Warren, Kim, Garcia, Raskin Renew Fight to Keep Military-Grade Weapons Off American Streets, Out of Civilian Hands

Warren, Kim, Garcia, Raskin Renew Fight to Keep Military-Grade Weapons Off American Streets, Out of Civilian Hands

New York Times investigation revealed that ammunition from a government-owned manufacturing plant was increasingly being trafficked to Mexican cartels, including Jalisco Cartel

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Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator Andy Kim (D-N.J.), along with Representative Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, reintroduced the Stop Militarizing Our Streets Act to prohibit defense contractors and U.S. military-owned manufacturing plants from selling military-grade assault weapons and ammunition to civilians. The bill holds firearm and ammunition dealers accountable by requiring that they comply with preventative measures to remain eligible to contract with the Department of Defense (DoD).

Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) joined in co-sponsoring the bill.

"Americans' tax dollars should not be used to fuel gun violence," said Senator Warren. "Congress must step in to keep Americans safe, and that means stopping the U.S. military and giant defense contractors from selling weapons of war to cartels, criminal groups, and mass shooters that terrorize our communities."

The Lake City Army Ammunition Plant has produced ammunition that has been used in at least 12 high-profile mass shootings since 2012 and is responsible for producing a third of ammunition used in AR-15 style rifles in the U.S. market. The plant is operated by the private manufacturer Olin Winchester, which markets its relationship to the military to entice civilian customers to "use the same product selected by the US Military."

A recent New York Times investigation found Mexican cartels, like the Jalisco New Generation Cartel responsible for widespread violence in Mexico in February 2026, have also used Lake City ammunition in attacks against police and civilians, including a deadly 2019 attack in Villa Unión, Mexico.

The Stop Militarizing Our Streets Act prohibits DoD contractors from selling military-grade assault weapons and ammunition to civilians. It also requires that military contractors only sell all other firearms and ammunition to commercial dealers that follow minimum safety practices, such as maintaining a low number of crime gun traces and screening customers.

The Act also increases oversight by requiring government-owned plants to report to Congress the scale of their commercial sales and plans for avoiding the diversion of ammunition into the illegal market. The bill also requires DoD to report the types of firearms sold by military contractors and the amount of revenue those sellers receive from DoD annually.

"We should not live in a world where weapons and ammunition sold by the government end up in the hands of violent criminals and are used to devastate our own communities," said Congressman Robert Garcia. "That's why I'm proud to introduce this bill to keep weapons of war off our streets. It would require common-sense oversight, like background checks and record maintenance, and allow for congressional oversight of contractors to make sure the weapons they make don't end up in the black market."

"Weapons of war simply have no place in our communities, and it is our responsibility to keep military-grade weapons, manufactured by our own Department of Defense's contractors, out of the wrong hands. This legislation is a critical tool in our fight to end the gun violence epidemic that is tearing families apart across our country," said Senator Kim.

"As military-grade lethal weapons engineered for combat are funneled into our neighborhoods by government contractors and manufacturers, the Department of Defense must examine its role in exacerbating the gun violence epidemic," said Representative Raskin. The current cycle of production saturates our communities with firearms and ultimately arms criminals. We need to adopt industry-wide enhancements to safety and transparency standards. The Stop Militarizing Our Streets Act is a necessary intervention to ensure no more innocent lives are lost on American soil to wartime munitions that bear a government label."

This bill is endorsed by the following organizations: Everytown, Brady, Giffords, and March for Our Lives.

"The unchecked transfer of military-grade firearms and ammunition into the civilian marketplace poses serious risks to public safety. Updating purchasing and sales standards for the Department of Defense, its contractors, and downstream commercial buyers would help limit the proliferation of these weapons and reduce the likelihood of them falling into dangerous hands. We are grateful to Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representatives Jamie Raskin and Robert Garcia for advancing legislation that recognizes this risk and takes meaningful steps to protect lives," said GIFFORDS Executive Director Emma Brown.

