Proposed Bill Limits President's, HHS Secretary's Power to Use Emergencies for Gun Control

A new proposal, titled the "Protecting the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Act of 2025," aims to restrict the federal government's ability to implement gun control measures during declared emergencies. Specifically, it targets the powers of the President and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Emergency Powers on Mute?

The core of the bill lies in Sections 2 and 3. Section 2 prevents the President from using declarations under the National Emergencies Act (often invoked for major crises) or the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (used for natural disasters and other emergencies) as a basis for imposing "gun control measures." Similarly, Section 3 stops the HHS Secretary from using public health emergency declarations under the Public Health Service Act for the same purpose. What constitutes "gun control measures" isn't defined in the text, leaving room for interpretation on what specific actions would be prohibited during a crisis.

Stafford Act Gets Specific on Guns

Section 4 directly amends the Stafford Act, which governs federal disaster relief. It adds new language clarifying that the Act cannot be used to prohibit the possession, manufacture, sale, or transfer of firearms protected by the Second Amendment. This protection explicitly extends to ammunition, ammunition feeding devices (like magazines), and firearm accessories. Essentially, during events covered by the Stafford Act, these activities related to firearms and related items would be shielded from prohibition based on the emergency declaration itself.