Ethan's Law

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 190 To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to require the safe storage of firearms, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 3, 2021 Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. MARKEY, and Mr. CASEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to require the safe storage of firearms, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as ‘‘Ethan’s Law’’. 4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 5 Congress find the following: 6 (1) An estimated 4,600,000 minors in the 7 United States live in homes with at least 1 unse- 8 cured firearm. 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:32 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S190.IS S190 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 190 IS (2) 73 percent of children under the age of 10 1 living in homes with firearms reported knowing the 2 location of their parents’ firearms. 36 percent of 3 those children reported handling their parents’ unse- 4 cured firearms. 5 (3) The presence of unsecured firearms in the 6 home increases the risk of unintentional and inten- 7 tional shootings. Over 75 percent of firearms used in 8 youth suicide attempts and unintentional firearm in- 9 juries were stored in the residence of the victim, a 10 relative, or a friend. 11 (4) The United States Secret Service and the 12 Department of Education report that in 65 percent 13 of deadly school shootings the attacker obtained the 14 firearm from his or her own home or that of a rel- 15 ative. 16 (5) In the last decade nearly 2,000,000 fire- 17 arms have been reported stolen. In 2016 alone, 18 238,000 firearms were reported stolen in the United 19 States. Between 2010 and 2016, police recovered 20 more than 23,000 stolen firearms across jurisdic- 21 tions that were used to commit kidnappings, armed 22 robberies, sexual assaults, murders, and other vio- 23 lent crimes. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:32 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S190.IS S190 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 190 IS (6) Higher levels of neighborhood gun violence 1 drive depopulation, discourages commercial activity, 2 and decreases property values, resulting in fewer 3 business establishments, fewer jobs, lower home val- 4 ues, and lower home ownership rates. 5 (7) The negative economic impact of gun vio- 6 lence in communities is tied directly to the national 7 economy and interstate commerce. 8 (8) Congress has the power under the interstate 9 commerce clause and other provisions of the Con- 10 stitution of the United States to enact measures en- 11 suring firearms are securely stored. 12 SEC. 3. SECURE GUN STORAGE OR SAFETY DEVICE. 13 Section 922(z) of title 18, United States Code, is 14 amended by adding at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(4) SECURE GUN STORAGE BY OWNERS.— 16 ‘‘(A) OFFENSE.— 17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro- 18 vided in clause (ii), it shall be unlawful for 19 a person to store or keep any firearm that 20 has moved in, or that has otherwise af- 21 fected, interstate or foreign commerce on 22 the premises of a residence under the con- 23 trol of the person if the person knows, or 24 reasonably should know, that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:32 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S190.IS S190 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 190 IS ‘‘(I) a minor is likely to gain ac- 1 cess to the firearm without the per- 2 mission of the parent or guardian of 3 the minor; or 4 ‘‘(II) a resident of the residence 5 is ineligible to possess a firearm under 6 Federal, State, or local law. 7 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Clause (i) shall 8 not apply to a person if the person— 9 ‘‘(I) keeps the firearm— 10 ‘‘(aa) secure using a secure 11 gun storage or safety device; or 12 ‘‘(bb) in a location which a 13 reasonable person would believe 14 to be secure; or 15 ‘‘(II) carries the firearm on his 16 or her person or within such close 17 proximity thereto that the person can 18 readily retrieve and use the firearm as 19 if the person carried the firearm on 20 his or her person. 21 ‘‘(B) PENALTY.— 22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any person who 23 violates subparagraph (A) shall be fined 24 $500 per violation. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:32 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S190.IS S190 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 190 IS ‘‘(ii) ENHANCED PENALTY.—If a per- 1 son violates subparagraph (A) and a minor 2 or a resident who is ineligible to possess a 3 firearm under Federal, State, or local law 4 obtains the firearm and causes injury or 5 death to such minor, resident, or any other 6 individual, the person shall be fined under 7 this title, imprisoned for not more than 5 8 years, or both. 9 ‘‘(iii) FORFEITURE OF IMPROPERLY 10 STORED FIREARM.—Any firearm stored in 11 violation of subparagraph (A) shall be sub- 12 ject to seizure and forfeiture in accordance 13 with the procedures described in section 14 924(d). 15 ‘‘(C) MINOR DEFINED.—In this paragraph, 16 the term ‘minor’ means an individual who is 17 less than 18 years of age.’’. 18 SEC. 4. FIREARM SAFE STORAGE PROGRAM. 