"For too long, gun manufacturers have benefited from lucrative federal contracts while simultaneously selling military-grade assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition into the civilian market. That is an indefensible contradiction," said Jackie Corin, Executive Director and Co-Founder of March For Our Lives. "The Stop Militarizing Our Streets Act draws a clear line: companies that choose to sell military-grade weapons and covered ammunition into the commercial market should not be eligible for Department of Defense contracts. Our public dollars should never subsidize the proliferation of weapons that put our communities at risk. Public dollars must align with public safety."

Senator Warren has led efforts to implement gun violence prevention reforms and hold agencies accountable for their handling of firearms sales:

• On October 27, 2025, Senator Warren led 50+ members of Congress in pressing the Department of Commerce and the Department of State for answers about the elimination of a rule that was stemming the export of dangerous weapons to cartels and criminal organizations around the world.
• On October 24, 2024, Senator Warren led members of Congress in pressing the Department of Justice and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) requesting that ATF ramp up its work to mitigate the influx of illegal firearms from other states to Massachusetts.
• On September 27, 2024, Senator Warren led members of Congress in putting pressure on the Departments of State (State), Homeland Security (DHS), Commerce (Commerce), and Justice (DOJ), urging them to strengthen steps to prevent the flow of illegal firearms from the United States into Haiti.
• On August 7, 2024, Senator Warren led the first introduction of the Stop Militarizing Our Streets Act to stop military-grade assault weapons and ammunition from finding their way onto our streets.
• On July 15, 2024, Senators Warren, Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Representatives Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) sent a letter to the Department of Defense calling on them to stop subsidizing the sale of military-grade weapons to civilians.
• On May 15, 2024, Senator Warren and Representatives Joaquin Castro (D-Texas.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) sent a letter to United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Katherine Tai writing in support of USTR's decision to remove the designation of import license requirements for explosives, firearms, and ammunition as trade barriers in the annual National Trade Estimate (NTE) report, while also criticizing the Department of Commerce's inadequate steps to address assault weapons exports.
• On January 24, 2024, Senator Warren and Senator Durbin (D-Ill.), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Representatives Castro and Norma Torres (D-Calif.) sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, calling on the Department of Commerce to incorporate a set of recommendations from the lawmakers to strengthen export controls and end-use checks for firearm exports to crack down on the unnecessary export of lethal weapons used in brutal killings abroad.
• In December 2023, Senator Warren and Representative Dean led lawmakers in a letter to American Express, Visa, Mastercard, and Discover, requesting that they explain why their companies have paused the implementation of a new Merchant Category Code (MCC) for gun and ammunition retailers that could help flag suspicious firearm purchases and prevent gun violence, gun trafficking, and domestic terrorism.
• In December 2023, Senator Warren and Representative Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) reintroduced the Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act, a comprehensive bill that would implement bold and robust measures including creating a federal gun licensing system, strengthening background checks, banning military-style assault weapons and other lethal accessories, holding the gun industry accountable for wrongdoing, and investing in research and community-based gun violence prevention.
• In November 2023, Senator Warren and Representative Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) sent a letter to six major financial institutions calling on them to provide critical information on their efforts to end their financial investments in the gun industry.
• In September 2023, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.) led 68 lawmakers in a letter to President Joe Biden, urging him to take further executive action to combat gun violence and limit the sale of assault weapons, including to leverage the federal government's purchasing power to improve public safety.
• In March 2023, Senators Warren and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), urging the departments to issue guidance to financial institutions for the full implementation of the MCC that the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) approved in 2022 for gun and ammunition stores.
• In September 2022, Senators Warren and Murphy (D-Conn.) and Representatives Castro and Torres sent a letter to Secretary Raimondo, calling out Commerce for its increased approvals of export licenses for assault weapons and high-capacity magazine exports, and for putting the gun industry profits before national security and human lives. The lawmakers called on Commerce to revise its approach to assault weapons exports and to answer questions about its export license approvals.
• In September 2022, Senator Warren and Representative Dean sent letters to the CEOs of MasterCard, American Express, and Visa urging them to support the creation of a new MCC for gun and ammunition retailers and to request information about their reported opposition to Amalgamated Bank's application for such a code.

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