Jaime’s Law

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1237 To prevent the purchase of ammunition by prohibited purchasers. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 20, 2021 Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself and Mr. MURPHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To prevent the purchase of ammunition by prohibited purchasers. 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 ‘‘Jaime’s Law’’. 4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 5 The purpose of this Act is to enhance the background 6 check process in the United States to prevent the purchase 7 of ammunition by individuals prohibited from doing so. 8 SEC. 3. TRANSFERS OF FIREARMS OR AMMUNITION. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 922 of title 18, United 10 States Code, is amended— 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1237.IS S1237 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1237 IS (1) by striking subsection (s); 1 (2) by redesignating subsection (t) as sub- 2 section (s); 3 (3) in subsection (s), as so redesignated— 4 (A) by inserting ‘‘or ammunition’’ after 5 ‘‘firearm’’ each place it appears except in para- 6 graph (3); 7 (B) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by inserting 8 ‘‘in the case of a firearm,’’ before ‘‘3’’; 9 (C) in paragraph (3)— 10 (i) by striking all that precedes sub- 11 paragraph (B) and inserting the following: 12 ‘‘(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a transfer be- 13 tween a licensee and another person if— 14 ‘‘(A)(i) in the case of a firearm transfer— 15 ‘‘(I) such other person has presented to 16 the licensee a permit that— 17 ‘‘(aa) allows such other person to pos- 18 sess or acquire a firearm; and 19 ‘‘(bb) was issued not more than 5 20 years earlier by the State in which the 21 transfer is to take place; and 22 ‘‘(II) the law of the State provides that 23 such a permit is to be issued only after an au- 24 thorized government official has verified that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1237.IS S1237 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1237 IS the information available to such official does 1 not indicate that possession of a firearm by 2 such other person would be in violation of law; 3 or 4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an ammunition transfer— 5 ‘‘(I) such other person has presented to 6 the licensee a permit that— 7 ‘‘(aa) allows such other person to pos- 8 sess or acquire ammunition, or to possess 9 or acquire a firearm; and 10 ‘‘(bb) was issued not more than 5 11 years earlier by the State in which the 12 transfer is to take place; and 13 ‘‘(II) the law of the State provides that 14 such a permit is to be issued only after an au- 15 thorized government official has verified that 16 the information available to such official does 17 not indicate that possession of ammunition by 18 such other person would be in violation of 19 law;’’; and 20 (ii) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by strik- 21 ing ‘‘(as defined in subsection (s)(8))’’; and 22 (D) by adding at the end the following: 23 ‘‘(7) In this subsection, the term ‘chief law enforce- 24 ment officer’ means the chief of police, the sheriff, or an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1237.IS S1237 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1237 IS equivalent officer or the designee of any such individual.’’; 1 and 2 (4) by inserting after subsection (s), as so re- 3 designated, the following: 4 ‘‘(t)(1)(A) It shall be unlawful for any person who 5 is not a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or li- 6 censed dealer to transfer ammunition to any other person 7 who is not so licensed, unless a licensed importer, licensed 8 manufacturer, or licensed dealer has first taken possession 9 of the ammunition for the purpose of complying with sub- 10 section (s). 11 ‘‘(B) Upon taking possession of ammunition under 12 subparagraph (A), a licensee shall comply with all require- 13 ments of this chapter as if the licensee were transferring 14 ammunition from the inventory of the licensee to the unli- 15 censed transferee. 16 ‘‘(C) If a transfer of ammunition described in sub- 17 paragraph (A) will not be completed for any reason after 18 a licensee takes possession of the ammunition (including 19 because the transfer of the ammunition to, or receipt of 20 the ammunition by, the transferee would violate this chap- 21 ter), the return of the ammunition to the transferor by 22 the licensee shall not constitute the transfer of ammuni- 23 tion for purposes of this chapter. 