Since 26 students and teachers were murdered and two injured by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., there have been 10 more fatal shootings at American elementary, middle, and high schools. In all, 57 people were killed, excluding the shooters.
President Barack Obama and now President Donald Trump expressed outrage and sadness. Members of Congress called for action.
In the end, however, Congress has passed only one of the 105 gun control bills proposed immediately after the shootings since the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre.
The gun control bill that passed in 2013 extended for 10 years a 1988 law that prohibits the manufacture and possession of firearms that are not detectable by X-ray machines.
After the Sandy Hook shooting, 39 gun control bills and seven gun rights bills were introduced within two months. In the time between the Sandy Hook and Marjory Stoneman Douglas shootings, the nine school shootings that occurred did not result in as much legislation. The map below shows the amount of gun legislation introduced after each shooting.
This list includes bills that came up under searches for “gun,” “weapon,” or “firearm” on the Library of Congress legislation database and clearly aim to aid or hinder civilian access to guns. It does not include bills relating to police or military officers carrying firearms. Beneath the map there is also a list of bills and laws introduced and passed by shooting in chronological order with links to more information about that bill from Congress.
Many of the bills are not directly attributable to the school shootings. For example, within two months of the Freeman High School Shooting in Rockford, Wash., there were two major mass shootings: a shooting in Las Vegas that killed 58 people and a shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas that killed 25 people. These incidents likely influenced the wave of gun control legislation that appeared in this period.
Because the shootings at Marshall County High School and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School occurred about three weeks apart, many bills are listed under both shootings.
Bills Introduced in Chronological Order
Sandy Hook Elementary School gun control legislation: H.R.6680 – Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2012 , H.R.6685 – PLEA Act , H.R.6704 – To reauthorize the ban on undetectable firearms , H.R.6725 – NRA Members’ Gun Safety Act of 2012 , H.R.21 – NRA Members’ Gun Safety Act of 2013 , H.R.34 – Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2013 , H.R.65 – Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act of 2013 , H.R.93 – Fire Sale Loophole Closing Act , H.R.117 – Handgun Licensing and Registration Act of 2013 , H.R.137 – Fix Gun Checks Act of 2013 , H.R.138 – Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act , H.R.141 – Gun Show Loophole Closing Act of 2013 , H.R.142 – Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act of 2013 , H.R.226 – Support Assault Firearms Elimination and Reduction for our Streets Act , H.R.227 – Buyback Our Safety Act , H.R.236 – Crackdown on Deadbeat Gun Dealers Act of 2013 , H.R.238 – Fire Sale Loophole Closing Act , H.R.321 – Firearm Safety and Public Health Research Act of 2013 , H.R.329 – Strengthening Background Checks Act of 2013 , H.R.332 – Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act , S.22 – Gun Show Background Check Act of 2013 , S.33 – Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act of 2013 , S.34 – Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2013 , S.35 – Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act of 2013 , S.54 – Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act of 2013 , H.R.404 – Straw Purchaser Penalty Enhancement Act , S.147 – Common Sense Concealed Firearms Permit Act of 2013 , S.150 – Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 , H.R.427 – Trafficking Reduction And Criminal Enforcement (TRACE) Act , H.R.431 – Gun Transparency and Accountability (Gun TRAC) Act of 2013 , H.R.437 – Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 , S.174 – Ammunition Background Check Act of 2013 , S.179 – Gun Trafficking Prevention Act of 2013 , H.R.452 – Gun Trafficking Prevention Act of 2013 , S.261 – No Firearms for Foreign Felons Act of 2013 , H.R.619 – Keep Kids Safe Act of 2013 , H.R.661 – Tiahrt Restrictions Repeal Act , H.R.720 – Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2013 , H.R.722 – Detectives Nemorin and Andrews Anti-Gun Trafficking Act of 2013
Sandy Hook Elementary School gun rights legislation: H.R.35 – Safe Schools Act of 2013 , H.R.133 – Citizens Protection Act of 2013 , H.R.449 – Veterans’ Heritage Firearms Act of 2013 , H.R.575 – Second Amendment Protection Act of 2013 , H.R.577 – Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act , H.R.578 – Respecting States’ Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2013 , H.R.602 – Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act ,
Sparks Middle School gun control legislation: H.R.3566 – Domestic Violence Criminal Disarmament Act of 2013 , S.1774 – Undetectable Firearms Reauthorization Act of 2013, H.R.3626 – To extend the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 for 10 years , H.R.3643 – Undetectable Firearms Modernization Act of 2013 ,
Sparks Middle School gun rights legislation: H.R.3335 – Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act ,
Arapahoe High School gun control legislation: N/A
Arapahoe High School gun rights legislation: S.1908 – Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2014
