[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4313 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4313
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
May 9, 2024
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 Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Blair Holt Firearm
Owner Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2024''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.
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. Firearms transfers.
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.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) the manufacture, distribution, and importation of
firearms is inherently commercial in nature;
(2) firearms regularly move in interstate commerce;
(3) to the extent that firearms trafficking is intrastate
in nature, it arises out of and is substantially connected with
a commercial transaction that, when viewed in the aggregate,
substantially affects interstate commerce;
(4) because the intrastate and interstate trafficking of
firearms are so commingled, full regulation of interstate
commerce requires the incidental regulation of intrastate
commerce;
(5) firearm-related assaults in the United States during
the 19-year period between 2001 and 2019 were--
(A) associated with the majority of homicides and
half of all suicides; and
(B) the seventh leading cause of nonfatal violent
injuries;
(6) on the afternoon of May 10, 2007, Blair Holt, a junior
at Julian High School in Chicago, was killed on a public bus
riding home from school when he used his body to shield a girl
who was in the line of fire after a young man boarded the bus
and started shooting;
(7) since 2007, when 32 students and teachers were killed
at Virginia Tech, 7 of the 11 most deadly mass shootings in the
United States have taken place;
(8) since 2012, when 20 first graders and teachers were
murdered with an assault rifle at Sandy Hook Elementary School
in Newtown, Connecticut, more than 230 school shootings have
occurred in the United States;
(9) in 2015, there were 335 mass shootings, including,
notably, the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon,
the Charleston church shooting in South Carolina, the theater
shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana, and the Isla Vista community
shootings in California;
(10) since 2016, the country has witnessed 4 of the 10 most
deadly mass shootings in modern United States history;
(11) in February 2018, 17 members of the Marjory Stoneman
Douglas High School community in Parkland, Florida, lost their
lives at the hands of a 19-year-old armed with an AR-15
semiautomatic assault rifle;
(12) according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the
criminal homicide rate increased from 5.1 per 100,000 people in
2019 to 6.5 per 100,000 people in 2020, the largest single year
increase in at least the past 6 decades and approximately 73
percent of 2019 criminal homicides are estimated to have been
firearms-related, while approximately 77 percent of 2020
criminal homicides are estimated to have been firearms-related;
(13) communities of color suffer disproportionately from
gun violence, with Black children and teens 14 percent more
likely to die of gun violence than their White counterparts and
Latino children and teens 3 times more likely to die of gun
violence than their White counterparts; and
(14) between 2015 and 2020, there were 2,429 mass
shootings, including 611 in 2020 alone.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) firearms trafficking is prevalent and widespread in and
among the States, and it is usually impossible to distinguish
between intrastate trafficking and interstate trafficking; and
(2) it is in the national interest and within the role of
the Federal Government to ensure that the regulation of
firearms is uniform among the States, that law enforcement can
quickly and effectively trace firearms used in crime, and that
firearms owners know how to use and safely store their
firearms.
(c) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act and the amendments made by
this Act are--
(1) to protect the public against the unreasonable risk of
injury and negligent or reckless death associated with the
unrecorded sale or transfer of qualifying firearms to criminals
and youths;
(2) to ensure that owners of qualifying firearms are
knowledgeable in the safe use, handling, and storage of those
firearms;
(3) to restrict the availability of qualifying firearms to
criminals, youth, and other persons prohibited by Federal law
from receiving firearms;
(4) to facilitate the tracing of qualifying firearms used
in crime by Federal and State law enforcement agencies; and
(5) to hold criminally and civilly liable those who
facilitate the transfer of qualifying firearms, causing risk of
injury and negligent or reckless death associated with the
transfer of those qualifying firearms.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
(a) In General.--In this Act, the terms ``firearm'', ``qualifying
firearm'', and ``State'' have the meanings given those terms in section
921(a) of title 18, United States Code, as amended by subsection (b).
(b) Title 18, United States Code.--Section 921(a) of title 18,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(38) The term `detachable ammunition feeding device'--
``(A) means a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar
device that--
``(i) is capable of being detached from a
semiautomatic rifle; and
``(ii) has a capacity of, or that can be readily
restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of
ammunition; and
``(B) does not include an attached tubular device designed
to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber
rimfire ammunition.
``(39) The term `firearm owner license' means a license issued
under section 923(m).
``(40) The term `qualifying firearm'--
``(A) means--
``(i) a handgun; or
``(ii) a semiautomatic rifle that is capable of
accepting a detachable ammunition feeding device; and
``(B) does not include an antique firearm.''.
