*Don’t worry, we’re not getting into politics, just legal mechanics. 

With the election of Donald Trump, the firearms community has been beating the drums for the passage of pro-gun legislation. While yes, the mood is certainly positive, there is a fair amount of mechanical processes required  (with plenty of politicking–but that is outside TFB’s domain) to get the legislation onto the President’s desk.

First, a law must be proposed as a bill. The bill is the draft legislation as proposed to the Congress, typically written by the Congress member and/or their staff. The Bill is valid for two years.

Bills, after introduction, is assigned to committees within the respective chambers of Congress for more detailed consideration. Most of the wrangling over bills happens in committees, where members of Congress with more specialized knowledge of the legislative area debate and ultimately vote as a committee on the bill, which is, if passed, send to another committee or to the chamber itself for the up/down vote. Note, this happens in both Houses of Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Once out of respective committees, the bill is voted on and either defeated or passed. If the bill in both the Senate and House is identical, it’s sent to the President for signature, but if different, in any way, the bills must be reconciled by a conference between the Houses which is resubmitted to the Houses for a vote again.

Simply put, while the political winds are far more positive for the Hearing Protection Act and similar pro-gun bills, there is quite a bit of process involved to get the bills into law.

Enjoy Adam Kraut’s old haircut, as he explains this all in detail within his latest Legal Brief: