The Law Enforcement Protection Act will create a new classification of “Armor-Piercing, Concealable Weapons” in the NFA. This new classification of weapons includes AR-15 pistols and is intended to add registration and regulatory burdens to these firearms.
The bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Val Demings(D-Fla) who said “gun manufacturers have used technical loopholes to design unregulated concealable assault weapons that can penetrate body armor worn by police officers and kill dozens of people in minutes.” Representative Demings is a former police chief who ran on a gun control platform with funding from gun control groups in 2016.
From Guns.com:
Announced Wednesday, “The Law Enforcement Protection Act” would create the new classification of “Armor-Piercing, Concealable Weapons” to the NFA. While the measure’s text wasn’t made available, its sponsors said it is designed to place registration and regulatory burdens on guns such as .223 caliber AR-15 style pistols.
“Gun manufacturers have used technical loopholes to design unregulated concealable assault weapons that can penetrate body armor worn by police officers and kill dozens of people in minutes,” said U.S. Rep Val Demings, D-Fla., a co-sponsor of the bill. “This legislation will regulate these weapons as we already do other similar firearms.”
A former Orlando police chief, Demings ran for office in 2016 on strong endorsements and funding from key figures in gun politics, notably former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Giffords group. Since in office, she has been critical of any rumor of federal firearm deregulation.
Her measure would be the biggest change to the NFA since the Gun Control Act of 1968 placed “destructive devices” under the purview of Title II firearms. Subsequent changes in 1986, 1994, and 2018, during which items were reclassified to fall under existing categories, were less sweeping.
The bill was put forward as HR 2466 and will go through the House Ways and Means and Judiciary committees. This bill currently has 35 co-sponsors, all of which are Democrats.
