WASHINGTON – Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is co-sponsoring the Stop Arming Cartels Act to stop the flow of American-made firearms into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. An estimated 200,000 to 500,000 American-made guns are trafficked into Mexico annually, often through unlicensed gun dealers, straw purchasers, and thefts from federal firearms licensees. Between 2014 and 2018, more than 9,000 guns recovered in Mexico and Central American after violent crimes were traced to gun stores in Arizona.
“For too long, weak gun laws have put guns in the hands of cartels and fueled the violence that threatens our border and our border communities,” said Senator Gallego. “I’m taking action to close the loopholes cartels exploit and make sure our laws work to keep people safe, not arm criminals.”
The bicameral legislation was introduced by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20).
The Stop Arming Cartels Act would:
- Prohibit future nongovernmental manufacture, importation, sale, transfer, or possession of .50 caliber rifles;
- Regulate existing .50 caliber rifles under the National Firearms Act, with a fee waiver and 12-month grace period for registration on the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record for those who lawfully possess them under current law;
- Create an exception to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), allowing victims of gun violence to sue manufacturers and dealers who engage in firearm transactions prohibited under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (the “Kingpin Act”);
- Prohibit the sale or transfer of firearms to individuals sanctioned under the Kingpin Act and add Kingpin Act designations to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS); and
- Require firearms dealers to report multiple sales of rifles to state and local law enforcement agencies, as they must currently do for handguns.