Blair Holt Firearm Owner Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2272 To provide for the implementation of a system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale system for those firearms, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 25, 2019 Ms. DUCKWORTH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide for the implementation of a system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale system for those 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Blair Holt Firearm Owner Licensing and Record of Sale 5 Act of 2019’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S2272.IS S2272 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2272 IS Sec. 3. Definitions. TITLE I—LICENSING Sec. 101. Licensing requirement. Sec. 102. Issuance, revocation, and renewal of firearm owner licenses. Sec. 103. Relief from denial or revocation of firearm owner licenses. TITLE II—RECORD OF SALE OR TRANSFER Sec. 201. Sale or transfer requirements for qualifying firearms. Sec. 202. Firearm records. TITLE III—ADDITIONAL PROHIBITIONS Sec. 301. Universal background check requirement. Sec. 302. Failure to maintain or permit inspection of records. Sec. 303. Failure to report loss or theft of firearm. Sec. 304. Failure to provide notice of change of address. Sec. 305. Child access prevention. TITLE IV—ENFORCEMENT Sec. 401. Criminal penalties. Sec. 402. Regulations. Sec. 403. Inspections. Sec. 404. Orders. Sec. 405. Injunctive enforcement. TITLE V—FIREARM INJURY INFORMATION AND RESEARCH Sec. 501. Duties of the Attorney General. TITLE VI—EFFECT ON STATE LAW Sec. 601. Effect on State law. Sec. 602. Certification of State firearm licensing systems and State firearm record of sale systems. TITLE VII—RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW Sec. 701. Subordination to Arms Export Control Act. TITLE VIII—INAPPLICABILITY Sec. 801. Inapplicability to governmental authorities. TITLE IX—EFFECTIVE DATES OF AMENDMENTS Sec. 901. Effective dates of amendments. SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 2 (1) the manufacture, distribution, and importa- 3 tion of firearms is inherently commercial in nature; 4 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2272.IS S2272 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2272 IS (2) firearms regularly move in interstate com- 1 merce; 2 (3) to the extent that firearms trafficking is 3 intrastate in nature, it arises out of and is substan- 4 tially connected with a commercial transaction that, 5 when viewed in the aggregate, substantially affects 6 interstate commerce; 7 (4) because the intrastate and interstate traf- 8 ficking of firearms are so commingled, full regula- 9 tion of interstate commerce requires the incidental 10 regulation of intrastate commerce; 11 (5) firearm-related assaults in the United 12 States— 13 (A) during the 16-year period between 14 2001 and 2016, were associated with the major- 15 ity of homicides and half of all suicides; and 16 (B) during the 15-year period between 17 2001 and 2015, were the seventh leading cause 18 of nonfatal violent injuries; 19 (6) on the afternoon of May 10, 2007, Blair 20 Holt, a junior at Julian High School in Chicago, was 21 killed on a public bus riding home from school when 22 he used his body to shield a girl who was in the line 23 of fire after a young man boarded the bus and start- 24 ed shooting; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2272.IS S2272 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2272 IS (7) since 2007, when 32 students and teachers 1 were killed at Virginia Tech, 7 of the 11 most deadly 2 mass shootings in the United States have taken 3 place; 4 (8) since 2012, when 20 first graders and 5 teachers were murdered with an assault rifle at 6 Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Con- 7 necticut, more than 230 school shootings have oc- 8 curred in the United States; 9 (9) in 2015, there were 294 mass shootings, in- 10 cluding, notably, the shooting at Umpqua Commu- 11 nity College in Oregon, the Charleston church shoot- 12 ing in South Carolina, the theatre shooting in La- 13 fayette, Louisiana, and the Isla Vista community 14 shootings in California; 15 (10) since 2016, the country has witnessed 4 of 16 the 10 worst gun massacres in modern United 17 States history; and 18 (11) in February 2018, 17 members of the 19 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School community 20 in Parkland, Florida, lost their lives at the hands of 21 a 19-year-old armed with an AR–15 semiautomatic 22 assault rifle. 