Federal

Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 1,738 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill requires background checks for almost all firearm sales and transfers between private people. The bill aims to use the existing background check system to prevent people who are banned from owning guns from obtaining them. ##

Who It Affects

Private gun owners who want to transfer firearms to other private individuals. Licensed gun dealers, manufacturers and importers. Law enforcement officers, armed security professionals and military members. Family members receiving firearms as gifts or loans. ##

Key Provisions

• It becomes illegal for a regular person to transfer a firearm to another regular person unless a licensed dealer first takes possession of the gun and runs a background check (Sec. 3(a)). • Licensed dealers must handle the transfer the same way they handle their own inventory sales (Sec. 3(a)). • If a background check fails or a transfer cannot be completed for any reason, returning the firearm to the original owner is not considered an illegal transfer (Sec. 3(a)). • Temporary transfers are allowed without a background check if the transferor has no reason to believe the person will use the gun in a crime, and the transfer happens at a shooting range, during hunting or trapping activities, or while the original owner is present (Sec. 3(a)). • Family loans and gifts between spouses, domestic partners, parents and children, siblings, aunts and uncles with nieces and nephews, or grandparents and grandchildren do not need background checks if the original owner has no reason to believe the person will use it in a crime (Sec. 3(a)). • Transfers to people handling an estate or trust after someone dies do not need background checks (Sec. 3(a)). • Emergency temporary transfers are allowed to prevent immediate death or serious bodily harm (Sec. 3(a)). • Licensed dealers must provide people with a notice about the background check requirement and get signed certification that they received this notice (Sec. 3(a)). • The Attorney General must provide background check forms in both Spanish and English (Sec. 3(a)). ##

What Changes

The federal gun sales law is amended to make background checks required for almost all firearm transfers between private individuals. This change takes effect 180 days after the bill becomes law. The bill clarifies that nothing in it creates a national firearms registry or prevents states from passing their own laws on this subject. ##

Important Definitions

The bill does not explicitly define key terms like "licensed dealer," "firearm" or "transfer." It references existing definitions in federal law (title 18, United States Code, section 922) without restating them. ##

Effective Date

180 days after the bill becomes law (Sec. 3(d)).

