House Passes Extension of Undetectable Firearms Act
OutdoorHub Reporters 12.04.13
The US House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to renew the Undetectable Firearms Act for another 10 years. The Act, which went into effect in 1988, bans any firearm that cannot be identified by metal detectors or airport imaging technology. With the approval of the House, the extension (H.R. 3626) will now go to the Senate for consideration.
“The fact that today’s reauthorization passed by voice vote proves that there is overwhelming bipartisan support for this law.” said Rep. Howard Coble (R-North Carolina), a key author of the bill. “While we have heard that some want to amend the bill when it arrives in the Senate, I urge our colleagues on the other side of Capitol Hill to quickly enact a clean 10-year reauthorization so that this ban on undetectable weapons will not expire.”
Another of the bill’s authors, Rep. Steve Israel (D-New York), pointed to the rising popularity of 3D-printed firearms as a reason to extend the ban.
“Security checkpoints, background checks, and gun regulations will do little good if criminals can print plastic firearms at home and bring those firearms through metal detectors with no one the wiser,” Israel said previously, shortly after the release of Cody Wilson’s plastic “Liberator” pistol. “When I started talking about the issue of plastic firearms months ago, I was told the idea of a plastic gun is science-fiction. Now that this technology appears to be upon us, we need to act now to extend the ban on plastic firearms.”
The National Rifle Association has not yet released a statement regarding its position on H.R. 3626. Through its Institute for Legislate Action website, however, the organization made it clear that the bill only extends the law that has been in place since 1988, with no expansions in what the Act will cover.
The Undetectable Firearms Act is due to expire on December 9 of this year.
