A bill moving through Congress would require background checks and other firearm-level restrictions on high-powered airguns, a proposal introduced after the suicide of Garrett Edwards, a Mullin constituent who legally bought a lethal airgun online despite being prohibited from owning a gun. The measure, known as Garrett’s Law, is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin, a California Democrat representing the 15th District, and it has already drawn praise from gun-safety groups and sharp criticism from gun-rights advocates.
What Garrett’s Law Would Actually Do
Garrett’s Law would classify airguns as traditional firearms rather than the consumer products they are currently treated as. According to Shooting News Weekly, lethal airguns are currently regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission as consumer products, not by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Under the bill, that oversight would shift to the ATF, subjecting airgun owners to background checks, waiting periods and other firearm-level restrictions, per the Tampa Free Press.
Existing law already requires licensed firearms manufacturers and dealers to conduct background checks on prospective buyers, the same report notes. Mullin has argued that lethal airguns should be held to the same bar. “If a weapon is powerful enough to kill, it should be subject to the same common-sense safety standards as any other gun,” he said, according to Shooting News Weekly.
The Death That Prompted the Bill
The legislation was introduced following the suicide of Garrett Edwards, who, according to the same account, struggled with mental health issues and had been prohibited from possessing a firearm. Despite that prohibition, he legally purchased a lethal airgun online and used it to take his own life, the report states.
The bill entered the federal legislative process on September 24, 2026, when it was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, according to bill-tracking records from FastDemocracy. That referral marks the extent of the bill’s documented progress so far; it remains in the early stages of the federal legislative process, and no committee hearing, vote or further action has been recorded.
Gun-Safety Groups Back the Measure
Gun prohibition lobbying groups have voiced support for Garrett’s Law. A statement from Mullin’s office quoted GIFFORDS as urging Congress to pass the bill: “We’re glad to see Rep. Mullin introducing this legislation,” while March For Our Lives said it backs the measure as well.
Gun-Rights Advocates Push Back
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has come out against the bill. Andrew Gottlieb, speaking for the organization, said airguns are not firearms and characterized the bill as a publicity stunt aimed at law-abiding citizens and their children. He also argued that the bill’s support from gun prohibition groups signals a broader push toward restrictions beyond airguns alone.
Gottlieb said Mullin should instead promote improved mental health services rather than what he described as demonizing airguns. The CCRKBA argued that legislative attention should focus on mental healthcare rather than product regulations, framing the debate as one over the underlying cause of Garrett Edwards’s death rather than the tool involved.