23 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 24 gress that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2272.IS S2272 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2272 IS (1) firearms trafficking is prevalent and wide- 1 spread in and among the States, and it is usually 2 impossible to distinguish between intrastate traf- 3 ficking and interstate trafficking; and 4 (2) it is in the national interest and within the 5 role of the Federal Government to ensure that the 6 regulation of firearms is uniform among the States, 7 that law enforcement can quickly and effectively 8 trace firearms used in crime, and that firearms own- 9 ers know how to use and safely store their firearms. 10 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act and the 11 amendments made by this Act are— 12 (1) to protect the public against the unreason- 13 able risk of injury and negligent or reckless death 14 associated with the unrecorded sale or transfer of 15 qualifying firearms to criminals and youths; 16 (2) to ensure that owners of qualifying firearms 17 are knowledgeable in the safe use, handling, and 18 storage of those firearms; 19 (3) to restrict the availability of qualifying fire- 20 arms to criminals, youth, and other persons prohib- 21 ited by Federal law from receiving firearms; 22 (4) to facilitate the tracing of qualifying fire- 23 arms used in crime by Federal and State law en- 24 forcement agencies; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2272.IS S2272 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2272 IS (5) to hold criminally and civilly liable those 1 who facilitate the transfer of qualifying firearms, 2 causing risk of injury and negligent or reckless 3 death associated with the transfer of those quali- 4 fying firearms. 5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act, the terms ‘‘firearm’’, 7 ‘‘qualifying firearm’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings 8 given those terms in section 921(a) of title 18, United 9 States Code, as amended by subsection (b). 10 (b) TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE.—Section 11 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by add- 12 ing at the end the following: 13 ‘‘(36) The term ‘detachable ammunition feeding de- 14 vice’— 15 ‘‘(A) means a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, 16 or similar device that— 17 ‘‘(i) is capable of being detached from a 18 semiautomatic rifle; and 19 ‘‘(ii) has a capacity of, or that can be read- 20 ily restored or converted to accept, more than 21 10 rounds of ammunition; and 22 ‘‘(B) does not include an attached tubular de- 23 vice designed to accept, and capable of operating 24 only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2272.IS S2272 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2272 IS ‘‘(37) The term ‘firearm owner license’ means a li- 1 cense issued under section 923(m). 2 ‘‘(38) The term ‘qualifying firearm’— 3 ‘‘(A) means— 4 ‘‘(i) a handgun; or 5 ‘‘(ii) a semiautomatic rifle that is capable 6 of accepting a detachable ammunition feeding 7 device; and 8 ‘‘(B) does not include an antique firearm.’’. 9 TITLE I—LICENSING 10 SEC. 101. LICENSING REQUIREMENT. 11 Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 12 amended by adding at the end the following: 13 ‘‘(aa) FIREARM LICENSING REQUIREMENT.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 15 it shall be unlawful for any individual other than a 16 licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed 17 dealer, or licensed collector to possess a qualifying 18 firearm on or after the applicable date, unless that 19 individual has a valid— 20 ‘‘(A) firearm owner license; or 21 ‘‘(B) State firearm license. 22 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTIONS.— 23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) shall 24 not apply to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2272.IS S2272 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2272 IS ‘‘(i) a Federal, State, local, or Tribal 1 law enforcement officer while engaged in 2 the performance of official duties; 3 ‘‘(ii) a member of the Armed Forces 4 or National Guard while engaged in the 5 performance of official duties; 6 ‘‘(iii) a Federal employee who is re- 7 quired to carry a qualifying firearm in the 8 capacity of that individual as a Federal 9 employee while engaged in the performance 10 of official duties; 11 ‘‘(iv) a member of a bona fide vet- 12 erans organization that received the quali- 13 fying firearm directly from the Armed 14 Forces, including a member of the color 15 guard of the veterans organization, while 16 using the qualifying firearm for a ceremo- 17 nial purpose with blank ammunition; 18 ‘‘(v) an unemancipated minor who is 19 under the direct supervision of an indi- 20 vidual who— 21 ‘‘(I) has a valid