Shall Not Be Infringed Act of 2026

Key Points

• The bill creates a new legal right for people harmed by gun violence in gun-free zones to sue the state or local government for damages. To qualify, the person must be legally allowed to carry a firearm in their home state and must show that having a gun could have prevented or reduced the harm they suffered.
• A gun-free zone is broadly defined as any area where regular members of the public are legally prohibited from carrying a firearm, whether under federal, state, or local law. This could include schools, government buildings, and areas covered by city or county ordinances.
• States and local governments that do not comply face losing up to 99 percent of their Byrne-JAG and COPS federal law enforcement funding. This is a massive financial penalty designed to pressure jurisdictions into eliminating or modifying their gun-free zone policies.
• Any federal funding cut from non-compliant states or cities would be redirected to states that do comply with the law, creating a financial incentive for jurisdictions to align with the bill's requirements.
• The compliance deadline is tied to the first full fiscal year after the bill becomes law, giving states and local governments roughly one budget cycle to change their laws before penalties kick in.