Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Rep. George Santos wants an AR-15 style rifle to be the ‘National Gun of the United States’
By
Gwynne Hogan
Published Feb 23, 2023
Modified Feb 23, 2023
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Gwynne Hogan
Published Feb 23, 2023
Modified Feb 23, 2023
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
In one of his first legislative acts as a new member of Congress, Rep. George Santos has backed a bill to make an AR-15 style rifle – a weapon used in some of the deadliest mass shootings of the past decade – the “National Gun of the United States.”
Santos co-sponsored the bill, along with prime sponsor Alabama Congress member Barry Moore and two other Republican colleagues: Rep. Andrew Clyde, a gun store owner from Georgia; and Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who ran a gun-themed restaurant called Shooters Grill.
Rep. Moore unveiled the legislation this week saying, “any government that would take away one right would take away them all,” AL.com reported. The Santos connection was earlier reported in the Daily Voice.
A spokesperson for Santos’ congressional office didn’t return a request for comment immediately.
Democrat New York Governor Kathy Hochul slammed Santos, calling his sponsorship of the bill “outrageous and appalling.”
“This bill, which attempts to glorify the weapons that have been part of such horrific tragedies, adds unforgivable insult to injury for those families,” Hochul said in a statement.
The move is another sign the freshman lawmaker is tilting to the far right wing of the Republican Party, aligning himself with staunch gun rights supporters who oppose enhanced background checks, even though the majority of Americans and many gun owners are in favor of them.
The summary of the proposed legislation states the “AR-15 style rifle chambered in a .223 Remington round or a 5.56x45mm NATO round [would be] the National Gun of the United States.” Further details of the text of the bill were not available.
AR-15 style rifles have been deployed in some of the most devastating mass shootings of the past several years. Shooters deployed that style of weapon in 2012 at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, in the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, and last year in the Uvalde, Texas shooting, and in Buffalo, New York at Tops Friendly Markets.
An AR-15 style rifle was also used by the gunman at the 2016 Pulse nightclub in Orlando, where Santos claimed four of his employees had been killed, one of many now-disproven claims that have embroiled Santos in scandal since he took office.
Since getting sworn in in January, Santos has signed onto 23 pieces of legislation; among them a bill to encourage colleges to ban TikTok and one that would require the U.S. Treasury to mint coins commemorating service dogs.
With Democrats currently in control of the Senate and the White House, the bill is highly unlikely to pass. Democrats have discussed bringing back a 1990’s era assault weapons ban, and reintroduced a bill to ban assault weapons last month.
This story has been updated with additional details and comment from Kathy Hochul.
Tagged
public safety
Politics
Gwynne Hogan
Gwynne Hogan is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Conductor on NYC subway that dragged man to death may have skipped safety check, source says
The MTA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating how Yaw Boahene was fatally dragged by a subway train in Brooklyn on Monday.
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Oct 2, 2026 at 2:06 p.m. ET
NYPD still searching for man who threw burning substance on victim in East Harlem
The victim suffered severe burns on his face and neck.
By
Ryan Kost
News
NYPD still searching for man who threw burning substance on victim in East Harlem
The victim suffered severe burns on his face and neck.
By
Ryan Kost
Intoxication not a 'license' to rape: Hochul pushes to tighten law amid Cornell scandal
By
Walter Wuthmann
NYC Parks police told a yoga teacher to leash her dog. It got ugly.
By
Samantha Max
Early Addition: There's finally stuff inside the Times Square tower where the ball drops
By
James Ramsay
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .