U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Georgia

It will probably come as no surprise to most TTAG readers that a gun-ban advocate in the U.S. Congress has once again introduced a measure to ban many semi-automatic rifles used commonly and legally for plinking, competition, hunting and self-defense.

Last week, in celebration of “Gun Violence Awareness Month,” Democrat U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath introduced HR 8600, the “Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion Act (GOSAFE), in the House. A similar bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate last November but hasn’t gained any traction in that body.

In the past, such proposed bans have used a combination of cosmetic features and lists of specific firearms that would be restricted. This measure would specifically targets rifles, shotguns and pistols that use any sort of spent propellant gasses to cycle the action during the reloading process.

While the language of the measure is not yet available, the earlier stated: “The term ‘semi-automatic firearm’ means any firearm that upon initiating the firing sequence, fires the first chambered cartridge and uses a portion of the energy of the firing cartridge to extract the expended cartridge case; chamber the next round; and prepare the firing mechanism to fire again; requires a separate pull, release, push or initiation of the trigger to fire each cartridge; and is not a machine gun.”

“The GOSAFE Act honors our constitutional rights while keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of those who should not have them,” McBath said in a press release announcing the measure. “I thank Senator Heinrich and our partners for their support in bringing about this common-sense piece of legislation. The American people deserve to live free, healthy lives safe from the horror of gun violence—this is an important step in making that a reality.”

Of course, gun-ban advocates from various anti-Second Amendment groups were thrilled with McBath’s announcement and were happy to lie about the guns the legislation targets.

“As weapons of war have become commonplace in America, so has the unfathomable carnage they wreak on our communities,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, a group that has everything to do with banning guns and nothing to do with safety. “We applaud Representative McBath for introducing innovative legislation that would regulate assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, which are capable of creating devastating destruction in an instant. We urge Representative McBath’s colleagues to pass this bill before yet another community is forever scarred by someone filled with hate and armed with an AR-15.”

The group Moms Demand Action also got in on cheering for the latest proposed gun ban. And like Feinblatt, MDA Executive Director Angela Ferrel-Zabala chose to focus on the lie that AR-15-style firearms are “military-grade” and “weapons of war.”

“The GOSAFE Act is a common-sense bill that will keep our communities safe while respecting the Second Amendment,” Ferrell-Zabala said. “Military-style weapons, designed for battlefield destruction, have no place in our neighborhoods. We are grateful to Representative McBath for leading the charge on this groundbreaking legislation to stop the senseless mass shootings that devastate our communities.”

The measure has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration.

If such a ridiculous measure were passed, depending on how the language is written, it could ultimately not just target AR-style rifles as many of its proponents are opining. It could also ban many common semi-automatic shotguns used for hunting as well, since most of those guns use gas to cycle sequential rounds.

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49 COMMENTS

      • The stupidity of these people has no limits, but when one is brainless it should be no surprise.

        • She probably thinks there is carbon being expelled from the use of gas, thereby causing the calamity of global warming. 😂

        • I wonder if she thought “gas-operated” is the same as gasoline powered and are contributing to carbon emissions.

          Don’t underestimate the stupidity of politicians and those who vote for them. 100 IQ is a median so half are under that.

  2. Maybe we need to create laws that expect parents to be drug free, go to parenting classes, eliminate (anti)social media, eliminate Leftist filth from classrooms, establish consequences for choices (both good and bad, and other such supports to create and raise healthy children. Then perhaps violence would decrease some. But these Marxists are creating violence by trying to eliminate guns. Gun bans result in more reliance on other means such as knives, clubs, cars etc. The outlaws pick up weapons on the black market and then use them on citizens who no longer have the means to defend themselves.
    Of course this is what the Marxocrats want in the end. Violence to us. Every country that has been disarmed eliminates millions of defenseless people.

    So McBath and the rest of you: “Come and take it.”

  5. Following the same logic, to ban drunk driving, we should outlaw the F150 pickup, the vehicle cited the most in dwi incidents (purely due to the sheer number of them out on the roads) – and also any other vehicles with doors, an engine, and seating for passengers.
    Totally reasonable, right komrade LaBath ?

    • No,,, , Because anybody that drives an F150 is a Yee Yee rebel flag flying Trump voting beer drinking devil may care truckem up C&W music powered gravelnmud slinging corner sliding maniac. There could be six running F150’s and the death toll would still be higher then them Dodge Ram owners, well cause they rammed the piston right through the block and no matter how many Tundra jumps you get it ain’t gonna start, so that really ain’t fair but,,,,,
      Chev err in the ditch and let a Ford go by, I got people to kill.
      Yee Yee.

  7. if “Military-style weapons, designed for battlefield destruction, have no place in our neighborhoods”, then why does every local police cruiser in America come equipped with them?

    If these rifles are designed only for killing the greatest number of people in the shortest amount of time, then what legitimate civic purpose do they serve in the hands of….traffic cops?

    How does infringing our right to keep and bear arms by banning an entire category of the most popular rifle in America, in any way “honor our Second Amendment rights?”

    I propose an amendment to your GOSAFE Act, Congresswoman, to rename it to the GOFY Act.

  8. There needs to be a bill to hold idiots like Rep. McBath accountable for not only failing to uphold her oath to Congress but to somehow recompense the taxpayer for the lost time and money that a POS legislation like this causes.

