Shall Not Be Infringed Act of 2026

This bill creates a new civil cause of action against state and local governments that maintain "gun free zones." Under this provision, if a person authorized to carry a firearm in their state of residence is harmed by a firearm in a gun-free zone, and could have averted or mitigated that harm if allowed to carry, they may recover compensatory damages and damages for pain and suffering from the responsible government entity. The legislation defines a "gun free zone" as any geographical area where the public is prohibited from carrying a firearm by Federal, State, or local law. To ensure compliance, the bill mandates that states and local governments receiving federal grants under the Byrne-Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne-JAG) program or the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program must conform their laws and policies to this new liability requirement. Failure to comply with this policy after a specified period will result in a significant financial penalty. Non-compliant states or local governments will face a reduction of up to 99 percent of the funds they would otherwise receive from these federal law enforcement programs, with unallocated funds being reallocated to compliant jurisdictions.