1/2/14: Firearms, Second Amendment and gun control quickly became one of the most popular issues on POPVOX in 2013. Not surprising, since lawmakers started off the year proposing policies in reaction to the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting tragedy. On January 16, 2013, President Obama put forward a specific plan "to protect our children and communities by reducing gun violence," which combined executive actions and calls for legislative action that would "help keep guns out of the wrong hands, ban assault and high-capacity magazines, make our schools safer, and increase access to mental health services." (Read the President's plan.)
On POPVOX, the response was overwhelming. Thousands of people shared their voice with Congress. Here are the top bills related to Firearms, the Second Amendment and Gun Control, sorted by POPVOX popularity.
2013 Firearms and Gun Control Legislation
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- S 649
#1 The Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act
Would ensure that all individuals who should be prohibited from buying a firearm are listed in the national instant criminal background check system and require a background check for every firearm sale.
14,404 people weighed in
- HR 138
#2 The High Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act
To prohibit the transfer or possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices.
11,572 people weighed in
- HR 133
#3 The Citizens Protection Act
To repeal the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 and amendments to that Act.
10,308 people weighed in
- HR 117
#4 The Handgun Licensing and Registration Act
To provide for the mandatory licensing and registration of handguns.
10,166 people weighed in
- HR 142
#5 The Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act
To require face to face purchases of ammunition, to require licensing of ammunition dealers, and to require reporting regarding bulk purchases of ammunition.
10,119 people weighed in
- S 150
To regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited.
10,025 people weighed in
- HR 141
#7 Closing the ‘gun show loophole.’
To require criminal background checks on all firearms transactions occurring at gun shows.
8,986 people weighed in
- HR 34
#8 The Blair Holt Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act
To provide for the implementation of a system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale system for those firearms.
8,757 people weighed in
- HR 21
#9 The NRA Members' Gun Safety Act
To provide for greater safety in the use of firearms.
8,291 people weighed in
- HR 65
#10 Raising the age of legal handgun ownership to 21.
To prevent children's access to firearms.
7,693 people weighed in
- HR 137
To ensure that all individuals who should be prohibited from buying a firearm are listed in the national instant criminal background check system and require a background check for every firearm sale.
7,454 people weighed in
- S 33
#12 The High Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act
To prohibit the transfer or possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices.
7,173 people weighed in
- S 35
#13 The Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act
To require face to face purchases of ammunition, to require licensing of ammunition dealers, and to require reporting regarding bulk purchases of ammunition.
6,857 people weighed in
- HR 410
#14 The Restore the Constitution Act
To provide that any executive action infringing on the Second Amendment has no force or effect, and to prohibit the use of funds for certain purposes.
6,169 people weighed in
- S 82
#15 The Separation of Powers Restoration and Second Amendment Protection Act
To provide that any executive action infringing on the Second Amendment has no force or effect, and to prohibit the use of funds for certain purposes.
5,963 people weighed in
- S 22
#16 The Gun Show Background Check Act
To establish background check procedures for gun shows.
5,483 people weighed in
- S 147
#17 The Common Sense Concealed Firearms Permit Act
To establish minimum standards for States that allow the carrying of concealed firearms.
5,228 people weighed in
- S 34
#18 The Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act
To increase public safety by permitting the Attorney General to deny the transfer of firearms or the issuance of firearms and explosives licenses to known or suspected dangerous terrorists.
5,226 people weighed in
- S 174
#19 The Ammunition Background Check Act
To appropriately restrict sales of ammunition.
4,953 people weighed in
- HR 226
To amend the tax code to allow a credit against tax for surrendering to authorities certain assault weapons.
4,623 people weighed in
- S 2
#21 The Sandy Hook Elementary School Violence Reduction Act
To reduce violence and protect the citizens of the United States.
4,519 people weighed in
- HR 227
#22 The Buyback our Safety Act
To establish a gun buyback grant program.
4,424 people weighed in
- HR 575
#23 The Second Amendment Protection Act
The US should not adopt any treaty that poses a threat to national sovereignty or abridges any rights guaranteed by the US Constitution, such as the right to keep and bear arms, and to withhold funding from the United Nations unless the President certifies that the United Nations has not taken action to restrict, attempt to restrict, or otherwise adversely infringe upon the rights of individuals in the US to keep and bear arms, or abridge any of the other constitutionally protected rights of US citizens.
4,218 people weighed in
- HR 538
#24 Banning the Five-seveN Pistol
To protect the Nation’s law enforcement officers by banning the Five-seveN Pistol and 5.7 x 28mm SS190, SS192, SS195LF, SS196, and SS197 cartridges, testing handguns and ammunition for capability to penetrate body armor, and prohibiting the manufacture, importation, sale, or purchase of such handguns or ammunition by civilians.
