Handgun Purchaser Licensing Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3285 To provide for a grant program for handgun licensing programs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 13, 2019 Mr. RASKIN (for himself and Mrs. HAYES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide for a grant program for handgun licensing programs, 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 the ‘‘Handgun Purchaser 4 Licensing Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds as follows: 7 (1) In 2017, 91 percent of firearm homicides in 8 the United States in which firearm type was speci- 9 fied were committed with handguns. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:24 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3285.IH H3285 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3285 IH (2) Research by top national experts shows that 1 handgun purchaser licensing laws are associated 2 with significant reductions in firearm-related homi- 3 cides. Research on the effects of Connecticut’s adop- 4 tion of a handgun purchaser licensing law in 1995 5 was associated with a 40-percent reduction in the 6 rate of firearm homicide and a 15-percent reduction 7 in firearm suicide rates during the first 10 years the 8 law was in place. Published research has shown that 9 Missouri’s repeal of its handgun purchaser licensing 10 law in 2007 was associated with an increase in fire- 11 arm homicide rates in the state of 27 percent and 12 a 16-percent increase in suicides committed with 13 firearms. 14 (3) In States which have had effective handgun 15 purchaser licensing laws for decades, such as Con- 16 necticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, 17 the vast majority of guns traced to crimes originated 18 in other States, which supports the need for hand- 19 gun purchaser licensing laws in every State. 20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 21 In this Act— 22 (1) the terms ‘‘Attorney General’’, ‘‘State’’, and 23 ‘‘handgun’’ have the meanings given those terms in 24 section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:24 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3285.IH H3285 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3285 IH (2) the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has the meaning 1 given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Deter- 2 mination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 3 5304). 4 SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED FOR HANDGUN LI- 5 CENSING. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may award 7 grants to States, units of local government, and Indian 8 tribes for the development, implementation, and evalua- 9 tion of handgun purchaser licensing requirements. 10 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From the amounts ap- 11 propriated to carry out this Act and not later than 90 12 days after such amounts are appropriated, the Attorney 13 General shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eli- 14 gible applicants whose applications are approved under 15 subsection (c) to assist such applicants in implementing 16 and improving handgun purchaser licensing programs. 17 (c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 18 under this Act, a State, unit of local government, or In- 19 dian tribe shall submit to the Attorney General an applica- 20 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing such 21 information as the Attorney General may require, includ- 22 ing— 23 (1) a description of the law that the applicant 24 has enacted to require a license for any purchase of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:24 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3285.IH H3285 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3285 IH a handgun including a description of any other ex- 1 emptions to such law; and 2 (2) a description of how the applicant will use 3 the grant to carry out or improve its handgun pur- 4 chaser licensing program. 5 (d) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible for 6 grants, an applicant shall have in effect handgun pur- 7 chaser licensing laws that include the following provisions: 8 (1) An individual applying for a handgun li- 9 cense or permit must be not less than 21 years old 10 and be a national or lawful permanent resident of 11 the United States. 12 (2) Such an individual must apply for the hand- 13 gun purchaser license or permit at a law enforce- 14 ment agency in the State in which they reside. 15 (3) Such an individual must reapply for the 16 handgun purchaser license or permit after a period 17 not longer than 5 years. 18 (4) Such an individual must submit to a back- 19 ground investigation, and a criminal history check, 20 in connection with their application, as established 21 by the State, which background investigation and 22 criminal history check ensure, at a minimum, that 23 such individual is not prohibited from possessing a 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:24 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3285.IH H3285 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3285 IH firearm under section 922(g) of title 18, United 1 States Code. 2 (5) Such an individual must submit fingerprints 3 and photographs in connection with the application 4 for the license or permit. 5 (6) Any individual who is prohibited from pos- 6 sessing a firearm under section 922(g) of title 18, 7 United States Code, may not receive a license or 8 permit. 9 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—A recipient of a grant under 10 this Act shall use such grant to improve handgun pur- 11 chaser licensing programs of that grantee. 12 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 13 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 14 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:24 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3285.IH H3285 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS