About the bill
If they can vote and serve in the military, should they also be able to legally purchase a handgun?
Context
The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 raised the minimum age for purchasing a handgun or pistol from a licensed dealer to 21. In a level of bipartisanship unimaginable today, it passed the House 372–23 and the Senate 72–4.
However, under current federal law, a shotgun or rifle can still be purchased from a licensed dealer starting at age 18. This means that under federal law, an 18-, 19-, or 20-year-old can legally purchase a shotgun or rifle from a licensed dealer, but not a handgun — even though a handgun is a common weapon used for self-defense in the home.
A few states …
Sponsor and status
116th Congress (2019–2021)
This bill was introduced on January 30, 2020, in a previous session of Congress, but it did not receive a vote.
Although this bill was not enacted, its provisions could have become law by being included in another bill. It is common for legislative text to be introduced concurrently in multiple bills (called companion bills), re-introduced in subsequent sessions of Congress in new bills, or added to larger bills (sometimes called omnibus bills).
5 Cosponsors (5 Republicans)
History
|
Feb 27, 2018
|
|
Earlier Version —
Introduced
This activity took place on a related bill, H.R. 5112 (115th). |
|
Jan 30, 2020
|
|
Introduced
Bills and resolutions are referred to committees which debate the bill before possibly sending it on to the whole chamber. |
|
Apr 28, 2021
|
|
Reintroduced Bill —
Introduced
This activity took place on a related bill, H.R. 2890 (117th). |
H.R. 5716 (116th) was a bill in the United States Congress.
A bill must be passed by both the House and Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President to become law.
Bills numbers restart every two years. That means there are other bills with the number H.R. 5716. This is the one from the 116th Congress.
This bill was introduced in the 116th Congress, which met from Jan 3, 2019 to Jan 3, 2021. Legislation not passed by the end of a Congress is cleared from the books.
How to cite this information.
We recommend the following MLA-formatted citation when using the information you see here in academic work:
“H.R. 5716 — 116th Congress: SAFER Voter Act.” www.GovTrack.us. 2020. May 31, 2023 <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/hr5716>
- show another citation format:
- APA
- Blue Book
- Wikipedia Template
Where is this information from?
GovTrack automatically collects legislative information from a variety of governmental and non-governmental sources. This page is sourced primarily from Congress.gov, the official portal of the United States Congress. Congress.gov is generally updated one day after events occur, and so legislative activity shown here may be one day behind. Data via the congress project.
