Federal Firearm Licensing Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2449 To amend title 18, United States Code, to require licenses to acquire or receive firearms, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 Mr. BOOKER (for himself and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to require licenses to acquire or receive 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Firearm Li- 4 censing Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. LICENSE FOR THE PURCHASE OF FIREARMS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 44 of title 18, United 7 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 8 lowing: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Sep 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2449.IS S2449 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2449 IS ‘‘§ 932. License for the acquisition or receipt of fire- 1 arms 2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 3 (d), it shall be unlawful for any individual to purchase or 4 receive a firearm unless the individual has a valid Federal 5 firearm license. 6 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL LICENSE TO 7 PURCHASE OR RECEIVE FIREARMS.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 9 establish a Federal system for issuing a Federal fire- 10 arm license to eligible individuals for firearms trans- 11 ferred to such individual. 12 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The system established 13 under paragraph (1) shall require that— 14 ‘‘(A) an individual shall be eligible to re- 15 ceive such a license if the individual— 16 ‘‘(i) has completed training in fire- 17 arms safety, including— 18 ‘‘(I) a written test, to dem- 19 onstrate knowledge of applicable fire- 20 arms laws; and 21 ‘‘(II) hands-on testing, including 22 firing testing, to demonstrate safe use 23 and sufficient accuracy of a firearm; 24 ‘‘(ii) as part of the process for apply- 25 ing for such a license— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Sep 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2449.IS S2449 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2449 IS ‘‘(I) has submitted to a back- 1 ground investigation and criminal his- 2 tory check of the individual; 3 ‘‘(II) has submitted proof of 4 identity; 5 ‘‘(III) has submitted the finger- 6 prints of the individual; and 7 ‘‘(IV) has submitted identifying 8 information on the firearm that the 9 person intends to obtain, including the 10 make, model, and serial number, and 11 the identity of the firearm seller or 12 transferor; 13 ‘‘(B) a license issued under the system is 14 available at a designated local office, which 15 shall be located in both urban and rural areas; 16 ‘‘(C) the Attorney General shall issue or 17 deny a license under this section not later than 18 30 days after the date on which the application 19 for such license is received; 20 ‘‘(D) each license issued under this section 21 shall be valid for the purchase of a single fire- 22 arm, which shall be purchased not later than 30 23 days after the date on which the license is 24 issued; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Sep 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2449.IS S2449 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2449 IS ‘‘(E) a license issued under the system 1 shall expire on the date that is 5 years after the 2 date on which the license was issued; and 3 ‘‘(F) the Attorney General shall provide 4 notice of an application for a license under this 5 section to the relevant State and local officials. 6 ‘‘(3) BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Before issuing a li- 8 cense under this section, the Attorney General 9 shall— 10 ‘‘(i) conduct a background investiga- 11 tion on the applicant; and 12 ‘‘(ii) deny any license if receipt of a 13 firearm would violate subsection (g) or (n) 14 of section 922 or any provision of State 15 law. 16 ‘‘(B) POSES A DANGER OF BODILY IN- 17 JURY.— 18 ‘‘(i) INFORMATION FROM STATE AND 19 LOCAL OFFICIALS.—After receiving the no- 20 tice described in paragraph (2)(F), rel- 21 evant State and local officials may submit 22 to the Attorney General information dem- 23 onstrating that the individual poses a sig- 24 nificant danger of bodily injury to self or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Sep 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2449.IS S2449 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2449 IS others by possessing, purchasing, or receiv- 1 ing a firearm. 2 ‘‘(ii) DENIAL.— 3 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney 4 General may deny a license under this 5 section if the Attorney General deter- 6 mines that the applicant poses a sig- 7 nificant danger of bodily injury to self 8 or others by possessing, purchasing, 9 or receiving a firearm, after exam- 10 ining factors the Attorney General 11 considers are relevant to the deter- 12 mination, including— 13 ‘‘(aa) history of threats or 14 acts of violence toward self or 15 others; 16 ‘‘(bb) history of use, at- 17 tempted use, or threatened use of 18 physical force by the applicant 19 against another person; 20 ‘‘(cc) whether the applicant 21 is the subject of or has violated a 22 domestic violence or stalking re- 23 straining order or protection 24 order; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Sep 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2449.IS S2449 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2449 IS ‘‘(dd) any prior arrest, pend- 1 ing charge, or conviction for a 2 violent or serious crime or dis- 3 orderly persons offense, stalking 4 offense, or domestic violence of- 5 fense; 6 ‘‘(ee) any prior arrest, pend- 7 ing charge, or conviction for an 8 offense involving cruelty to ani- 9 mals; 10 ‘‘(ff) history of drug or alco- 11 hol abuse or involvement in drug 12 trafficking; 13 ‘‘(gg) any recent acquisition 14 of firearms, ammunition, or other 15 deadly weapons; and 16 ‘‘(hh) involvement in fire- 17 arms trafficking or unlawful fire- 18 arms transfers; and 19 ‘‘(ii) history of unsafe stor- 20 age or handling of firearms. 21 ‘‘(II) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—An ap- 22 plicant denied a license under sub- 23 clause (I) may file an action in the 24 appropriate district court of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Sep 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2449.IS S2449 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2449 IS United States for seeking review of 1 the denial. 