H.R. 10583, filed September 24th by a California politician, Rep. Kevin Mullin, would turn most serious pellet rifles into “firearms” under the federal Gun Control Act, with a federal background check when you buy one from a store, a serial number on the gun and federal paperwork on the sale. It also lets the Attorney General add other air guns later through rulemaking. As of October 5th it had zero cosponsors and no hearing, and that’s exactly where Tennessee Gun Owners wants it to stay.
| SIGN THE PETITION AGAINST H.R. 10583 |
Can’t see the button? Sign the H.R. 10583 petition here.
Why fight a bill with zero cosponsors?
A lot of Tennessee gun owners got their start with a pellet gun, on the farm or in the backyard, with a parent standing right behind them. I want to tell you about a bill in Congress that would put that pellet gun under federal gun control, and why I think the time to fight it is right now.
It’s H.R. 10583, filed September 24th by a California politician, Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-CA-15). The title says it’s a bill “to classify lethal air guns as firearms.” In plain English, a pellet rifle that hits the bill’s numbers becomes a “firearm” under the federal Gun Control Act. Buy one from a store and you get a federal background check. The gun gets a serial number. The maker and the store need federal firearms licenses, and the dealer keeps federal paperwork on the sale.
The numbers are a .177 pellet at 800 feet per second or faster, a .22 at 500, a .25 at 450, and any metallic pellet above .25 caliber at any speed. Only guns that fire nothing but paint-filled pellets are carved out. That’s most serious pellet rifles sold today.
Then comes the line that should bother every gun owner in Tennessee. The Attorney General can add any other air gun, through rulemaking, that he decides is “capable of causing death.” Today it’s 800 feet per second. The bill already gives the Attorney General a blank check to decide which air guns come next.
The Red Ryder isn’t on the list today. Daisy rates it at up to 350 feet per second, well under the line. But the bill lets the Attorney General add any air gun he deems “capable of causing death.”
Written for the long game
How H.R. 10583 is built
September 24, 2026
Filed by Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-CA-15) and sent to the House Judiciary Committee.
As of October 5, 2026
Zero cosponsors. No hearing.
Within 365 days of becoming law
The Attorney General has to publish guidance to help air gun makers become federal firearms licensees, “including serialization and record keeping requirements.”
850 days after becoming law
The new rules take effect.
That 850-day clock tells you the people behind this bill are thinking in years. Giffords and March For Our Lives endorsed it in Mullin’s announcement, and groups like that don’t sign on to a bill so they can forget about it.
And the long game isn’t new. For decades, Tennessee gun owners have been asked, “What do you need an AR-15 for?” and told not to worry, because “they’ll never come for your hunting rifle.”
Now it’s the pellet gun a kid learns on with a parent standing right behind him, and the BB gun is one Attorney General rulemaking away from joining it. If they’re willing to come after something that innocent, you’d better believe the Left won’t be satisfied until we’re disarmed of every possible tool we could use to defend ourselves.
So here’s my thinking. Zero cosponsors and no hearing is the best place a bill like this can be, and it’s where Tennessee Gun Owners wants it to stay. The cheapest time to kill a gun control bill is before a second politician puts his name on it.
Add your name to Tennessee Gun Owners’ petition against H.R. 10583.
| SIGN THE PETITION AGAINST H.R. 10583 |
Can’t see the button? Sign the H.R. 10583 petition here.
And once you’ve signed, if you’re able, chip in $17.76 to help TGO keep fighting federal gun control like this.
For Freedom,
Rob Knisley
Political Director
Tennessee Gun Owners
P.S. The bill is built to take its time. Stopping it is cheapest today, while it still has zero cosponsors. Sign the petition against H.R. 10583.
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