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 715 To require a background check for every firearm sale. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 1, 2023 Mr. FITZPATRICK (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. BONAMICI, Mrs. BEATTY, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. PETERS, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. TONKO, Mr. PANETTA, Ms. STEVENS, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. COSTA, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Ms. JACOBS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mrs. NAPOLI- TANO, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. STANTON, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. TITUS, Mrs. FLETCH- ER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CASE, Mr. ROBERT GARCIA of California, Mr. CORREA, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. WEXTON, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. DAVIS of Illi- nois, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Mr. BEYER, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. MORELLE, Ms. MENG, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Mr. TRONE, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. CASTEN, Mr. SHERMAN, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. NADLER, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. HIMES, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, Mr. NICKEL, Ms. ROSS, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. WILD, Mr. GOMEZ, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. CHU, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. MULLIN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. LEVIN, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. BLU- MENAUER, Mr. KILMER, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. EVANS, Mr. BOYLE of Penn- sylvania, Mr. MFUME, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. PLASKETT, Ms. SALI- NAS, Mr. BERA, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. LANDSMAN, Ms. OMAR, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. DELAURO, Mrs. TRAHAN, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. PETTERSEN, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. IVEY, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Ms. CRAIG, Ms. BROWN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. PORTER, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:51 Feb 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H715.IH H715 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 715 IH POCAN, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. MCGARVEY, Mr. RUIZ, Ms. SCHOLTEN, Mr. TORRES of New York, Ms. BALINT, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Ms. HOYLE of Oregon, Mr. DELUZIO, Mr. COHEN, Mr. GALLEGO, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. KEATING, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. COURT- NEY, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. STRICKLAND, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. CROW, Ms. SPANBERGER, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. SOTO, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. MAGAZINER, Mr. CARTER of Lou- isiana, Mr. ALLRED, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. FROST, and Mr. MOSKOWITZ) in- troduced the following bill; which was 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 ‘‘Bipartisan Back- 4 ground Checks Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 6 The purpose of this Act is to utilize the current back- 7 ground checks process in the United States to ensure indi- 8 viduals prohibited from gun purchase or possession are 9 not able to obtain firearms. 10 SEC. 3. FIREARMS TRANSFERS. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 922 of title 18, United 12 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 13 lowing: 14 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:51 Feb 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H715.IH H715 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 715 IH ‘‘(aa)(1)(A) It shall be unlawful for any person who 1 is not a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or li- 2 censed dealer to transfer a firearm to any other person 3 who is not so licensed, unless a licensed importer, licensed 4 manufacturer, or licensed dealer has first taken possession 5 of the firearm for the purpose of complying with sub- 6 section (t). 7 ‘‘(B) Upon taking possession of a firearm under sub- 8 paragraph (A), a licensee shall comply with all require- 9 ments of this chapter as if the licensee were transferring 10 the firearm from the inventory of the licensee to the unli- 11 censed transferee. 12 ‘‘(C) If a transfer of a firearm described in subpara- 13 graph (A) will not be completed for any reason after a 14 licensee takes possession of the firearm (including because 15 the transfer of the firearm to, or receipt of the firearm 16 by, the transferee would violate this chapter), the return 17 of the firearm to the transferor by the licensee shall not 18 constitute the transfer of a firearm for purposes of this 19 chapter. 20 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to— 21 ‘‘(A) a law enforcement agency or any law en- 22 forcement officer, armed private security profes- 23 sional, or member of the Armed Forces, to the ex- 24 tent the officer, professional, or member is acting 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Feb 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H715.IH H715 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 715 IH the course and scope of employment and official du- 1 ties; 2 ‘‘(B) a transfer or exchange (which, for pur- 3 poses of this subsection, means an in-kind transfer 4 of a firearm of the same type or value) that is a loan 5 or bona fide gift between spouses, between domestic 6 partners, between parents and their children, includ- 7 ing step-parents and their step-children, between sib- 8 lings, between aunts or uncles and their nieces or 9 nephews, or between grandparents and their grand- 10 children, if the transferor has no reason to believe 11 that the transferee will use or intends to use the 12 firearm in a crime or is prohibited from possessing 13 firearms under State or Federal law; 14 ‘‘(C) a transfer to an executor, administrator, 15 trustee, or personal representative of an estate or a 16 trust that occurs by operation of law upon the death 17 of another person; 18 ‘‘(D) a temporary transfer that is necessary to 19 prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, in- 20 cluding harm to self, family, household members, or 21 others, if the possession by the transferee lasts only 22 as long as immediately necessary to prevent the im- 23 minent death or great bodily harm, including harm 24 to self, and the harm of domestic violence, dating 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:51 Feb 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H715.IH H715 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 715 IH partner violence, sexual assault, stalking, and do- 1 mestic abuse; 2 ‘‘(E) a transfer that is approved by the Attor- 3 ney General under section 5812 of the Internal Rev- 4 enue Code of 1986; or 5 ‘‘(F) a temporary transfer if the transferor has 6 no reason to believe that the transferee will use or 7 intends to use the firearm in a crime or is prohibited 8 from possessing firearms under State or Federal 9 law, and the transfer takes place and the trans- 10 feree’s possession of the firearm is exclusively— 11 ‘‘(i) at a shooting range or in a shooting 12 gallery or other area designated for the purpose 13 of target shooting; 14 ‘‘(ii) while reasonably necessary for the 15 purposes of hunting, trapping, pest control on 16 a farm or ranch, or fishing, if the transferor— 17 ‘‘(I) has no reason to believe that the 18 transferee intends to use the firearm in a 19 place where it is illegal; and 20 ‘‘(II) has reason to believe that the 21 transferee will comply with all licensing 22 and permit requirements for such hunting, 23 trapping, pest control on a farm or ranch, 24 or fishing; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:51 Feb 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H715.IH H715 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 715 IH ‘‘(iii) while in the presence of the trans- 1 feror. 2 ‘‘(3) It shall be unlawful for a licensed importer, li- 3 censed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to transfer posses- 4 sion of, or title to, a firearm to another person who is 5 not so licensed unless the importer, manufacturer, or deal- 6 er has provided such other person with a notice of the 7 prohibition under paragraph (1), and such other person 8 has certified that such other person has been provided 9 with this notice on a form prescribed by the Attorney Gen- 10 eral. 11 ‘‘(4) The Attorney General shall make available to 12 any person licensed under this chapter both Spanish and 13 English versions of the form required for the conduct of 14 a background check under subsection (t) and this sub- 15 section, and the notice and form required under paragraph 16 (3) of this subsection.’’. 17 (b) AMENDMENT TO SECTION 924(a).—Section 18 924(a)(5) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 19 striking ‘‘(s) or (t)’’ and inserting ‘‘(s), (t), or (aa)’’. 20 (c) RULES OF INTERPRETATION.—Nothing in this 21 Act, or any amendment made by this Act, shall be con- 22 strued to— 23 (1) authorize the establishment, directly or indi- 24 rectly, of a national firearms registry; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:51 Feb 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H715.IH H715 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 715 IH (2) interfere with the authority of a State, 1 under section 927 of title 18, United States Code, 2 to enact a law on the same subject matter as this 3 Act. 4 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 5 subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect 180 days after 6 the date of enactment of this Act. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:51 Feb 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H715.IH H715 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

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