H.R. 10583, filed September 24th by a California politician, Rep. Kevin Mullin, would make most serious pellet rifles “firearms” under the federal Gun Control Act. Buying one from a store would mean a federal background check, a serial number on the gun, federal paperwork on the sale and a federal license for the company that made it. The bill also lets the Attorney General add any other air gun he decides is “capable of causing death.” As of October 5th it had zero cosponsors and no hearing, and the Pennsylvania Firearms Association wants to keep it that way.
| I OPPOSE H.R. 10583 |
Can’t see the button? Sign the petition against H.R. 10583 here.
Federal paperwork for a pellet rifle?
That’s what H.R. 10583 would mean at the store.
Plenty of Pennsylvania hunters learned to shoot on a pellet rifle in the backyard, years before their first deer season. Now a California politician wants that pellet rifle to come with a federal background check.
The bill is H.R. 10583. Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-CA-15) filed it on September 24th, and it’s sitting in the House Judiciary Committee. Its title says exactly what it does: it’s a bill “to classify lethal air guns as firearms” under federal law.
I read the bill. Here’s what it would mean the next time you buy a pellet rifle from a store.
Buying a pellet rifle at a store
Today
Federal gun law doesn’t treat it as a firearm.
Under H.R. 10583
☐ Legally a “firearm” under the federal Gun Control Act
☐ Federal background check run by the dealer
☐ Serial number on the gun
☐ Federal paperwork kept on the sale
☐ A federal firearms license for the company that made it, and for the store that sold it
Which air guns get swept in
The bill calls them “lethal air guns,” and it draws the line by caliber and speed:
- A .177 pellet at 800 feet per second or faster
- A .22 pellet at 500 feet per second or faster
- A .25 pellet at 450 feet per second or faster
- Any metallic pellet above .25 caliber, no matter how slow
The only guns the bill carves out are ones that fire nothing but paint-filled pellets. Everything else that hits those numbers is in, and that’s most serious pellet rifles sold today.
A backyard pellet rifle shouldn’t come with federal paperwork.
The line that should worry you most
Tucked into the definition is this: the Attorney General can designate any other air gun as a “lethal air gun,” through rulemaking, if he decides it’s “capable of causing death.” There’s no limit on that standard anywhere in the bill.
The Red Ryder isn’t on the list today. Daisy rates it at up to 350 feet per second, well under the line. But the bill lets the Attorney General add any air gun he deems “capable of causing death.” Today it’s 800 feet per second. The bill already gives the Attorney General a blank check to decide which air guns come next.
Giffords and March For Our Lives both endorsed it in Mullin’s announcement.
Pennsylvania gun owners have heard the same two lines for decades. “What do you need an AR-15 for?” And: “Nobody’s coming for your hunting rifle.” We were supposed to take that second one as a promise.
Now they’re writing federal gun control for the backyard air rifle a kid learns on before his first deer season, and leaving the Attorney General room to add BB guns or any other air gun through rulemaking. If something that innocent is fair game, you’d better believe the Left won’t be satisfied until we’re disarmed of every possible tool we could use to defend ourselves.
Why I want your name on this now
As of October 5th, H.R. 10583 had zero cosponsors and no hearing. I’d like to keep it that way. The cheapest time to stop a gun control bill is before a second politician signs on.
Add your name to the Pennsylvania Firearms Association petition against H.R. 10583.
| I OPPOSE H.R. 10583 |
Or sign the petition against H.R. 10583 here.
Once you’ve signed: bills like this one get filed, collect endorsements and wait for their moment, and it takes resources to keep watching them. If you can spare it, chip in $17.76 to help PFA keep fighting federal gun control.
For Freedom,
Rob Knisley
Political Director
Pennsylvania Firearms Association
P.S. The bill doesn’t stop at its four numbers. It lets the Attorney General add any air gun he decides is “capable of causing death.” Sign the petition against H.R. 10583.