  10. hunter is guilty. The big guy’s bag man got convicted on the gun charges.

    Now to charge him and jill and kamala with elder abuse.

    • Except if you read the wording of the bill it only requires the action to be operated by the gas of firing the round.

      You can bet that every anti-gun lawyer and group will argue that every system that isn’t a revolver or otherwise MANUALLY operated to load the next round is “gas operated”, even roller block and direct blow-back systems.

      At some point they will argue that the gasses from the end of the muzzle trigger the reflex to reload and so even manual systems are gas operated.

  12. Like I said from the get go, hunter biden is guilty for breaking the rules his daddy helped pen. And unlike for POTUS DJT hunter’s appeals will be futile. fhb. fjb.

    TRUMP 2024.

      • No way!
        Dementia Joe ruled out a pardon!
        OTOH, he wasn’t asked about COMMUTATION of sentence.

        Oh who are we kidding? We all know he’ll give Hunter a full pardon and top it off with one of those sheet eating false teeth grins to boot…plus maybe one of those creepy whispers about him saving democracy.

        Gag me.

    • use a downsized mechanism of a revolver cannon such as the Aden. A stepping motor that advances the cylinder only one round will keep it semiautomatic.

  14. Immediately as soon as I see any variant of “protects our Constitutional Rights while…” I stop reading, hope whomever is saying it has some sort of horrendous medical accident that ruins their life, and then move on. I am that sick of being lied to and treated like an imbecile.

  15. Again nothing about protecting our schools and children and adults that go there. We are what up to $200 billion or more for Ukraine but can’t find a dime to harden our schools. Just more Scotch tape for the “gun free safe zone” signs that they put on the doors that they allege will keep out mentally ill maniacal shooters from massacres at schools. These Marxists are nuts or they want the mass shootings to push their disarm the law abiding citizen BS. ATF shot that airport executive in the head in his home when they forced their way in yet I never hear them doing that in the gang infested ghettos where they use using Chinese Glock switches to make their Glock’s full auto. Something stinks really bad.

  16. The language defining “semi-auto” per this article would ban all semiautos, not just gas operated – given that current designs l know of all use “a portion of the energy from the spent cartridge”. The “people who should not have them” would refer to all civilians, apparently. I couldn’t translate the “honors our Constitutional Rights” language unless she refers to the 1st Amendment protecting her right to lie like a rug…

  17. Pistols. It says pistols. Unless it is limited to AR/AK style pistols, that means every Glock, every 1911, every thing other than revolvers would be banned. Am I reading that wrong? This ban may be limited to semiauto pistols with mags over 10 rounds, but what do I know?

    • Mark N.,

      I think it would apply to ALL semi-automatic firearms because the wording (quoted in this article) refers to “energy” from the cartridge that just fired. That term energy means any form of energy from the fired cartridge. And any form includes gas pressure (both direct gas impingement as well as gas-driven piston and even direct blow-back), recoil energy, and even heat.

      The really stupid part about such legislation is that an evil spree-killer could cycle a pump-action shotgun amazingly fast using the “slam fire” method, which coupled with #00 buckshot, would enable said spree killer to launch something like 63 .33 caliber projectiles in about 4 seconds. That is a rate of fire (of sorts) much faster than most machine guns, let alone semi-auto firearms. Thus the stated objective of their legislation fails on its face.

      Of course we all know that their stated objective is not their true objective anyway.

  18. I could have a functioning prototype of a Pneumatic or Electric System to cycle the action of the gun once the trigger is released in a single weekend.

  20. In the final analysis, we all know it’s not the type of weapon, ANY type of weapon, it’s the person who would cause violence and mayhem. If someone is determined to do that they will find a way. Timothy McVeigh comes to mind immediately and he killed, what, 168 people. And, guess what? No firearms of any kind involved.

  23. we really need to stand together and start treating these democrats as exactly what they are.. domestic terrorists.. enough fkn’ b.s. already they aren’t politicians .. they are terrorists trying to overthrow the Constitution..

    • JimB,

      Or tell her that we converted all of them to zero carbon emmisions renewable SOLAR power. That will really excite her!

    • Ben,

      The answer to your question depends on your notion of “suitable”.

      In terms of easy to shoot (which means not complicated along with low recoil), then yes an AR15 is a nice choice for a beginner.

      In terms of cleaning and lubricating, an AR15 may not be the best choice for a beginner. Both require minor disassembly to access the barrel, chamber, and bolt carrier group. And less frequent super detailed cleaning/lubrication requires disassembling the bolt carrier group which is a tiny bit involved. (You may even want to clean the fire control group and buffer tube every so often as well which also involves additional minor disassembly.)

      If you have minimal mechanical skills and can follow “how to …” videos on the Internet, then you should be in good shape as a beginner AR15 owner.

    • Ben,

      I definitely prefer a low power variable optic (“LPVO”) over red dot sights on AR15s. My main two reasons are that a low power variable optic does not require batteries to function and you can dial magnification for accurate shots at long ranges (beyond 200 yards or so). Of course you can/should keep 1x magnification (which really means no manification) for close range shooting which is nice because you can keep both eyes open.

  30. What are we talking about about here. Gas operated or recoil operated? They are not the same. It once again shows these clueless pols and ignorant writers know nothing about what they’re talking about about!

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