# Plain Language Summary: Raise the Age Act

This bill would raise the age requirement for buying certain types of rifles from 18 to 21 years old. Specifically, it targets semiautomatic centerfire rifles that can hold more than 5 bullets in their magazine or ammunition feeding device. Gun dealers would be prohibited from selling these particular rifles to anyone under 21, with two exceptions: active-duty military members and full-time law enforcement officers would still be allowed to purchase them regardless of age. Regular shotguns and rifles would keep their current age requirement of 18 years old, and handguns would remain restricted to those 21 and older as they are now.

The practical effect is that a 19 or 20-year-old civilian would no longer be able to walk into a gun store and purchase a semiautomatic rifle like an AR-15 or similar weapon. The bill defines these restricted rifles as semiautomatic centerfire rifles with high-capacity magazines—essentially the types of weapons often used in mass shootings. Gun dealers who violate this rule would face federal penalties. The bill also requires the FBI to report on how its public access line shares information with field offices, which relates to background check procedures that gun dealers use when processing sales.

Supporters of this bill argue it could help prevent mass shootings by keeping these powerful weapons out of the hands of young people. Critics raise concerns about Second Amendment rights and question whether age restrictions alone would effectively reduce gun violence. Either way, if passed, the bill would create a new legal barrier for young adults trying to purchase certain types of firearms, making it a significant change to current gun sales regulations.

Raise the Age Act

Brown, Anthony G.

Raise the Age Act This bill establishes new restrictions on the sale or transfer of certain semiautomatic firearms to individuals under 21 years of age. Specifically, this bill makes it unlawful for a licensed gun dealer, importer, manufacturer, or collector to sell or deliver a semiautomatic center-fire rifle that has (or has the capacity to accept) an ammunition feeding device with a capacity of more than five rounds to an individual who the licensee knows or has reasonable cause to believe is under age 21. The prohibition does not apply if the individual under age 21 is a full-time law enforcement officer or active-duty member of the Armed Forces. The bill also requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to report on the operation of its public access line, including a description of information sharing protocols and recommendations for improving such protocols.