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.
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.
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.
