Background Check Expansion Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 42 To require a background check for every firearm sale. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 8, 2019 Mr. MURPHY (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BROWN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CARPER, Mr. CASEY, Mr. COONS, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. HAR- RIS, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. KAINE, Ms. KLO- BUCHAR, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. PETERS, Mr. REED, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHATZ, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. SMITH, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. UDALL, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WARNER, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To require a background check for every firearm sale. 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 the ‘‘Background Check Ex- 4 pansion Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Jan 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 42 IS SEC. 2. FIREARMS TRANSFERS. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 922 of title 18, United 2 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘(aa)(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 a firearm 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 firearm for the purpose of complying with sub- 10 section (t). 11 ‘‘(B) Upon taking possession of a firearm under sub- 12 paragraph (A), a licensee shall comply with all require- 13 ments of this chapter as if the licensee were transferring 14 the firearm from the inventory of the licensee to the unli- 15 censed transferee. 16 ‘‘(C) If a transfer of a firearm described in subpara- 17 graph (A) will not be completed for any reason after a 18 licensee takes possession of the firearm (including because 19 the transfer of the firearm to, or receipt of the firearm 20 by, the transferee would violate this chapter), the return 21 of the firearm to the transferor by the licensee shall not 22 constitute the transfer of a firearm for purposes of this 23 chapter. 24 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Jan 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 42 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 temporary transfer that 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; 20 ‘‘(E) a transfer that is approved by the Attor- 21 ney General under section 5812 of the Internal Rev- 22 enue Code of 1986; or 23 ‘‘(F) a temporary transfer if the transferor has 24 no reason to believe that the transferee will use or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Jan 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 42 IS intends to use the firearm in a crime or is prohibited 1 from possessing firearms under State or Federal 2 law, and the transfer takes place and the trans- 3 feree’s possession of the firearm is exclusively— 4 ‘‘(i) at a shooting range or in a shooting 5 gallery or other area designated for the purpose 6 of target shooting; 7 ‘‘(ii) while reasonably necessary for the 8 purposes of hunting, trapping, or fishing, if the 9 transferor— 10 ‘‘(I) has no reason to believe that the 11 transferee intends to use the firearm in a 12 place where it is illegal; and 13 ‘‘(II) has reason to believe that the 14 transferee will comply with all licensing 15 and permit requirements for such hunting, 16 trapping, or fishing; or 17 ‘‘(iii) while in the presence of the trans- 18 feror.’’. 19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 20 subsection (a) shall take effect 180 days after the date 21 of enactment of this Act. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Jan 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS