Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) voted to protect Alabama communities and save lives with a strong legislative package to address gun violence. The Protecting Our Kids Act includes common sense gun safety measures that will crack down on illegal gun trafficking, keep weapons of war out of the hands of teenagers, strengthen safe gun storage, restrict access to untraceable “ghost guns” and more.

“It is unconscionable that gun violence is the leading killer of children in our nation and in Alabama,” said Rep. Sewell. “The time for thoughts and prayers is over. We in Congress have a moral obligation to take action to prevent these senseless killings.” 

“Today, the House took bold action to help stop the bloodshed,” continued Sewell. “I was proud to vote for the Protecting Our Kids Act which advances common sense measures to keep Alabamians safe, from getting illegal guns off the streets to banning high-capacity weapons to raising the age to purchase semi-automatic weapons. This is not about targeting responsible gun owners. This is about keeping guns out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have them and saving lives.”

Gun violence in America is responsible for more than 45,000 deaths per year, including 1,090 in Alabama alone. Every day, 30 Americans are murdered with a gun—a number that rises to more than 100 when counting suicides and accidental shootings. In addition to this daily loss of life, gun violence continues to inflict a heavy financial burden—imposing $2.8 billion in emergency room and inpatient costs on Americans each year.

This epidemic of gun violence has continued to tear through communities in Alabama and across the country. Last month, Americans were horrified by mass shootings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas and a supermarket in Buffalo, New York—both carried out by 18-year-olds legally armed with semi-automatic assault rifles. Just this past weekend, at least thirteen mass shootings terrorized more communities across the country.

The Protecting Our Kids Act takes key steps to address this crisis and safeguard Alabamians’ wellbeing.  This bold legislative package includes several measures, including:

• The Raise the Age Act: raising the purchasing age for semi-automatic weapons to 21 years old.  Currently, someone could buy a semi-automatic rifle, the weapon of choice in many mass shootings, at just 18 years old – yet you must be 21 to buy a less lethal handgun.

• The Prevent Gun Trafficking Act: cracking down on gun trafficking and straw purchases to get illegal guns off of our streets.

• The Untraceable Firearms Act: subjecting ghost gun purchases to background check requirements.

• The Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act: closing the bump stock loophole to ban these deadly tools from civilian use.

• The Keep Americans Safe Act: outlawing high-capacity magazines, which are designed for killing en masse and have been the accessory of choice in the bloodiest mass shootings.

• Strengthening safe storage requirements to protect children from accidental shootings.

• Requiring an annual report of demographic data of those being determined to be ineligible to purchase guns.

The Protecting Our Kids Act builds on the House’s twice-passed legislation advancing universal background checks for all gun purchases, action that is supported by nearly nine in ten Americans.  Tomorrow, the House will vote on additional legislation establishing extreme risk protection orders, empowering courts to keep firearms out of the hands of individuals who pose a danger to themselves or others.