Legislation re-introduced by Kennedy to restrict body armor
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Congressman Tim Kennedy (NY-26) re-introduced legislation Monday that would restrict the purchase and possession of 'enhanced' body armor in the United States.
Kennedy made the announcement at the site of the May 14, 2022, Tops mass shooting. Wednesday marks three years to the day since the shooting.
The bill, officially called the Aaron Salter, Jr. Responsible Body Armor Possession Act, would establish a federal framework to 'restrict the purchase, ownership, or possession of enhanced body armor by civilians.'
The perpetrator of the racist attack, Payton Gendron, was wearing body armor at the time of the shooting and killed Salter, a retired Buffalo police officer who worked security at the store, after Salter shot and hit Gendron's military-grade body armor several times.
'Advanced equipment like that should be used by law enforcement and the military and that's it,' Kennedy said at a news conference Monday.
A bill was passed in the New York State legislature in the weeks following the shooting that restricted the sale, exchange and transfer of bulletproof vests and other body armor.
A similar federal-level bill was introduced by New York City congresswoman Grace Meng (NY-6) in 2023, but never went anywhere. Former Buffalo Congressman Brian Higgins, who represented the area at the time of the shooting, was a co-sponsor of the bill. Kennedy signed onto that bill in 2024.
'Unfortunately, I think it takes tragedies like the one that occurred here,' Kennedy said. 'When you see that this isn't the only place where a horrific tragedy happened in our nation, it brings forward the importance of banning this military-grade body armor that these perpetrators of hate and violence are bringing to communities across the nation.'
The term 'enhanced body armor' is defined in the 2023 bill as 'body armor, including a helmet or shield, with a ballistic resistance that meets or exceeds the ballistic performance standard of Type III armor, as determined using the National Institute of Justice standard in effect at the time the person purchases, owns, or possesses the armor.' Kennedy said that this bill has minor technical changes from the previous bill.
'Had it not been for that body armor, Aaron would have saved everyone else inside,' said Pastor Earl Perrin, who worked at the police department with Salter for a decade. 'I thank people like the congressman … who are trying to do something and try to stop these body-armor wearing imbeciles who decide they want to do something in the name of hate.'
You can view Monday's full news conference in the video player above.
Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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