Congress·In Committee·H.R. 3398

Aaron Salter, Jr., Responsible Body Armor Possession Act

Body Armor: Ban on High-Grade Protection for Civilians

May 14, 2025·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill is one vehicle in a longer effort. See the full story across every version.View effort →

Next up: A house committeeNo action in 14 months

This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process after being sent to the House Committee on the Judiciary for review. It is considered active, but no future hearings or votes have been scheduled yet. There is no companion bill currently linked to this legislation.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

This bill faces a difficult path because many lawmakers oppose restrictions on safety equipment and self-defense tools.

How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 3247 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 3247 (118th) →

Key Points

This bill would make it illegal for most regular people to buy or own high-grade body armor. This includes heavy-duty vests, helmets, and shields that are designed to stop powerful rifle rounds.
The ban would not apply to police officers, retired law enforcement, or government agencies. People who already own this type of body armor before the law starts would be allowed to keep it.
The goal is to prevent criminals from using military-grade protection during attacks. It is named after Aaron Salter, Jr., a security guard who died trying to stop a shooter who was wearing body armor.
Anyone caught breaking this law could face up to five years in prison and expensive fines. The rules would apply to any armor that meets or exceeds the federal safety standard known as RF1 armor.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

May 14, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

May 14, 2025

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes, news coverage, or related bills recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Aaron Salter, Jr., Responsible Body Armor Possession Act

Bill NumberHR 3398

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(28)

D: 28

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.