19 Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 20 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) is amended 21 by adding at the end the following: 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:32 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S190.IS S190 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 190 IS ‘‘PART OO—FIREARM SAFE STORAGE PROGRAM 1 ‘‘SEC. 3051. FIREARM SAFE STORAGE PROGRAM. 2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Attorney General 3 shall make grants to an eligible State or Indian Tribe to 4 assist the State or Indian Tribe in carrying out the provi- 5 sions of any State or Tribal law that is functionally iden- 6 tical to section 922(z)(4) of title 18, United States Code. 7 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE STATE OR INDIAN TRIBE.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 9 graph (2), a State or Indian Tribe shall be eligible 10 to receive grants under this section on and after the 11 date on which the State or Indian Tribe— 12 ‘‘(A) enacts legislation functionally iden- 13 tical to section 922(z)(4) of title 18, United 14 States Code; and 15 ‘‘(B) the attorney general of the State (or 16 comparable Tribal official) submits a written 17 certification to the Assistant Attorney General 18 stating that the law of the State or Indian 19 Tribe reflects the sense of Congress in section 20 922(z)(4)(D) of such title 18. 21 ‘‘(2) FIRST YEAR ELIGIBILITY EXCEPTION.— 22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A covered State or In- 23 dian Tribe shall be eligible to receive a grant 24 under this section during the 1-year period be- 25 ginning on the date of enactment of this part. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:32 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S190.IS S190 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 190 IS ‘‘(B) COVERED STATE OR INDIAN TRIBE.— 1 In this paragraph, the term ‘covered State or 2 Indian Tribe’ means a State or Indian Tribe 3 that, before the date of enactment of this part, 4 enacted legislation— 5 ‘‘(i) that is functionally identical to 6 section 922(z)(4) of title 18, United States 7 Code; and 8 ‘‘(ii) for which the attorney general of 9 the State (or comparable Tribal official) 10 submits a written certification to the As- 11 sistant Attorney General stating that the 12 law of the State or Indian Tribe reflects 13 the sense of Congress in section 14 922(z)(4)(D) of such title 18. 15 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds awarded under this 16 section may be used by a State or Indian Tribe to assist 17 law enforcement agencies or the courts of the State or In- 18 dian Tribe in enforcing and otherwise facilitating compli- 19 ance with any State law functionally identical to section 20 922(z)(4), of title 18, United States Code. 21 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—An eligible State or Indian 22 Tribe desiring a grant under this section shall submit to 23 the Assistant Attorney General an application at such 24 time, in such manner, and containing or accompanied by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:32 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S190.IS S190 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 190 IS such information, as the Assistant Attorney General may 1 reasonably require. 2 ‘‘(e) INCENTIVES.—For each of fiscal years 2021 3 through 2025, the Attorney General shall give affirmative 4 preference to all Bureau of Justice Assistance discre- 5 tionary grant applications of a State or Indian Tribe that 6 has enacted legislation— 7 ‘‘(1) functionally identical to section 922(z)(4) 8 of title 18, United States Code; and 9 ‘‘(2) for which the attorney general of the State 10 (or comparable Tribal official) submits a written cer- 11 tification to the Assistant Attorney General stating 12 that the law of the State or Indian Tribe reflects the 13 sense of Congress in section 922(z)(4)(D) of such 14 title 18.’’. 15 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 16 Paragraph (4) of section 922(z) of title 18, United 17 States Code, as added by section 3, is amended by adding 18 at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(D) SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO 20 LIABILITY.—It is the sense of Congress that— 21 ‘‘(i) failure to comply with subpara- 22 graph (A) constitutes negligence under any 23 relevant statute or common law rule; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:32 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S190.IS S190 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 190 IS ‘‘(ii) when a violation of subparagraph 1 (A) is the but-for cause of a harm caused 2 by the discharge of a firearm, such viola- 3 tion should be deemed to be the legal or 4 proximate cause of such harm, regardless 5 of whether such harm was also the result 6 of an intentional tort.’’. 7 SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY. 8 If any provision of this Act, or an amendment made 9 by this Act, or the application of such provision to any 10 person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remain- 11 der of this Act, or an amendment made by this Act, or 12 the application of such provision to other persons or cir- 13 cumstances, shall not be affected. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:32 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S190.IS S190 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS