Arizona Public Radio | Your Source for NPR News
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Flake Supports Bill to Increase Purchase Age for AR-15 Rifles

Getty

Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake is working on a bill to raise the age limit for purchasing AR-15 semi-automatic rifles. KNAU’s Ryan Heinsius reports, it follows last week’s school shooting in Florida that left 17 students and faculty dead. 

Currently, federal law allows anyone 18 and older to buy an AR-15-style rifle like the one allegedly used last week in the Stoneman Douglas High School massacre. But according to a tweet Wednesday by Senator Flake, he believes the minimum age for non-military buyers should be 21, the requirement for purchasing a handgun.

He’s collaborating on the bipartisan bill with California Democrat Diane Feinstein and hasn’t commented further on the proposal.

Flake himself experienced gun violence last summer when a man opened fire on Congressional Republicans during a baseball practice in Virginia. He was unhurt but assisted wounded Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise.

Meanwhile, President Trump has orderedthe Justice Department to issue regulations on so-called “bump stocks,” which allow semi-automatic weapons to fire fully automatically. 

Ryan Heinsius joined the KNAU newsroom as executive producer in 2013 and was named news director and managing editor in 2024. As a reporter, he has covered a broad range of stories from local, state and tribal politics to education, economy, energy and public lands issues, and frequently interviews internationally known and regional musicians. Ryan is an Edward R. Murrow Award winner and a Public Media Journalists Association Award winner, and a frequent contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered and national newscast.
Related Content