2 ‘‘(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 3 in this paragraph may be construed to modify 4 any other requirement for a background inves- 5 tigation relating to the acquisition or receipt of 6 a firearm in effect on the day before the date 7 of enactment of this section. 8 ‘‘(4) REVOCATION.— 9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 10 shall revoke a license issued under this section 11 if the Attorney General determines that— 12 ‘‘(i) the licensee poses a significant 13 danger of bodily injury to self or others by 14 possessing, purchasing, or receiving a fire- 15 arm; or 16 ‘‘(ii) after a regular background inves- 17 tigation conducted by the Attorney Gen- 18 eral, the possession of a firearm would vio- 19 late subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 or 20 any provision of State law. 21 ‘‘(B) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR A 22 HEARING.— 23 ‘‘(i) NOTICE.—Upon determining that 24 the licensee should have their license re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Sep 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2449.IS S2449 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2449 IS voked under subparagraph (A), the Attor- 1 ney General shall provide notice to the li- 2 censee and to relevant State and local offi- 3 cials of the determination. 4 ‘‘(ii) HEARING.—For revocations 5 under subparagraph (A)(i), the Attorney 6 General shall provide a licensee an oppor- 7 tunity for a hearing in the appropriate dis- 8 trict court of the United States not later 9 than 30 days after the date on which a li- 10 cense is revoked under this paragraph to 11 appeal the revocation. 12 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES.—The Attorney Gen- 13 eral shall establish procedures to ensure that 14 any firearm is removed from any individual 15 when the individual’s license is revoked under 16 this paragraph. 17 ‘‘(D) RETURN OF FIREARMS.—A firearm 18 removed under the procedures established under 19 subparagraph (C) may be returned to the indi- 20 vidual only if the individual’s license is rein- 21 stated. 22 ‘‘(5) RENEWAL.—The Attorney General shall 23 establish procedures for the renewal of a license that 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Sep 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2449.IS S2449 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2449 IS requires that the applicant satisfies the requirements 1 described in paragraph (2). 2 ‘‘(6) ENROLLMENT IN RAP BACK.—The Attor- 3 ney General shall enroll each individual who is 4 issued a license under this section in the Rap Back 5 service. 6 ‘‘(c) RECORDKEEPING .—It shall be unlawful for any 7 individual to sell or otherwise dispose of a firearm to a 8 person unless the individual reports the transaction to the 9 Attorney General not later than 3 business days after the 10 date on which the firearm is sold or transferred, which 11 shall include identifying information on the firearm seller 12 and on the firearm transferee, including the make, model, 13 and serial number. 14 ‘‘(d) STATE LICENSES.— 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) shall not 16 apply to an individual in a State if the Attorney 17 General determines that the State has a process for 18 issuing a State firearm license to eligible individuals 19 in the State with substantially similar requirements 20 to those described in subsection (b). 21 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Attorney General may pro- 22 mulgate regulations that the Attorney General determines 23 are necessary to carry out this section.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Sep 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2449.IS S2449 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2449 IS (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 1 for such chapter is amended by adding at the end the fol- 2 lowing: 3 ‘‘932. License for the acquisition or receipt of firearms.’’. SEC. 3. POINT-OF-SALE BACKGROUND CHECK. 4 Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 5 amended by adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘(aa)(1)(A) It shall be unlawful for any person who 7 is not a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or li- 8 censed dealer to transfer a firearm to any other person 9 who is not so licensed, unless a licensed importer, licensed 10 manufacturer, or licensed dealer has first taken possession 11 of the firearm for the purpose of complying with sub- 12 section (t). 13 ‘‘(B) Upon taking possession of a firearm under sub- 14 paragraph (A), a licensee shall comply with all require- 15 ments of this chapter as if the licensee were transferring 16 the firearm from the inventory of the licensee to the unli- 17 censed transferee. 18 ‘‘(C) If a transfer of a firearm described in subpara- 19 graph (A) will not be completed for any reason after a 20 licensee takes possession of the firearm (including because 21 the transfer of the firearm to, or receipt of the firearm 22 by, the transferee would violate this chapter), the return 23 of the firearm to the transferor by the licensee shall not 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Sep 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2449.IS S2449 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2449 IS constitute the transfer of a firearm for purposes of this 1 chapter.’’. 2 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER TO CERTAIN UNLI- 3 CENSED PERSONS. 4 Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 5 amended by adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘(aa) PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER TO CERTAIN UN- 7 LICENSED PERSONS.—It shall be unlawful for any person 8 to— 9 ‘‘(1) sell or otherwise dispose of a firearm to 10 any person if such person does not have a license 11 issued under section 932 or a substantially similar 12 State law, as determined by the Attorney General, 13 during the previous 30 days; or 14 ‘‘(2) fail to report to the relevant law enforce- 15 ment agencies the sale or disposal described in para- 16 graph (1).’’. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Sep 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2449.IS S2449 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS