Collins Responds to Proposed Keep Americans Safe Act

U.S. Representative for the 9th District, Doug Collins, says a proposed Keep Americans Safe Act will do nothing to keep Amercians safe.

Sponsored by U.S. Representative Theadore Deutch, a Democrate from Florida, House Bill 1186 would establish a new criminal offense for the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device.

The bill would exclude law enforcement.

A large capacity ammunition feeding device is defined as high-capacity magazines, and detachable firearm magazines that can hold more than a certain number of rounds of ammunition.

In his address to Congress, Collins said the data does not support enacting this measure if the goal is to save lives.

“…we are now considering a bill that, despite its name, will do nothing to make Americans safer. . . . The data simply does not support enacting this measure if the goal is to save lives. H.R. 1186 is not a reasonable limit on magazine capacity. It’s an arbitrary limit on Americans’ right to self-defense that will ensure only criminals possess these items and use them to victimize law-abiding citizens,” he said.

In his address, the Congressman cited a Department of Justice study on the 1994 10-year federal ban on commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms and magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

“While that ban was in place, a 1997 Department of Justice-funded study of the ban determined that “at best, the assault weapons ban can have only a limited effect on total gun murders, because the banned weapons and magazines were never involved in more than a modest fraction of all gun murders,” Collins pointed out.

A 2004 U.S. Department of Justice-funded follow-up study determined that should the ban be renewed its effects on gun violence were likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement, Collins continued.

He also cited a comprehensive study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in 2003 that looked at 51 studies covering the full array of gun-control measures, including the assault weapon ban’s magazine capacity limitation.

Collins said the CDC concluded the studies were unable to show that the limitation had reduced crime.

“If you want to disagree with the CDC, DOJ or Virginia Tech findings, I can point you to a 2018 Rand Corporation comprehensive study that surveyed the available research on several gun control policies,” Collins said. “Rand sought to determine “How Bans on the Sale of Assault Weapons and High-Capacity Magazines Affect Gun Use Outcomes.” The study concluded, “[W]e found no qualifying studies showing that bans on the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines decreased any of the eight outcomes we investigated.”

“Magazines that this bill would prohibit are common with most semiautomatic rifles and pistols. Law-abiding Americans own and use millions of these magazines safely and responsibly. There are already roughly 130 million detachable magazines. More than 30 million of these can accommodate more than 30 rounds. Many of these are not aftermarket items because manufacturers often provide magazines that accommodate 15 to 30 rounds of ammunition as standard equipment for handguns and rifles.”

“The data simply does not support enacting this measure if the goal is to save lives. H.R. 1186 is not a reasonable limit on magazine capacity. It’s an arbitrary limit on Americans’ right to self-defense that will ensure only criminals possess these items and use them to victimize law-abiding citizens,” Collins concluded.