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Aaron Salter, Jr., Responsible Body Armor Possession Act

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the purchase, ownership, or possession of enhanced body armor by civilians.

Introduced May 18, 2026

Latest action (May 18, 2026) Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Referred to
Judiciary Committee
Policy area
Crime and Law Enforcement
Issues
Criminal JusticeGun Policy

Summary

This bill prohibits civilians from purchasing, owning, or possessing enhanced body armor, defined as body armor with ballistic resistance meeting or exceeding the RF1 armor standard established by the National Institute of Justice. Exceptions to the prohibition include federal, state, tribal, and local government entities and their law enforcement agencies, as well as qualified and retired law enforcement officers and corrections officers. Civilians who lawfully possessed enhanced body armor before the bill's enactment may retain it. Violations of the prohibition are punishable by a fine and imprisonment for up to 5 years. The bill defines enhanced body armor to include protective equipment such as helmets and shields that meet the specified ballistic performance standards.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)

Actions (2)
  1. May 18, 2026 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. · senate
  2. May 18, 2026 Introduced in Senate

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

  • HR 3398 — Aaron Salter, Jr., Responsible Body Armor Possession Act · Introduced May 14, 2025 · Cong. 119 76%
  • HR 8656 — Ballistic Armor Made in America Act of 2026 · Introduced May 4, 2026 · Cong. 119 66%
  • HR 5581 — Uniform Standards Protection Act of 2025 · Introduced Sep 26, 2025 · Cong. 119 56%
  • HR 7709 — Full-Body Restraint Prohibition Act · Introduced Feb 26, 2026 · Cong. 119 54%
  • HRES 405 — Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2240) to require the Attorney General to develop reports relating to violent attacks against law enforcement officers, and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2243) to amend title 18, United States Code, to improve the Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act and provisions relating to the carrying of concealed weapons by law enforcement officers, and for other purposes; and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2255) to allow Federal law enforcement officers to purchase retired service weapons, and for other purposes. · Passed House May 14, 2025 · Cong. 119 54%
  • HR 9297 — Pedestrian Protection Act · Introduced Jun 11, 2026 · Cong. 119 53%

Full text

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

May 18, 2026

Mrs. Gillibrand introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the purchase, ownership, or possession of enhanced body armor by civilians.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Aaron Salter, Jr., Responsible Body Armor Possession Act”.

SEC. 2. BAN ON PURCHASE, OWNERSHIP, OR POSSESSION OF ENHANCED BODY ARMOR BY CIVILIANS.

(a) Ban.—

(1) In general.—Chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: “Sec. 935. Ban on purchase, ownership, or possession of enhanced body armor by civilians

“(a) Definition.—In this section, the term ‘covered law enforcement officer’—

“(1) has the meaning given the term ‘qualified law enforcement officer’ in section 926B and the term ‘qualified retired law enforcement officer’ in section 926C; and

“(2) includes corrections officers.

“(b) Prohibition.—Except as provided in subsection (c), it shall be unlawful for a person to purchase, own, or possess enhanced body armor.

“(c) Exceptions.—Subsection (b) shall not apply to—

“(1) a purchase, ownership, or possession by or under the authority of—

“(A) the United States or any department or agency of the United States;

“(B) a State, or a department, agency, or political subdivision of a State; or

“(C) a Tribe or law enforcement agency of a Tribe;

“(2) a covered law enforcement officer; or

“(3) enhanced body armor that was lawfully possessed by any person before the date of enactment of this section.”.

(2) Technical and conforming amendment.—The table of sections for chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“935. Ban on purchase, ownership, or possession of enhanced body armor by civilians.”.

(b) Enhanced Body Armor Defined.—Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(39) The term ‘enhanced body armor’ means body armor, including a helmet or shield, the ballistic resistance of which meets or exceeds the ballistic performance of RF1 armor, determined using such standard as the National Institute of Justice has in effect at the time at which a person purchases, owns, or possesses such armor.”.

(c) Penalties.—Section 924(a) of such title is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(9) Whoever knowingly violates section 935 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.”. <all>

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