Reynolds High School gun control legislation: S.2483 – Lori Jackson Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act , H.R.4906 – Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act , H.R.5093 – Children’s Firearm Marketing Safety Act , S.2676 – Domestic Violence Gun Homicide Prevention Act of 2014
Reynolds High School gun rights legislation: N/A
Marysville Pilchuck High School gun control legislation: N/A
Marysville Pilchuck High School gun rights legislation: N/A
Independence High School gun control legislation: H.R.4603 – Hate Crimes Prevention Act , H.R.4748 – Imported Assault Weapons Ban of 2016 , H.R.4905 – ATF Enforcement Act , H.R.4914 – Keep Kids Safe Act of 2016
Independence High School gun rights legislation: H.R.4703 – Family Firearm Protection Act, H.R.4824 – Taxpayers Second Amendment Protection Act of 2016
Townville Elementary School gun control legislation: N/A
Townville Elementary School gun rights legislation: N/A
North Park Elementary School gun control legislation: H.R.2089 – PLEA Act , H.R.2380 – Handgun Trigger Safety Act of 2017 , S.1185 – Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act of 2017 , H.R.2598 – Gun Violence Restraining Order Act of 2017 , S.1212 – Gun Violence Prevention Order Act of 2017 , H.R.2670 – Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act , H.R.2784 – Good Neighbor Gun Dealer Act , H.R.2841 – Disarm Hate Act , S.1324 – Disarm Hate Act
North Park Elementary School gun rights legislation: H.R.2098 – Second Amendment Defense Act of 2017
Freeman High School gun control legislation: H.R.3947 – Automatic Gunfire Prevention Act, H.R.3962 – Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act of 2017 , S.1915 – Handgun Trigger Safety Act of 2017 , S.1916 – Automatic Gunfire Prevention Act , H.R.3986 – Stopping the Iron Pipeline Act of 2017 , H.R.3987 – Protecting Americans from Gun Violence Act of 2017 , S.1923 – Background Check Completion Act of 2017 , S.1945 – Keep Americans Safe Act , H.R.3998 – Protect America Act of 2017 , H.R.3999 – To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the manufacture, possession, or transfer of any part or combination of parts that is designed and functions to increase the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle but does not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a machinegun, and for other purposes , H.R.4018 – To provide for a 3-day waiting period before a person may receive a handgun, with exceptions , H.R.4025 – Multiple Firearm Sales Reporting Modernization Act of 2017 , H.R.4052 – Keep Americans Safe Act , H.R.4057 – Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2017 , S.1992 – SECURE Firearm Storage Act , S.2009 – Background Check Expansion Act , H.R.4142 – Safer Communities Act of 2017 , H.R.4168 – Closing the Bump-Stock Loophole Act , H.R.4183 – Domestic Violence Records Reporting Improvement Act of 2017 , H.R.4186 – Lori Jackson Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act , H.R.4192 – Domestic Violence Gun Homicide Prevention Act of 2017 , S.2044 – Lori Jackson Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act , S.2045 – Domestic Violence Gun Homicide Prevention Act of 2017 , H.R.4240 – Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2017 , H.R.4268 – Gun Safety: Not Sorry Act of 2017 , S.2095 – Assault Weapons Ban of 2017 , H.R.4342 – Fire Sale Loophole Closing Act, H.R.4343 – Unlawful Gun Buyer Alert Act , H.R.4344 – End Purchase of Firearms by Dangerous Individuals Act of 2017
Freeman High School gun rights legislation: N/A
Marshall County High School gun rights legislation only: S.2386 – Veterans’ Second Amendment Rights Restoration Act of 2018
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and Marshall County High School gun control legislation: H.R.5077 – Assault Weapons Ban of 2018 , H.R.5087 – Assault Weapons Ban of 2018 , H.R.5088 – No MAGA Act , H.R.5090 – Raise the Age Act , S.2458 – Terrorist Firearms Prevention Act , H.R.5103 – Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Communities Act of 2018 , H.R.5106 – Investor Choice Against Gun Proliferation Act , S.2470 – Age 21 Act , S.2475 – BUMP Act , H.R.5134 – STOP Straw Purchases Act , S.2492 – A bill to provide for the reporting to State and local law enforcement authorities of cases in which the national instant criminal background check system indicates that a firearm has been sought to be acquired by a prohibited person, so that authorities may pursue criminal charges under State law, and to ensure that the Department of Justice reports to Congress on prosecutions secured against prohibited persons who attempt to acquire a firearm. , H.R.5162 – To amend the Consumer Product Safety Act to remove the exclusion of pistols, revolvers, and other firearms from the definition of consumer product in order to permit the issuance of safety standards for such articles by the Consumer Product Safety Commission , H.R.5163 – To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the sale or other disposition of a firearm to, and the possession, shipment, transportation, or receipt of a firearm by, certain classes of high-risk individuals , H.R.5164 – To expand economic opportunities, improve community policing, and promote common-sense gun violence prevention in underserved communities, and for other purposes. , S.2502 – A bill to address gun violence, improve the availability of records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, address mental illness in the criminal justice system, and end straw purchases and trafficking of illegal firearms, and for other purposes.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and Marshall County High School gun rights legislation: H.R.5112 – SAFER Voter Act, S.2486 – A bill to repeal the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 and amendments to that Act.
Published in conjunction with 