24 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1237.IS S1237 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1237 IS ‘‘(A) a law enforcement agency or any law en- 1 forcement officer, armed private security profes- 2 sional, or member of the armed forces, to the extent 3 the officer, professional, or member is acting within 4 the course and scope of employment and official du- 5 ties; 6 ‘‘(B) a transfer that is a loan or bona fide gift 7 between spouses, between domestic partners, be- 8 tween parents and their children, between siblings, 9 between aunts or uncles and their nieces or nephews, 10 or between grandparents and their grandchildren; 11 ‘‘(C) a transfer to an executor, administrator, 12 trustee, or personal representative of an estate or a 13 trust that occurs by operation of law upon the death 14 of another person; 15 ‘‘(D) a transfer if the transfer is necessary to 16 prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, if the 17 possession by the transferee lasts only as long as im- 18 mediately necessary to prevent the imminent death 19 or great bodily harm; or 20 ‘‘(E) a transfer, if the transferor has no reason 21 to believe that the transferee will use or intends to 22 use the ammunition in a crime or is prohibited from 23 possessing ammunition under State or Federal law, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1237.IS S1237 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1237 IS and the transfer takes place and the transferee’s 1 possession of the ammunition is exclusively— 2 ‘‘(i) at a shooting range or in a shooting 3 gallery or other area designated for the purpose 4 of target shooting; 5 ‘‘(ii) while reasonably necessary for the 6 purposes of hunting, trapping, or fishing, if the 7 transferor— 8 ‘‘(I) has no reason to believe that the 9 transferee intends to use the ammunition 10 in a place where it is illegal; and 11 ‘‘(II) has reason to believe that the 12 transferee will comply with all licensing 13 and permit requirements for such hunting, 14 trapping, or fishing; or 15 ‘‘(iii) while in the presence of the trans- 16 feror. 17 ‘‘(3)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 18 chapter, the Attorney General may implement this sub- 19 section with regulations. 20 ‘‘(B) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 21 may not include any provision requiring licensees to facili- 22 tate transfers in accordance with paragraph (1). 23 ‘‘(C) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 24 may not include any provision requiring persons not li- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1237.IS S1237 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1237 IS censed under this chapter to keep records of background 1 checks of ammunition transfers. 2 ‘‘(D) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 3 may not include any provision limiting the amount of any 4 fee a licensee may charge to facilitate transfers in accord- 5 ance with paragraph (1). 6 ‘‘(4) It shall be unlawful for a licensed importer, li- 7 censed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to transfer posses- 8 sion of ammunition to another person who is not so li- 9 censed unless the importer, manufacturer, or dealer has 10 provided such other person with a notice of the prohibition 11 under paragraph (1), and such other person has certified 12 that such other person has been provided with this notice 13 on a form prescribed by the Attorney General.’’. 14 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 15 (1) SECTION 922.—Section 922(y)(2) of title 16 18, United States Code, is amended, in the matter 17 preceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘, 18 (g)(5)(B), and (s)(3)(B)(v)(II)’’ and inserting ‘‘and 19 (g)(5)(B)’’. 20 (2) CONSOLIDATED AND FURTHER CONTINUING 21 APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2012.—Section 511 of title V 22 of division B of the Consolidated and Further Con- 23 tinuing Appropriations Act, 2012 (34 U.S.C. 40901 24 note) is amended by striking ‘‘subsection 922(t)’’ 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1237.IS S1237 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1237 IS each place it appears and inserting ‘‘subsection (s) 1 or (t) of section 922’’. 2 SEC. 4. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 3 Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by this 4 Act, shall be construed to— 5 (1) authorize the establishment, directly or indi- 6 rectly, of a national firearms or ammunition reg- 7 istry; or 8 (2) interfere with the authority of a State, 9 under section 927 of title 18, United States Code, 10 to enact a law on the same subject matter as this 11 Act. 12 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 13 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 14 take effect on the date that is 180 days after the date 15 of enactment of this Act. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1237.IS S1237 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS