5 days ago
Stefanik, Issa Reintroduce Bill to Ban Handgun Roster Restrictions in States
The restrictions make it challenging for firearm manufacturers to introduce new models, the lawmakers said.
Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) have reintroduced the 'Modern Firearm Safety Act,' which aims to prevent states such as California and New York from restricting gun access to citizens, Stefanik's office said in a July 24 statement
If passed, states and agencies would be banned from imposing regulations that require a handgun to incorporate a design feature, functionality, safety mechanism, or performance standard not mandated by federal statute, the bill states
When state or local governments impose requirements that a handgun model incorporate features not present on the model, it can artificially inflate prices, according to the bill.
Story continues below advertisement
Such measures 'present safety concerns by altering the intended design and function of the affected models; violate the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and pose an unacceptable restraint on interstate commerce,' the bill states.
According to the July 24 statement, the bill will prohibit states from 'enacting unconstitutional 'handgun rosters' that prevent law-abiding citizens from accessing modern, safer handgun models and require firearm manufacturers to adopt costly and unnecessary features, making it nearly impossible to sell new handguns.'
A handgun roster refers to a list of handguns that have been approved for sale within a specific jurisdiction based on meeting safety and restrictive requirements.
For instance, a handgun roster in California requires that a gun model in the state must pass certain tests and be certified for sale by the state's Department of Justice before it can be sold.
At present, New York, Maryland, California, and the District of Columbia have enacted 'restrictive handgun rosters,' with other states considering similar measures, according to the statement.
Story continues below advertisement
Due to these stringent standards, firearms sold to people include 'costly and unnecessary features' such as magazine disconnect mechanisms, loaded chamber indicators, and microstamping technology, and these requirements are making it nearly impossible for gun manufacturers to introduce new handgun models to the market, according to the statement.
Microstamping technology causes a firearm's firing pin to imprint microscopic characters onto ammunition cartridge cases when a gun is fired, according to a July 18 statement from the California Attorney General's office.
These characters represent the weapon's make, model , and serial number. As such, when law enforcement finds cartridge cases at crime scenes, they can check the imprinted code and identify the firearm.
The Modern Firearm Safety Act would prohibit states from mandating loaded chamber indicators, magazine disconnect mechanisms, and microstamping for handguns, a move that will restore the Second Amendment in states with such restrictive gun regulations, according to the lawmakers.
Story continues below advertisement
A visitor picks up a revolver at the Charter Arms booth at the 2025 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits held in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga., on April 25, 2025.'For decades, the clear Constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners have been targeted for elimination, and handgun rosters are only one of the cynical schemes used to undermine the Second Amendment through the pretense of firearm safety,' Issa, who first introduced the bill last year, said.
'These rosters impose excessive and unnecessary requirements that actually restrict access to firearms equipped with the most up-to-date safety features, and that's why I'm proud to partner with my friend Rep. Stefanik to defend sacred rights and end these unjust restrictions.' Protecting Gun Rights The Modern Firearm Safety Act also coincides with a ruling from a federal district court, which judged California's handgun roster requirements to be unconstitutional, according to the July 24 statement.
In March 2023, District Judge Cormac Carney issued a ruling in favor of the California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA) and four individuals who had challenged the constitutionality of California's Unsafe Handgun Act.
Story continues below advertisement
Enacted in 1990, the legislation required new handguns to have three specific features: loaded chamber indicators to show whether the gun is loaded, magazine disconnect mechanisms to prevent the gun from being fired if the magazine is not fully inserted, and microstamping capability.
The reintroduction of the Modern Firearm Safety Act comes amid the Trump administration's efforts to protect Second Amendment rights in the country.
On Feb. 7, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for a review of orders, regulations, guidance, plans, international agreements, and other government actions related to the Second Amendment between January 2021 and January 2025, the period of the Biden administration.
In late March, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an interim final rule taking over from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives the responsibility of deciding whether to restore gun ownership rights to individuals whose Second Amendment rights were revoked by a court.
The DOJ recently proposed a rule to restore Second Amendment rights to individuals convicted of certain crimes who are not likely to act in a way that poses a danger to public safety.
'For too long, countless Americans with criminal histories have been permanently disenfranchised from exercising the right to keep and bear arms—a right every bit as constitutionally enshrined as the right to vote, the right to free speech, and the right to free exercise of religion—irrespective of whether they actually pose a threat,' Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a July 18 statement.
