Jack Schlossberg wants states with weak gun laws to pay when their guns turn up at crime scenes in New York.
The 32-year-old grandson of President John F. Kennedy is running for the 12th Congressional District seat being vacated by Rep. Jerry Nadler. His proposal, called the Rebound Rule, would impose financial penalties on states that do not conduct thorough background checks on gun buyers, the New York Post writes. reported.
Funds raised will go to federal investigators at the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“We don’t say anything about the Second Amendment,” Schlossberg told the Post. “There is a flow of illegal guns into states across the country from a couple of states with weaker gun laws. We need to at least impose a fine to ensure that we can fund the implementation of this common sense idea.” (RELATED: JFK Grandson Jack Schlossberg Decides Congress Needs Him, Mom Reportedly Not So Sure)
John Kennedy's grandson Jack Schlossberg wants to punish some states for supplying weapons to New York https://t.co/I10MJeAC9V pic.twitter.com/fWOsWgUAuf
— New York Post (@nypost) December 20, 2025
Liberal candidate said his proposal was prompted by the “gun epidemic” in New York.
“We call it the ricochet rule because guns ricochet into New York from other states, but there needs to be accountability,” he said.
ATF data from 2017-2021 shows 27,407 crime-related recoveries in New York. weapon during this period. Of those, 21,863 crossed state lines, with 68% coming from states that do not require background checks.
Schlossberg did not specify the amount of the fine, but said it should be “significant enough to encourage them to cooperate.”
“I think we should try to do something about this problem, not just when it's in the news,” he said. “We can't stop, we can't forget. We have to keep going because we are not powerless.”
