S. 3254
116th Congress
Senate
Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act of 2020
Official title: A bill to end the epidemic of gun violence and build safer communities by strengthening Federal firearms laws and supporting gun violence research, intervention, and prevention initiatives.
Crime and Law Enforcement
Administrative law and regulatory proceduresAssault and harassment offensesBusiness recordsCitizenship and naturalization
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Civil actions and liabilityCommunity life and organizationCongressional oversightConsumer Product Safety CommissionCrime victimsCrimes against propertyCriminal investigation, prosecution, interrogationCriminal justice information and recordsCriminal procedure and sentencingDepartment of JusticeDomestic violence and child abuseDue process and equal protectionElementary and secondary educationFirearms and explosivesGovernment information and archivesHealth facilities and institutionsHealth programs administration and fundingHealth promotion and preventive careHigher educationJudicial procedure and administrationJudicial review and appealsLaw enforcement administration and fundingLaw enforcement officersLicensing and registrationsMedical researchMental healthPersonnel recordsProduct safety and qualityReligionResearch administration and fundingRetail and wholesale tradesSales and excise taxesSmuggling and traffickingState and local government operationsTrade restrictionsViolent crime
Everywhere this bill has been
2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Feb 5, 2020
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Feb 5, 2020
Introduced in Senate
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Latest action
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Plain-English summary
Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act of 2020
This bill makes various changes to the federal framework governing the sale, transfer, and possession of firearms and ammunition. Among other things, the bill does the following:
- generally requires individuals to obtain a license to purchase, acquire, or possess a firearm or ammunition;
- raises the minimum age—from 18 years to 21 years—to purchase firearms and ammunition;
- establishes new background check requirements for firearm transfers between private parties;
- requires law enforcement agencies to be notified following a firearms-related background check that results in a denial;
- creates a statutory process for a family or household member to petition a court for an extreme risk protection order to remove firearms from an individual who poses a risk of committing violence;
- restricts the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices;
- restricts the manufacture, sale, transfer, purchase, or receipt of ghost guns (i.e., guns without serial numbers);
- makes trafficking in firearms a stand-alone criminal offense;
- requires federally licensed gun dealers to submit and annually certify compliance with a security plan to detect and deter firearm theft;
- removes limitations on the civil liability of gun manufacturers;
- allows the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue safety standards for firearms and firearm components;
- establishes a community violence intervention grant program; and
- promotes research on firearms safety and gun violence prevention.
Related & companion bills
25
Bill text
1 version
- Introduced in Senate Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
Committees of jurisdiction
1
Cosponsors
2
Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 3254: Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act of 2020. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-3254/
"S. 3254: Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act of 2020." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-3254/.
S. 3254, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-3254/.
[S. 3254: Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act of 2020](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-3254/)