What Is the GOSAFE Act?

There’s a common denominator in many of the deadliest mass shootings: assault weapons. Assault weapons are much deadlier than traditional firearms. These weapons were designed for battle, allowing for rapid shooting and reloading in combat. But because the gun industry chooses to make, market, and sell assault weapons to civilians, our communities have suffered. We have tragically seen the damage these weapons can inflict in a matter of moments.

Currently, ten states and Washington, D.C., prohibit assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Assault weapons bans have been proven to reduce gun violence, making them an important tool in preventing unnecessary bloodshed. Like the previous federal assault weapons ban that expired in 2004, these state laws define assault weapons as semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns that have certain military-style features, such as the ability to accept detachable magazines. These features increase a weapon’s lethality by making it easier to control in rapid fire, for example, or easier to hide. This way of regulating assault weapons is sometimes called a “features test.”

But there’s another approach to regulating assault weapons—based on how these firearms operate instead of their features. Federal legislation called the GOSAFE Act would regulate assault weapons by targeting their gas operating systems. These systems are what allow assault weapons to fire so quickly and do so much damage.

Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) introduced the GOSAFE Act in the U.S. Senate in November 2023, and Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA) introduced it in the House of Representatives in June 2024. The bill was reintroduced in both chambers on April 9, 2025. This blog post will tell you everything you need to know about the GOSAFE Act, so read on for more.

A quick note: As gun safety advocates, we support both approaches to regulating assault weapons. Gun manufacturers should no longer be allowed to sell the guns used in the nation’s deadliest mass shootings to civilians.

What is the GOSAFE Act?

The Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion (GOSAFE) Act prohibits the manufacture, sale, transfer, and receipt of certain gas-operated semi-automatic weapons as well as high-capacity magazines that hold 10 or more rounds of ammunition. Magazines store ammunition and feed it into a gun. 

Similarly, the GOSAFE Act prohibits conversion devices, including auto sears and bump stocks. The bill also includes funding for buyback programs for gun owners who decide they no longer want to own a gun that is subject to the GOSAFE Act. 

The GOSAFE Act is narrowly tailored to target the guns that are often used in mass shootings, particularly semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15 and AK-47. The GOSAFE Act aims to reduce gun violence while protecting the right to own a wide variety of firearms.

What firearms does the GOSAFE Act allow?

The GOSAFE Act does not prohibit the firearms that people commonly use for hunting, recreational shooting and protection, including:

• Revolvers and recoil-operated pistols (which include over 90 percent of the handgun market);
• Manually operated firearms;
• .22-caliber (rimfire) weapons that are not modeled after AR-15s;
• Semi-automatic shotguns; and
• Semi-automatic rifles with permanently fixed magazines* that hold 10 or fewer rounds, or handguns with permanently fixed magazines that hold 15 or fewer rounds, and that cannot be converted to accept more ammunition.

Why gas-operated guns?

Semi-automatic firearms are typically either recoil-operated or gas-operated. The GOSAFE Act targets gas operation because it is what powers all semi-automatic rifles, allowing shooters to fire dozens of shots in seconds. These are the kinds of guns used in the deadliest mass shootings, such as AR-15s and AK-47s. 

The gun industry also argues that the features targeted by state assault weapons bans are purely “cosmetic.” This criticism has never been accurate. We know what assault weapons are, and we know what they cost our communities. The GOSAFE Act addresses this unfounded gun lobby claim by taking features out of the equation. Instead, this legislation focuses on the internal gas operating systems of these weapons. Both a features test model and the GOSAFE Act are life-saving assault weapons bans that are major wins for public safety and our communities. 

How does a gas-operated gun work?

A gas-operated gun uses gas to reload and fire bullets. When the trigger is pulled, there is a small explosion. That explosion releases gas that propels the bullet forward through the barrel. Some gas pushes the bullet out of the gun while the rest is redirected through a gas tube that sits above the barrel. 

The redirected gas hits the bolt and moves it backward, ejecting the empty cartridge from the chamber. A spring then pushes the bolt forward again, loading a new cartridge from the top of the magazine into the gun. You probably took a minute to read this description—but the whole process happens in milliseconds. That’s why gas-operated guns are so dangerous. 

Why does the gun industry sell so many assault weapons, and how does the GOSAFE Act help hold the gun industry accountable?

Assault weapons have become a cash cow for the gun industry since the federal assault weapons ban expired in 2004. Simply put, these guns are cheap to manufacture but can be sold for several thousand dollars. And because the gun industry is uniquely shielded from the harm its products cause, it has been able to market and sell these military-style weapons to civilians for decades.

In 2005, Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). This law broadly shields the gun industry from most legal liability stemming from acts of gun violence. No gun manufacturer accused of negligence has gone to trial since the law was enacted. The gun industry isn’t legally required or otherwise incentivized to adopt safer business practices, so they won’t. No matter how many people die from gun violence. 

But it doesn’t have to be this way. The automotive, tobacco, and pharmaceutical industries have reformed their business practices after being held accountable for endangering lives—and our communities are safer for it. Cars now have seatbelts and other safety devices. Tobacco companies have restrictions on marketing. Opioid manufacturers must closely monitor the production and distribution of their drugs. Unfortunately, despite calls for reform, the gun industry has yet to follow suit.

Recognizing the rights of gun owners and promoting public safety can coexist. The federal GOSAFE Act does both. We cannot allow the gun industry to keep prioritizing profit by selling military-grade firearms that are too often used in heinous acts of violence. Whether this check on the industry comes in the form of state-level assault weapons bans or the federal GOSAFE Act, both are strong solutions to protect our families and communities.