El Paso Congresswoman Escobar introduces bill to provide increased penalties for mass shooters

EL PASO, Texas – Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, and Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Massachusetts, have introduced the End Domestic Terrorism Act, which increases the penalties for people who carry out mass shootings.

“El Paso was forever changed by the actions of a domestic terrorist fueled by white supremacy theories,” Rep. Escobar said in a news release.

The bill would allow U.S. law enforcement to prosecute certain mass shootings as acts of terrosim.

“With this legislation, we’re giving law enforcement the tools they need to follow through with investigations into terrorist networks and any individual responsible for attacks against our communities," Rep. Escobar said.

The bill proposes to enable law enforcement, in the wake of an attack, to uncover the broader network that supported it.

“My bill would not only allow mass shooters to be legally treated as terrorists, but it would also expand our ability to prosecute the networks of online enablers and criminals aiding these attacks," Rep. Moulton said. “Gunmen who shoot up schools, churches and concerts are nothing short of terrorists. The media, the public, even the president call them that. But from a legal standpoint, we don’t currently prosecute mass shootings as the terrorist attacks that they are."

The news release said gunmen who have taken hundreds of lives in mass shootings in places such as Uvalde, Highland Park, Dayton, Colorado Springs, Las Vegas and El Paso have not faced any charges of federal terrosim because no charges exist to do so.

"Proactive policies like these are crucial to saving lives and preventing future shootings,” Rep. Escobar said.

The bill has specifications for a mass shooting to be considered an act of terrorism. The bill considers an attack a mass shooting if: at least three people are killed, the shooter uses a qualified semi-automatic or fully automatic rifle and the shooting happens in one of the public, populated spaces commonly targeted by mass shooters.

The bill was just introduced at the end of June and was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary on June 30. It has not been approved by congress.

The news release said the bill was previously introduced under a different name during the 118th Congress.