S4553Referred to Committee

Aaron Salter, Jr., Responsible Body Armor Possession Act

Share:
Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-05-18
Introduced
0
Cosponsors
S
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Kirsten E. Gillibrand
Kirsten E. Gillibrand
Democrat · NY · Senator
Votes with party: 60.4% (318 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/G000555

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (0)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

No cosponsors on record. Bills can pass without cosponsors — this often means the sponsor introduced the bill alone, either because it's a messaging bill, a chairman's mark, or simply early in the legislative cycle.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

2026-05-18

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

Currently in

Plain-English Summary

The proposal would make it illegal for regular civilians to buy, own, or have advanced protective body armor, though it would still allow law enforcement and military personnel to use it. Currently, civilians can purchase most types of body armor, but this bill would change that by restricting access to enhanced versions that provide higher levels of protection. The restriction would affect anyone outside of official government and law enforcement roles who wants to possess this type of protective equipment.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4553 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4553 To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the purchase, ownership, or possession of enhanced body armor by civilians. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 18, 2026 Mrs. Gillibrand introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the purchase, ownership, or possession of enhanced body armor by civilians. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Aaron Salter, Jr., Responsible Body Armor Possession Act''. SEC. 2. BAN ON PURCHASE, OWNERSHIP, OR POSSESSION OF ENHANCED BODY ARMOR BY CIVILIANS. (a) Ban.-- (1) In general.--Chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Sec. 935. Ban on purchase, ownership, or possession of enhanced body armor by civilians ``(a) Definition.--In this section, the term `covered law enforcement officer'-- ``(1) has the meaning given the term `qualified law enforcement officer' in section 926B and the term `qualified retired law enforcement officer' in section 926C; and ``(2) includes corrections officers. ``(b) Prohibition.--Except as provided in subsection (c), it shall be unlawful for a person to purchase, own, or possess enhanced body armor. ``(c) Exceptions.--Subsection (b) shall not apply to-- ``(1) a purchase, ownership, or possession by or under the authority of-- ``(A) the United States or any department or agency of the United States; ``(B) a State, or a department, agency, or political subdivision of a State; or ``(C) a Tribe or law enforcement agency of a Tribe; ``(2) a covered law enforcement officer; or ``(3) enhanced body armor that was lawfully possessed by any person before the date of enactment of this section.''. (2) Technical and conforming amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``935. Ban on purchase, ownership, or possession of enhanced body armor by civilians.''. (b) Enhanced Body Armor Defined.--Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(39) The term `enhanced body armor' means body armor, including a helmet or shield, the ballistic resistance of which meets or exceeds the ballistic performance of RF1 armor, determined using such standard as the National Institute of Justice has in effect at the time at which a person purchases, owns, or possesses such armor.''. (c) Penalties.--Section 924(a) of such title is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(9) Whoever knowingly violates section 935 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.''. <all>
Open clean-text viewRead on Congress.gov →

Related legislation

Bills by the same sponsor or covering overlapping subjects.