4,183 people weighed in
- HR 35
#25 Eliminating ‘gun free zones’ in schools.
To restore safety to America's schools.
4,152 people weighed in
- HR 238
#26 The Fire Sale Loophole Closing Act
To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to restrict the ability of a person whose Federal license to import, manufacture, or deal in firearms has been revoked, whose application to renew such a license has been denied, or who has received a license revocation or renewal denial notice, to transfer business inventory firearms.
3,889 people weighed in
- S 374
To ensure that all individuals who should be prohibited from buying a firearm are listed in the national instant criminal background check system and require a background check for every firearm sale.
3,748 people weighed in
- Compromise
#28 The Toomey-Schumer-Manchin Amendment
Would require states and the federal government to send all necessary records on criminals and the violently mentally ill to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). It also extends the existing background check system to gun shows and online sales.
3,529 people weighed in
- HR 236
#29 The Crackdown on Deadbeat Gun Dealers Act
To ensure greater accountability by licensed firearms dealers.
3,500 people weighed in
- HR 2959
#30 The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act
To provide a national standard in accordance with which nonresidents of a State may carry concealed firearms in the State.
3,478 people weighed in
- HR 793
#31 The Firearm Safety and Buyback Grant Act
To impose an excise tax on concealable firearms and to require the Attorney General to establish a firearms buyback grant program.
3,466 people weighed in
- HR 431
#32 The Gun Transparency and Accountability (Gun TRAC) Act
To restore certain authorities of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to administer the firearms laws.
3,440 people weighed in
- HR 965
#33 Banning Saturday Night Specials.
To prohibit the possession or transfer of junk guns, also known as Saturday Night Specials.
3,276 people weighed in
- HR 1369
#34 The Firearm Risk Protection Act
To prohibit the sale of a firearm to, and the purchase of a firearm by, a person who is not covered by appropriate liability insurance coverage.
3,256 people weighed in
- HR 321
#35 The Firearm Safety and Public Health Research Act
To amend the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2013 (Public Law 112-175) to permit research on firearms safety and gun violence.
3,221 people weighed in
- HR 2910
#36 The Gun Violence Prevention and Reduction Act
To protect American children and their families from the epidemic of gun violence by banning access to certain weapons, strengthening the Nation's mental health infrastructure, and improving the understanding of gun violence.
3,116 people weighed in
- S 691
#37 High-Capacity Ammunition Magazine Ban
To regulate large capacity ammunition feeding devices.
3,035 people weighed in
- HR 427
#38 The Trafficking Reduction and Criminal Enforcement (TRACE) Act
To prevent the illegal sale of firearms.
2,970 people weighed in
- HR 578
#39 The Respecting States’ Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act
To allow reciprocity for the carrying of certain concealed firearms.
2,962 people weighed in
- HR 3018
#40 The Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Communities Act
To increase the excise tax and special occupational tax in respect of firearms and to increase the transfer tax on any other weapon.
2,864 people weighed in
- HR 2465
#41 The Recognizing Gun Violence as a Public Health Emergency Act
To require the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service to submit to Congress an annual report on the effects of gun violence on public health.
2,757 people weighed in
- S 179
#42 The Gun Trafficking Prevention Act
To prevent gun trafficking.
2,716 people weighed in
- HR 955
#43 The Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act
To increase public safety by punishing and deterring firearms trafficking.
2,604 people weighed in
- HR 1474
#44 The Undetectable Firearms Modernization Act
To reauthorize the ban on undetectable firearms, and to extend the ban to undetectable firearm receivers and undetectable ammunition magazines.
2,577 people weighed in
- S 1335
To protect and enhance opportunities for recreational hunting, fishing, and shooting.
2,565 people weighed in
- S 54
#46 The Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act
To increase public safety by punishing and deterring firearms trafficking.
2,495 people weighed in
- HR 452
#47 The Gun Trafficking Prevention Act
To prevent gun trafficking.
2,461 people weighed in
- HR 93
#48 The Fire Sale Loophole Closing Act
To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to restrict the ability of a person whose Federal license to import, manufacture, or deal in firearms has been revoked, whose application to renew such a license has been denied, or who has received a license revocation or renewal denial notice, to transfer business inventory firearms.
2,344 people weighed in
- HR 332
#49 The Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act
To provide victims of gun violence access to the same civil remedies as are available to those injured through other means.
2,149 people weighed in
- HCR 23
#50 House Resolution
Expressing concerns about the US becoming a signatory to the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty, or to any similar agreement on the arms trade.
