Congress exempts new weapons from gun rules in the name of de-escalation

What it does

This bill exempts less-than-lethal weapons (devices firing projectiles at under 500 feet per second, designed not to cause death or serious injury, and unable to accept standard firearm ammunition) from federal firearms regulations and excise taxes. Law enforcement and manufacturers can request Attorney General or Treasury Department certification within 90 days; the government must maintain and annually update public lists of approved devices and report to Congress on borderline cases.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a regulatory and tax exemption for less-lethal weapons, framed as supporting de-escalation. The civic effect turns on whether the exemption is narrowly tailored to genuinely non-lethal devices or creates a loophole for weapons that can cause serious harm.

What the text implies

• The 500 fps velocity threshold is not tied to any established safety standard for non-lethal weapons; devices at 499 fps may cause serious injury depending on projectile mass and target area, creating a false binary.
• Manufacturers can self-petition for classification with a 90-day government response window; if Treasury/DOJ does not respond, the device may be treated as approved by default, shifting burden to regulators.
• The exemption from National Firearms Act (NFA) registration means devices that might otherwise require serial numbers, registration, or dealer licensing now avoid that tracking entirely.
• Annual congressional reporting on 'borderline' devices (those exceeding 500 fps) suggests the government expects significant gray-area weapons; the bill does not specify what happens to devices on that list or whether they remain taxable.
• Law enforcement agencies gain immediate access to unregulated less-lethal weapons without requiring officers to demonstrate training or accountability for use, potentially enabling escalation rather than de-escalation.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Citizens benefit from law enforcement access to de-escalation alternatives that may reduce lethal force incidents; however, the bill creates a new category of weapons exempt from firearms regulation with minimal safety guardrails, and the 500 fps velocity threshold and self-certification pathway may allow devices designed to cause serious injury to escape oversight.

Who stands to gain

• less-lethal weapons manufacturers
• law enforcement equipment suppliers
• firearms accessory makers (if devices can be modified to accept standard ammunition)

Named in the bill

Attorney General, Secretary of the Treasury, House Committee on Ways and Means, Senate Committee on Finance, less-than-lethal projectile device manufacturers, law enforcement agencies

Where it stands

95 cosponsors: 72 Republicans, 23 Democrats.

• Mar 18, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Mar 18, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
• Nov 18, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Nov 20, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 18 - 8”
• Feb 12, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 233 - 185 (Roll no. 70).”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

15 lobbying clients named this bill on 22 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $5,515,548 in lobbying spend. A filing names 4 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 95% of bills with at least one filing.

Scott Fitzgerald, the sponsor, reported $915,000 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle. $7,000 of that came from 1 PAC tied to these lobbying clients.

• National Shooting Sports Foundation — $4,270,000 on 2 filings
• National Association for Gun Rights — $429,548 on 2 filings
• Axon Enterprise, Inc. — $140,000 on 2 filings
• Axon Enterprise, Inc. — $120,000 on 2 filings
• Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund — $110,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 22, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.