H.R. 4953 is a new piece of legislation that threatens to make every Semi-Automatic rifle that accepts a detachable magazine an NFA item.
For those unaware of NFA items and their regulations, NFA items are highly regulated firearms and firearm accessories. Machine guns, suppressors, and bump stocks(which are technically machine guns according to the ATF) are all NFA items and require additional paperwork and taxes to acquire.
This legislation was proposed by Representative Ted Deutch (Fl-D) last Friday. The Congressman has been a major advocate for gun control in the past.
banning semi-auto rifles that accept detachable magazines means banning almost every mainstream rifle in the country. Virtually all AR-15s would be included in this ban meaning that America’s most popular rifle would be a highly regulated NFA item.
Of course, gun makers would move to release new products if this were to pass. Companies would create new split-receiver-style rifles and have a permanently affixed magazine. While there would be a way forward this would still pose a major issue for Americans.
Interestingly this style of rifle is not one we see often used in crime. According to FBI crime statistics from 2019, these rifles were only used in 364 of the 13,927 homicides the FBI tracked. Around 600 cases involved murder by hands and feet, meaning more people were beaten to death than were killed by people using these semi-automatic rifles.
The legislation is currently being referred to the Democrat-controlled House Ways and Means Committee and has a total of 8 co-sponsors, that being said the Democrats still have an uphill battle if they want to pass this.
