AVERT Future Gun Violence Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 971 To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the possession of a firearm by, or the disposition of a firearm to, a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of animal cruelty. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 5, 2019 Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the pos- session of a firearm by, or the disposition of a firearm to, a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of animal cruelty. 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 ‘‘Animal Violence Ex- 4 poses Real Threat of Future Gun Violence Act of 2019’’ 5 or the ‘‘AVERT Future Gun Violence Act of 2019’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Feb 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 971 IH SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON THE POSSESSION OF A FIREARM 1 BY, OR THE DISPOSITION OF A FIREARM TO, 2 A PERSON WHO HAS BEEN CONVICTED OF A 3 MISDEMEANOR CRIME OF ANIMAL CRUELTY. 4 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 921(a) of title 18, United 5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 6 lowing: 7 ‘‘(35)(A) The term ‘misdemeanor crime of animal 8 cruelty’ means an offense that— 9 ‘‘(i) is a misdemeanor under Federal, State, or 10 tribal law; and 11 ‘‘(ii) has, as an element, knowingly causing un- 12 necessary or unjustifiable physical pain or suffering 13 to an animal by an act, omission, or neglect. 14 ‘‘(B)(i) A person shall not be considered to have been 15 convicted of such an offense for purposes of this chapter, 16 unless— 17 ‘‘(I) the person was represented by counsel in 18 the case, or knowingly and intelligently waived the 19 right to counsel in the case; and 20 ‘‘(II) in the case of a prosecution for an offense 21 described in this paragraph for which a person was 22 entitled to a jury trial in the jurisdiction in which 23 the case was tried, either— 24 ‘‘(aa) the case was tried by a jury; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Feb 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 971 IH ‘‘(bb) the person knowingly and intel- 1 ligently waived the right to have the case tried 2 by a jury, by guilty plea or otherwise. 3 ‘‘(ii) A person shall not be considered to have been 4 convicted of such an offense for purposes of this chapter 5 if the conviction has been expunged or set aside, or is an 6 offense for which the person has been pardoned or has 7 had civil rights restored (if the law of the applicable juris- 8 diction provides for the loss of civil right under such an 9 offense), unless the pardon, expungement, or restoration 10 of civil rights expressly provides that the person may not 11 ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms.’’. 12 (b) PROHIBITIONS.—Section 922 of such title is 13 amended— 14 (1) in the 1st sentence of subsection (d)— 15 (A) in paragraph (8)(B)(ii), by striking 16 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 17 (B) in paragraph (9), by striking the pe- 18 riod and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 19 (C) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(10) has been convicted in any court of a mis- 21 demeanor crime of animal cruelty.’’; and 22 (2) in subsection (g)— 23 (A) in paragraph (8)(C)(ii), by striking 24 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Feb 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 971 IH (B) in paragraph (9), by striking the 1 comma and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 2 (C) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(10) who has been convicted in any court of 4 a misdemeanor crime of animal cruelty,’’. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Feb 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H971.IH H971 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS