Flake says he’s working on bipartisan bill that would raise age to buy AR-15
Feb 21, 2018, 3:22 PM
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
PHOENIX — U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said Wednesday that he was working on a bipartisan bill that would raise the minimum age to buy a rifle, including the AR-15.
In a tweet, the senator said “a kid too young to buy a handgun should be too young to buy an AR-15.”
In most states, those 18 and older can purchase a rifle, while they have to be 21 to purchase handguns.
Flake’s bill, which he was working on with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), would raise the minimum age to buy a rifle to 21.
President Donald Trump’s administration may be open to such a bill hitting the president’s desk. During a media briefing on Tuesday, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said an age limit was under consideration.
“I think that’s certainly something that’s on the table for us to discuss and that we expect to come up over the next couple of weeks,” she said.
Semi-automatic rifles — the AR-15 in particular — have come under scrutiny in recent months as they have become a favored weapon of multiple mass shooters.
One was allegedly used during last week’s school shooting in Florida that left at least 17 dead, while others were used in shootings in Nevada, Texas, California and other states.
On Tuesday, Trump said his administration was looking at a ban on certain modifications to the weapons, including a “bump stock,” which is a device that greatly increases the firing rate of the gun.