As the Buffalo community honors the two-year anniversary of the 5/14 mass shooting, U.S. Reps. Timothy Kennedy (D-NY26) and Grace Meng (D-NY6) have reintroduced a bill named for one of the victims.

The Aaron Salter Jr. Responsible Body Armor Possession Act was reintroduced in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. If passed, the legislation would prohibit the sale or possession of enhanced body armor by anyone except members of law enforcement, military personnel or others who use the equipment for work. Enhanced body armor is armor that meets or exceeds level three ballistic resistance.

Salter was a retired police officer who was working as a security guard at the Tops store on the day of the attack and tried to stop the gunman. However, the shooter was wearing enhanced body armor. Salter fired a round that struck the attacker, but it had no effect because of his body armor.

Salter was one of the 10 people killed in the attack.

"Aaron Salter Jr.'s courageous actions bought precious seconds for patrons and employees of Tops Markets to escape, undoubtedly saving lives at the expense of his own," said Kennedy. "He put his years of training to use and hit his target immediately. But because the gunman had access to enhanced body armor, Mr. Salter's shot was deflected, and he was murdered. This type of body armor should not be for sale on store shelves or online, and I'm grateful to Congresswoman Meng for her leadership on this issue."

New York already passed a similar law that went into effect in July 2022; however, there are still no federal restrictions for civilians to this level of body armor, which can be purchased legally online. Advocates for the federal bill point out the Buffalo shooter obtained his armor from another state.

The act was first introduced in Congress in 2022 and then again in 2023, but it still has yet to pass.