The Stop Arming Cartels Act would ban the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, and possession of new .50 caliber rifles nationwide, with an exception for use by government agencies. People who already legally own a .50 caliber rifle could keep it, but would have to register it with the federal government within a year, at no cost, and that registration could not be used against them for past possession. The bill also removes a legal shield that currently protects gun manufacturers and dealers from lawsuits when they knowingly sell weapons to people the U.S. government has identified as major foreign drug traffickers. It bars individuals designated by the Treasury Department or the President as significant foreign narcotics traffickers from buying firearms in the United States, and it requires dealers to report bulk rifle sales the same way they already report bulk handgun sales.
Civil Liberties
- Firearm possession rights — New manufacture, sale, and import of .50 caliber rifles banned nationwide, with existing owners grandfathered
- Self-incrimination protection — Information submitted to register a previously-owned .50 caliber rifle cannot be used as evidence of prior unlawful possession
Transparency & Accountability
- Multiple-sale reporting — Firearms dealers must now report bulk rifle sales, not just bulk handgun sales
Congressional Summary
Stop Arming Cartels Act of 2025This bill expands the regulation of .50 caliber rifles under federal firearms laws and authorizes new civil remedies for certain violations. Firearms that are trafficked from the United States to Mexico are often routed to transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), including cartels. In recent years, TCOs increasingly use .50 caliber rifles in attacks on Mexican security forces.In 2025, in Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) bars a civil lawsuit by Mexico against U.S. firearms manufacturers and one U.S. firearms distributor for costs associated with gun violence in Mexico. (The PLCAA limits the civil liability of firearms manufacturers and sellers for damages resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of firearms.)This bill generally criminalizes the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, and possession of .50 caliber rifles under the Gun Control Act and subjects .50 caliber rifles to regulation (i.e., registration and licensing requirements) under the National Firearms Act.Additionally, the bill criminalizes the sale or transfer of firearms and ammunition to foreign individuals or entities designated as significant foreign narcotics traffickers or as part of their networks and sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act).Finally, the bill creates an exception under the PLCAA to allow civil lawsuits against firearms manufacturers or sellers that knowingly sell or transfer a firearm or ammunition to a foreign individual or entity designated and sanctioned under the Kingpin Act.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2025-02-03
- Date Added
- 2026-07-01
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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