firearm owner li- 22 cense or State firearm license; and 23 ‘‘(II) is, with respect to the 24 minor— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2272.IS S2272 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2272 IS ‘‘(aa) a parent; 1 ‘‘(bb) a legal guardian; or 2 ‘‘(cc) any other individual 3 standing in loco parentis; 4 ‘‘(vi) an individual with a valid hunt- 5 ing license issued by a State while the indi- 6 vidual is— 7 ‘‘(I) hunting in the State that 8 issued the license; and 9 ‘‘(II) accompanied by an indi- 10 vidual who has a valid firearm owner 11 license or State firearm license; or 12 ‘‘(vii) an individual who is— 13 ‘‘(I)(aa) on a firing or shooting 14 range; or 15 ‘‘(bb) participating in a firearms 16 safety or training course recognized 17 by— 18 ‘‘(AA) a Federal, State, 19 local, or Tribal law enforcement 20 agency; or 21 ‘‘(BB) a national or state- 22 wide shooting sports organiza- 23 tion; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2272.IS S2272 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2272 IS ‘‘(II) otherwise eligible to obtain 1 a firearm owner license; and 2 ‘‘(III) under the direct super- 3 vision of an individual who— 4 ‘‘(aa) has a valid firearm 5 owner license or State firearm li- 6 cense; and 7 ‘‘(bb) is not less than 21 8 years of age. 9 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUALS WITH STATE FIREARM 10 LICENSES.—Not later than 60 days after the 11 date on which an individual who has a State 12 firearm license moves from the State in which 13 the State firearm license of the individual was 14 issued to a different State, the individual 15 shall— 16 ‘‘(i) if the State to which the indi- 17 vidual has moved has a State firearm 18 owner licensing system certified by the At- 19 torney General under section 933, apply 20 for— 21 ‘‘(I) a State firearm license 22 under that State system; or 23 ‘‘(II) a firearm owner license; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2272.IS S2272 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2272 IS ‘‘(ii) if the State to which the indi- 1 vidual has moved does not have a State 2 firearm licensing system certified by the 3 Attorney General under section 933, apply 4 for a firearm owner license. 5 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 6 ‘‘(A) the term ‘applicable date’ means, 7 with respect to a qualifying firearm that is ac- 8 quired by the individual— 9 ‘‘(i) before the date of enactment of 10 the Blair Holt Firearm Owner Licensing 11 and Record of Sale Act of 2019, 2 years 12 after that date of enactment; and 13 ‘‘(ii) on or after the date of enactment 14 of the Blair Holt Firearm Owner Licensing 15 and Record of Sale Act of 2019, 1 year 16 after that date of enactment; and 17 ‘‘(B) the term ‘State firearm license’ 18 means a firearm license issued under a firearm 19 licensing system established by a State that has 20 been certified by the Attorney General under 21 section 933. 22 ‘‘(bb) DENIAL OR REVOCATION OF FIREARM OWNER 23 LICENSES.—It shall be unlawful for any individual who 24 is denied a firearm owner license under paragraph (3)(D) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2272.IS S2272 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2272 IS of section 923(m) or receives a revocation notice under 1 paragraph (5)(B)(i) of that section to knowingly— 2 ‘‘(1) fail to surrender the firearm owner license 3 of the individual in accordance with paragraph 4 (6)(A)(i) of that section; 5 ‘‘(2) fail to submit a firearm disposition record 6 in accordance with paragraph (6)(A)(ii) of that sec- 7 tion; 8 ‘‘(3) make a false statement in a firearm dis- 9 position record submitted under paragraph (6)(A)(ii) 10 of that section; or 11 ‘‘(4) fail to transfer any qualifying firearm of 12 the individual in accordance with paragraph 13 (6)(A)(iii) of that section.’’. 14 SEC. 102. ISSUANCE, REVOCATION, AND RENEWAL OF FIRE- 15 ARM OWNER LICENSES. 16 Section 923 of title 18, United States Code, is 17 amended— 18 (1) in subsection (d)(1)(F)(iii), by inserting 19 ‘‘under subsection (a) or (b)’’ after ‘‘Federal fire- 20 arms license’’; 21 (2) in subsection (l), by inserting ‘‘under sub- 22 section (a) or (b)’’ after ‘‘a firearms license is 23 issued’’; and 24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2272.IS S2272 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 2272 IS ‘‘(m) FIREARM OWNER LICENSES.— 1 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 2 ‘‘(A) the term ‘clinical psychologist’ means 3 a psychologist licensed or registered to practice 4 psychology in the State in which the psycholo- 5 gist practices who— 6 ‘‘(i) has— 7 ‘‘( [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]