Disarming Felons Act

The Disarming Felons Act would expand federal gun prohibitions by adding a new disqualification category for individuals who, when they were juveniles aged 15 to 17, committed an act of juvenile delinquency that would have been a felony if committed by an adult. Specifically, the bill amends 18 U.S.C. sections 922(d) (prohibition on disposition of a firearm) and 922(g) (prohibition on possession of a firearm) to include this new category, so that such individuals could not be legally sold or transferred a firearm and could not possess a firearm as adults. The text does not lay out exceptions, restoration processes, or explicit retroactivity provisions, so the disqualification would apply to the covered category under current law once enacted. In short, the bill moves to extend federal firearm restrictions to a broader group based on serious juvenile offenses, treating certain juvenile acts as a basis for lifetime firearm eligibility denial. It would rely on a determination that a juvenile delinquency act “would have been a felony” if adult, and would rely on federal background checks to enforce the new prohibitions.