2,128 people weighed in
- SCR 7
Expressing concerns about the US becoming a signatory to the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty, or to any similar agreement on the arms trade.
1,916 people weighed in
- S 1149
#52 The Undetectable Firearms Modernization Act
To reauthorize the ban on undetectable firearms, and to extend the ban to undetectable firearm receivers and undetectable ammunition magazines.
1,806 people weighed in
- HR 848
#53 The Armed Prohibited Persons Act
To make grants to States to develop systems to retrieve firearms from armed prohibited persons.
1,738 people weighed in
- HRes 40
#54 House Resolution
Expressing that active duty military personnel who are stationed or residing in the District of Columbia should be permitted to exercise fully their rights under the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
1,720 people weighed in
- HR 1565
#55 The Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act
To protect Second Amendment rights, ensure that all individuals who should be prohibited from buying a firearm are listed in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and provide a responsible and consistent background check process.
1,681 people weighed in
- HRes 318
#56 House Resolution
Expressing disapproval over the gun violence plaguing America's communities, and calling on the Congress to enact comprehensive gun reforms that reduce gun violence.
1,608 people weighed in
- S 1337
To promote the tracing of firearms used in crimes.
1,571 people weighed in
- HR 720
#58 The Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act
To increase public safety by permitting the Attorney General to deny the transfer of a firearm or the issuance of firearms or explosives licenses to a known or suspected dangerous terrorist.
1,556 people weighed in
- HR 2567
#59 The Child Handgun Safety Act
To require that all handguns manufactured, sold in, or imported into, the United States incorporate technology that precludes the average five year old child from operating the handgun when it is ready to fire.
1,546 people weighed in
- HR 404
#60 The Straw Purchaser Penalty Enhancement Act
To enhance criminal penalties for straw purchasers of firearms.
1,528 people weighed in
- HR 661
#61 The Tiahrt Restrictions Repeal Act
To repeal certain impediments to the administration of the firearms laws.
1,400 people weighed in
- HR 2648
#62 Prohibiting firearms sales to certain classes of high-risk individuals
To prohibit the sale or other disposition of a firearm to, and the possession, shipment, transportation, or receipt of a firearm by, certain classes of high-risk individuals.
1,378 people weighed in
- HR 2464
#63 The Improving Gun Safety Standards Act
To remove the exclusion of pistols, revolvers, and other firearms from the definition of "consumer product" in order to permit the issuance of safety standards for such articles by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
1,378 people weighed in
- S 843
#64 The Ammunition Management for More Accountability (AMMO) Act
To limit the amount of ammunition purchased or possessed by certain Federal agencies for a 6-month period.
1,269 people weighed in
- HR 2665
#65 To ensure secure gun storage and gun safety devices.
Repealing exceptions to the prohibition against a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer transferring a firearm to any person other than a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer unless the transferee is provided with a secure gun storage or safety device;
1,250 people weighed in
- HR 1764
#66 The Ammunition Management for More Accountability (AMMO) Act
To limit the amount of ammunition purchased or possessed by certain Federal agencies for a 6-month period.
1,209 people weighed in
- HR 449
#67 The Veterans' Heritage Firearms Act
To provide an amnesty period during which veterans and their family members can register certain firearms in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
1,133 people weighed in
- HR 3626
#68 Banning undetectable firearms.
To extend the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 for 10 years. –Passed by Congress–
1,088 people weighed in
- S 146
#69 The School Safety Enhancements Act
To enhance the safety of America's schools.
957 people weighed in
- HR 2277
#70 Eliminating the sporting purposes distinction in the gun laws.
Repeals provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and the federal criminal code distinguishing firearms used or suitable for sporting, recreational, or cultural purposes from firearms used generally.
941 people weighed in
- HR 3199
#71 The Safe Military Bases Act
To safeguard military and civilian personnel on military bases by repealing bans on military personnel carrying firearms.
937 people weighed in
- HR 1605
#72 The Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act
To protect Second Amendment rights, ensure that all individuals who should be prohibited from buying a firearm are listed in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and provide a responsible and consistent background check process.
926 people weighed in
- HR 577
#73 The Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act
To clarify the conditions under which certain persons may be treated as adjudicated mentally incompetent for certain purposes.
924 people weighed in
- S 729
#74 The Disarm Criminals and Protect Communities Act
To protect law abiding citizens by preventing criminals from obtaining firearms.
894 people weighed in
- S 261
#75 The No Firearms for Foreign Felons Act
To establish and clarify that Congress does not authorize persons convicted of dangerous crimes in foreign courts to freely possess firearms in the United States.
810 people weighed in
- S 443
#76 The Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act
To increase public safety by punishing and deterring firearms trafficking.
