June 16, 2025

NEWS: Sen. Schiff Introduces Bill to Close Gun Resale Loophole, Keep Dangerous Firearms from Returning to California Streets

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) introduced legislation to close a gun loophole that is allowing firearms designated for destruction to be sold back into American communities and potentially into the hands of bad actors.

“Guns that are taken off our streets through law enforcement seizures or buyback programs should stay off our streets for good. Unfortunately, some companies contracted to destroy these firearms are selling off parts for a profit. This bill will eliminate the loophole that allows these companies to turn a profit off of reselling these firearms, rather than destroying them in whole, as they should. This is a commonsense step toward making our neighborhoods safer for everyone,” Senator Schiff said.

The legislation is being led in the House by Rep. Gabe Amo (D-R.I.-01), Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.-10), and Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.-10).

“Gun violence is fueled by the large number of illegal firearms flooding our streets. Unscrupulous gun disposal companies claim to destroy firearms, when, in reality, they only destroy part of the weapon before reselling the rest as a kit which can be reassembled into a gun. This is unacceptable.” said Congressman Gabe Amo. “The Firearm Destruction Licensure Act would close this loophole and ensure gun disposal companies destroy the entire firearm. I’m grateful for Senator Adam Schiff’s work and the partnership of my colleagues Congressmen Maxwell Frost and Dan Goldman to get guns off our streets, especially during National Gun Violence Awareness Month.”

“The gun violence epidemic our communities are living through is being fueled by illegal guns that shouldn’t have been on our streets in the first place. Gun destruction companies that only destroy one part of the gun and resell the rest of the gun as a kit are a huge part of this problem. We need to make sure that every single gun that is retired, seized, and surrendered to a gun disposal company actually gets destroyed, not re-sold,” said Congressman Maxwell Frost.

“Firearm buyback programs are designed to take dangerous weapons off of the street, not to be recycled and resold,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “It is outrageous that companies like GunBusters, which claim to destroy firearms, are instead profiting by reselling do-it-yourself ghost gun kits. We must require these companies to be licensed and certified. When someone turns in a gun for destruction, they deserve the basic assurance that it won’t end up back on the street.”

The bill requires companies that are contracted by local law enforcement to destroy firearms to be licensed, and adds additional guardrails to prevent guns in these programs from returning to the open market.

Many states and localities are contracting with a growing private industry to handle the dismantling and destruction of hundreds of thousands of firearms each year that have been recovered by law enforcement through criminal investigations, gun buyback programs, or from their own officers at the end of their service. This has unwittingly fueled a secondary market for firearms parts, components, and accessories that are directly contributing to the gun violence epidemic in America.

Specifically, the Firearm Destruction Licensure Act would:

  • Require those engaged in the business of firearm destruction to become licensed and certify that they will destroy all firearms received by federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement in their entirety;
  • Direct the Attorney General to prescribe the acceptable methods of firearm destruction, all of which must render a firearm and all parts, attachments, accessories, or other components unable to be restored to working condition and otherwise reduced to scrap;
  • Offset the additional costs local governments or law enforcement may incur to pay for this service by establishing a new grant program for the purposes of having these firearms destroyed.

The text of the legislation can be found here.

The bill is endorsed by Brady, Giffords, and Newtown Action Alliance.

“Every year, state and local law enforcement dispose of hundreds of thousands of firearms in their possession to firearm destruction companies for the purpose of destruction. However, many of these private companies are destroying only parts of the guns and are reselling their other components for profit — causing law enforcement to unwittingly become an incidental contributor to the criminal market. The Firearm Destruction Licensure Act of 2025 will put an end to this dangerous practice and ensure that law enforcement firearms are destroyed in their entirety so they cannot contribute to gun violence. Brady thanks Senator Schiff and Representative Amo for introducing this important bill and for their steadfast dedication to freeing America from gun violence,” said Mark Collins, Director of Federal Policy, Brady.

Schiff first introduced this legislation in 2024 while serving in the U.S. House of Representatives.  

Sen. Schiff has been a long-standing champion of commonsense gun legislation.

Earlier this month, he helped reintroduce bicameral legislation to repeal the gun industry’s liability shield, legislation that he led in the House from 2013 to 2024.

He led the reintroduction in the Senate of the Assault Weapons Ban in April. In February, Schiff also joined Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) to introduce the Age 21 Act, which would raise the minimum age to purchase certain firearms from 18 to 21.

###

Print 
Email 
Share 
Share