Bill prohibits gun ownership for violent juvenile offenders

Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) has introduced a bill that would stop juvenile offenders from buying a gun once they turn 18.

Under the law, anyone who is convicted of a crime and serves more than one year cannot buy a gun. But Israel argues juvenile offenders are often given more lenient sentences because of their age.

{mosads}“It’s scary to think that someone who committed a violent crime as a minor could easily purchase a gun just a few years later because of a loophole in current law,” Israel said.

Israel’s Preventing Gun Violence Act would add individuals who commit “violent juvenile acts” to the list of those excluded from owning a gun regardless of the length of their sentence.

“In order to keep our communities safe, we must expand the Brady Bill to prevent juvenile defenders from getting guns,” Israel said. “That’s why I’m proposing common-sense legislation that will keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have them.”

Israel’s bill is unlikely to get a vote in the Republican-controlled House.