782 people weighed in
- S 730
#77 The Firearm Straw Purchasing and Trafficking Prevention Act
To prevent criminals from obtaining firearms through straw purchasing and trafficking.
772 people weighed in
- HR 3643
#78 The Undetectable Firearms Modernization Act
To reauthorize the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 for 10 years and to close a loophole in the Act.
762 people weighed in
- HR 722
#79 Detectives Nemorin and Andrews Anti-Gun Trafficking Act
To combat illegal gun trafficking.
758 people weighed in
- HR 868
#80 The Safer Neighborhoods Gun Buyback Act
To make grants to States, units of local government, and gun dealers to conduct gun buyback programs.
756 people weighed in
- HR 3335
#81 The Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act
To update certain procedures applicable to commerce in firearms and remove certain Federal restrictions on interstate firearms transactions.
727 people weighed in
- HR 2408
#82 Banning the tracking of gun purchases.
To prohibit the Department of Justice from tracking and cataloguing the purchases of multiple rifles and shotguns.
722 people weighed in
- HR 3483
#83 The Protecting Individual Liberties and States' Rights Act
To provide exceptions from the firearm prohibitions otherwise applicable in relation to marijuana if its possession is lawful under State law.
711 people weighed in
- HR 1728
#84 The Enforce Existing Gun Laws Act
To repeal certain appropriations riders that limit the ability of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to administer the Federal firearms laws.
675 people weighed in
- HR 2625
#85 The Student Protection Act
Would end the practice of using federal taxpayer dollars to subsidize schools that enforce "Zero Tolerance" policies, according to the bill sponsor.
673 people weighed in
- S 1212
#86 The Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act
To facilitate the establishment of additional or expanded public target ranges in certain States. (And HR 2463.)
610 people weighed in
- HR 619
To amend title 18, United States Code, to place limitations on the possession, sale, and other disposition of a firearm by persons convicted of misdemeanor sex offenses against children.
598 people weighed in
- HR 1914
#88 The Preventing Victims of Stalking Act
To ban guns for persons who have been convicted of stalking or who are subject to a court order restraining the person from stalking.
588 people weighed in
- HR 2799
#89 The Sportsmen's Heritage And Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act
To establish the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council Advisory Committee to advise the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture on wildlife and habitat conservation, hunting, recreational shooting.
581 people weighed in
- HR 2405
#90 The Firearm Recidivist Sentencing Act
To clarify the circumstances under which the enhanced penalty provisions for subsequent convictions apply.
526 people weighed in
- S 903
#91 The Alien Gun Violence Prevention Act
To prevent the sale of firearms to all “nonimmigrant aliens” and require any non-U.S. citizen attempting to purchase a firearm to reside for at least 90 days in the state of purchase, according to the bill sponsor.
525 people weighed in
- HR 751
#92 The Protect America’s Schools Act
To make supplemental appropriations for the Cops in Schools program for fiscal year 2013.
491 people weighed in
- HR 3484
To prohibit certain individuals from possessing a firearm in an airport.
430 people weighed in
- HR 3197
#94 The SHARE Act
To protect and enhance opportunities for recreational hunting, fishing, and shooting.
370 people weighed in
- HR 1883
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for a deduction for the purchase of secure gun storage or safety device for the securing of firearms.
341 people weighed in
- HR 2361
#96 The PHEASANT Act
To limit the authority of States and local governments to impose new taxes, or to increase rates of existing taxes, payable with respect to the sale of certain firearms or ammunition or payable for background checks incident to sales of firearms or ammunition.
335 people weighed in
- HR 3689
#97 The Second Amendment Enforcement Act
To restore Second Amendment rights in the District of Columbia.
226 people weighed in
- S 1505
#98 The Hunting, Fishing, and Recreational Shooting Protection Act
To amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to clarify the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency with respect to certain sporting good articles, and to exempt those articles from definition under that Act.
202 people weighed in
- HR 3566
#99 The Domestic Violence Criminal Disarmament Act
"Would encourage states to adopt baseline policies that (1.) require officials to routinely take into account whether a gun is present in a serious domestic violence situation and (2.) take steps to protect the victim by removing the gun from the equation if it is illegally possessed or determined to be a threat to the victim," according to bill sponsor.
53 people weighed in
- HR 3590
#100 The SHARE Act
To protect and enhance opportunities for recreational hunting, fishing, and shooting.
43 people weighed in
- S 1660
#101 The SPORT Act
To protect and enhance opportunities for recreational hunting, fishing, and shooting.
29 people weighed in
Please keep in mind that highlighting a bill doesn't imply a POPVOX endorsement in any way. Rather, we're simply trying to offer one more way to stay informed of an overwhelmingly complex legislative system.
