Law-Enforcement De-Escalate Act

Summary#

This bill, called the Law-Enforcement Innovate to De-Escalate Act of 2025, adds a new definition for a "less-than-lethal projectile device" to Title 18 of the United States Code and treats such devices as exempt from certain restrictions under Title 18. The bill lists three tests a device must meet to qualify: it must not be designed or converted to fire common handgun, rifle, or shotgun ammunition or any projectile faster than 500 feet per second; it must be designed to be used in a way that is not likely to cause death or serious bodily injury; and it must not accept, or be readily modified to accept, certain ammunition feeding devices (including those loaded through a pistol grip or commonly used in semiautomatic firearms). The bill also requires the Attorney General to decide within 90 days when someone asks whether a device meets this definition.

What it means for you#

• Devices that meet the bill's three tests would be treated as less-than-lethal projectile devices and be exempt from certain Title 18 restrictions (the bill text uses the phrase "exemption" but does not list which specific restrictions change).
• Manufacturers, sellers, or others may ask the Attorney General to review a device. The Attorney General must make that determination within 90 days of receiving the device for review.
• The definition focuses on design limits (not firing common firearm ammunition or projectiles over 500 feet per second), intended use (not likely to cause death or serious injury), and limits on feeding devices.

Expenses#

No publicly available information on federal costs or savings.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.