Rep. Mullin introduces bill to classify some air guns as firearms
Legislation named Garrett's Law would require background checks for high-powered BB and pellet guns.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Democrats don't just want to take your firearms. They want your kids' BB guns too.
Photograph: The Blaze (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Rep. Kevin Mullin introduced legislation that would classify certain high-powered air guns as firearms.
- The bill, called Garrett's Law, is named after Garrett Edwards, a constituent who died by suicide using an air gun.
- It would require background checks for air guns firing .177 caliber pellets at 800 ft/s, .22 caliber at 500 ft/s, or .25 caliber at 450 ft/s, or any air gun firing a metallic pellet above .25 caliber.
- If passed, the Attorney General would be required to publish guidance for manufacturers of these air guns to become federal firearms licensees.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 7 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
80/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
30/100
7 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 7 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
U.S. Representative Kevin Mullin has introduced legislation that would classify certain high-powered air guns as firearms. The bill, named Garrett's Law, is named after Garrett Edwards, a constituent who died by suicide using an air gun purchased online. The legislation aims to require background checks for BB and pellet guns that meet specific velocity and caliber thresholds.
Disagreement on the bill's intent
The Blaze reported that Democratic lawmakers are "desperate to disarm law-abiding Americans" and are "going after some toy guns." The outlet quoted Mullin stating, "If a weapon is powerful enough to kill, it should be subject to the same commonsense safety standards as any other gun." Breitbart quoted Mullin's office describing the current lack of background checks as a "loophole" and stating the bill would "close this dangerous gap." WND and The Daily Caller used headlines referencing "Ralphie" and his Red Ryder BB gun, implying the bill targets common toy guns.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated reports mention the specific velocities and calibers that would trigger the firearm classification, beyond general references to "high-powered" air guns. The requirement for the Attorney General to publish guidance for manufacturers to become federal firearms licensees was also not mentioned in any of the right-rated reports.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 2 times, most recently on 29 Sept 2026, 01:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated centre has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Right
7 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports focused on the bill's reclassification of air guns as firearms and the potential impact on common BB guns. The Blaze's headline stated, "Democrats don't just want to take your firearms. They want your kids' BB guns too." This outlet also quoted the March for Our Lives Foundation co-founder Jaclyn Corin saying, "Lethal weapons should be treated like lethal weapons." Breitbart highlighted that the bill would require background checks for BB and pellet gun buyers, similar to those for AR-15s and 9mm pistols. WND and The Daily Caller used headlines referencing "Ralphie" and his Red Ryder BB gun, suggesting the legislation targets common toy guns. Conservative Review echoed The Blaze's headline and framing.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Rep. Mullin introduces bill to classify some air guns as firearms?
- Of the 7 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 0% are rated centre, 100% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Rep. Mullin introduces bill to classify some air guns as firearms left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 7 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Rep. Mullin introduces bill to classify some air guns as firearms biased?
- Rep. Mullin introduces bill to classify some air guns as firearms is one event reported by 7 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Rep. Mullin introduces bill to classify some air guns as firearms?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Rep. Mullin introduces bill to classify some air guns as firearms?
- 7 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What is Garrett's Law?
- Garrett's Law is a proposed piece of legislation introduced by U.S. Representative Kevin Mullin. It aims to classify certain high-powered air guns as firearms, which would subject them to federal regulations, including background checks for purchasers.
- Why is the bill named Garrett's Law?
- The bill is named in memory of Garrett Edwards, a constituent of Rep. Mullin. Edwards died by suicide using an air gun that he had purchased online, despite being prohibited from owning a firearm.
- Which air guns would be affected by this bill?
- The legislation targets air guns that fire .177 caliber pellets at 800 ft/s, .22 caliber pellets at 500 ft/s, or .25 caliber pellets at 450 ft/s. It also includes any air gun firing a metallic pellet above .25 caliber.
Read it at the source
7 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Right
7- POLITICS: House Democrat Introduces Bill to Classify High-Powered Air Guns as Firearms – The Beltway Report (opens U-S-NEWS.COM in a new tab)
U-S-NEWS.COM — is U-S-NEWS.COM biased? Our profile of this outlet
- House Democrat Introduces Bill to Classify High-Powered Air Guns as Firearms (opens The Beltway Report in a new tab)
The Beltway Report — is The Beltway Report biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Congressman wants to make Ralphie get a background check for his Red Ryder BB gun * WorldNetDaily * by Harold Hutchison, Daily Caller News Foundation (opens WND in a new tab)
- Dem Rep Wants To Make Ralphie Get A Background Check For His Red Ryder BB Gun (opens The Daily Caller in a new tab)
The Daily Caller — is The Daily Caller biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Democrats don't just want to take your firearms. They want your kids' BB guns too. (opens Conservative Review in a new tab)
Conservative Review — is Conservative Review biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Democrats don't just want to take your firearms. They want your kids' BB guns too. (opens The Blaze in a new tab)
The Blaze — is The Blaze biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Democrat Rep. Kevin Mullin Pushes Bill to Redefine BB Guns as Firearms (opens Breitbart in a new tab)
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
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