack Again – How Can You Help?'

Oct 3, 2026

@hameditor That sounds like a load of crap. According to Ballotpedia Mulllin’s district is around 700k people. I don’t think that a healthy number of constituents even know who their reps are let alone are writing them. Voter registration and voter turnout stats support this idea. Then of all that register or vote, I believe only a small fraction of these people will contact their representatives.

https://ballotpedia.org/California%27s_15th_Congressional_District

Here’s an alternate source on a giveent sitethat supports information found on Ballotpedia...

• hameditor

• 

 

[Ezana4CE]

I’m going to give my initial analysis of this and then hopefully move on. Personally I’m not interested in debating the issue. We’re not supposed to talk politics, but this is steeped in politics, it has been invoked through politics and can only be stopped through political policy action. That is just a fact.
The congressman that is sponsoring the bill is a well known gun control advocate. He has introduced the bill and named it after one of his deceased Constituents. But, this issue/idea has been gaining momentum in the gun control lobby for several years. The Gifford group and Everytown have been pushing the idea of limiting or outright banning not just airguns, but BB guns, air soft and even toy guns. It really has very little to do with whether or not they are lethal or deadly. It is driven by the idea that if they eliminate the gun related culture at the earliest age possible, there will be less resistance to eliminating firearms. If you don’t believe me, research it, I read about it more than a year ago. The only reason this proposal is exempting airsoft etc., is to reduce the initial resistance to it.
Don’t panic and get caught up in the hysteria. There is almost zero chance that this will pass in the near future. The odds of it passing in 2-3 years are very good at this point. That means everyone that has an interest, needs to stay vigilant and support whatever organization they believe has the might to lobby against a bill like this.
My personal opinion is that a YouTuber sensationalizing the topic for clicks, is less than helpful. Declaring big bore airguns dead because of a proposed bill, is a leap at best and opportunistic at worst. That’s just my opinion.
If passed as is, it will prohibit felons from purchasing/owning the more powerful airguns, require a background check and possibly require FFL transfers. The big impact will be on the dealers who mostly rely upon online sales. The U.S. airgun industry is very unique in the fact that it is mostly based upon businesses that have no significant storefronts. But, none of that spells the end of big bore airguns in the U.S.. None of it is good for the hobby, but it’s not the end. At least not yet. As I alluded to in the beginning, the gun control lobby sees this as a stepping stone to a greater goal.
This won’t be stopped by rational comparisons or “whataboutisms”. It’s simply not about how lethal airguns are.
Then of course I have to ask myself this: is it a good idea to lobby states to allow them to be used to take bears, elk etc.?
Feel free to delete my post, if considered inappropriate.

This is very insightful and pretty great advice. I’d like to address something that you mentioned that I began reading about. I’ll address it in the thread that @hameditor started with his recent write up. I started to PM you but didn’t get around to it.