TITLE I--LICENSING
SEC. 101. LICENSING REQUIREMENT.
Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(aa) Firearm Licensing Requirement.--
``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), it shall be
unlawful for any individual other than a licensed importer,
licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector
to possess a qualifying firearm on or after the applicable
date, unless that individual has a valid--
``(A) firearm owner license; or
``(B) State firearm license.
``(2) Exemptions.--
``(A) In general.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply
to--
``(i) a Federal, State, local, or Tribal
law enforcement officer while engaged in the
performance of official duties;
``(ii) a member of the Armed Forces or
National Guard while engaged in the performance
of official duties;
``(iii) a Federal employee who is required
to carry a qualifying firearm in the capacity
of that individual as a Federal employee while
engaged in the performance of official duties;
``(iv) a member of a bona fide veterans
organization that received the qualifying
firearm directly from the Armed Forces,
including a member of the color guard of the
veterans organization, while using the
qualifying firearm for a ceremonial purpose
with blank ammunition;
``(v) an unemancipated minor who is under
the direct supervision of an individual who--
``(I) has a valid firearm owner
license or State firearm license; and
``(II) is, with respect to the
minor--
``(aa) a parent;
``(bb) a legal guardian; or
``(cc) any other individual
standing in loco parentis;
``(vi) an individual with a valid hunting
license issued by a State while the individual
is--
``(I) hunting in the State that
issued the license; and
``(II) accompanied by an individual
who has a valid firearm owner license
or State firearm license; or
``(vii) an individual who is--
``(I)(aa) on a firing or shooting
range; or
``(bb) participating in a firearms
safety or training course recognized
by--
``(AA) a Federal, State,
local, or Tribal law
enforcement agency; or
``(BB) a national or
statewide shooting sports
organization;
``(II) otherwise eligible to obtain
a firearm owner license; and
``(III) under the direct
supervision of an individual who--
``(aa) has a valid firearm
owner license or State firearm
license; and
``(bb) is not less than 21
years of age.
``(B) Individuals with state firearm licenses.--Not
later than 60 days after the date on which an
individual who has a State firearm license moves from
the State in which the State firearm license of the
individual was issued to a different State, the
individual shall--
``(i) if the State to which the individual
has moved has a State firearm owner licensing
system certified by the Attorney General under
section 936, apply for--
``(I) a State firearm license under
that State system; or
``(II) a firearm owner license; or
``(ii) if the State to which the individual
has moved does not have a State firearm
licensing system certified by the Attorney
General under section 936, apply for a firearm
owner license.
``(3) Definitions.--In this subsection--
``(A) the term `applicable date' means, with
respect to a qualifying firearm that is acquired by the
individual--
``(i) before the date of enactment of the
Blair Holt Firearm Owner Licensing and Record
of Sale Act of 2024, 2 years after that date of
enactment; and
``(ii) on or after the date of enactment of
the Blair Holt Firearm Owner Licensing and
Record of Sale Act of 2024, 1 year after that
date of enactment; and
``(B) the term `State firearm license' means a
firearm license issued under a firearm licensing system
established by a State that has been certified by the
Attorney General under section 936.
``(bb) Denial or Revocation of Firearm Owner Licenses.--It shall be
unlawful for any individual who is denied a firearm owner license under
paragraph (3)(D) of section 923(m) or receives a revocation notice
under paragraph (5)(B)(i) of that section to knowingly--
``(1) fail to surrender the firearm owner license of the
individual in accordance with paragraph (6)(A)(i) of that
section;
``(2) fail to submit a firearm disposition record in
accordance with paragraph (6)(A)(ii) of that section;
``(3) make a false statement in a firearm disposition
record submitted under paragraph (6)(A)(ii) of that section; or
``(4) fail to transfer any qualifying firearm of the
individual in accordance with paragraph (6)(A)(iii) of that
section.''.
SEC. 102. ISSUANCE, REVOCATION, AND RENEWAL OF FIREARM OWNER LICENSES.
Section 923 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (d)(1)(F)(iii), by inserting ``under
subsection (a) or (b)'' after ``Federal firearms license'';
(2) in subsection (l), by inserting ``under subsection (a)
or (b)'' after ``a firearms license is issued''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(m) Firearm Owner Licenses.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
``(A) the term `clinical psychologist' means a
psychologist licensed or registered to practice
psychology in the State in which the psychologist
practices who--
``(i) has--
``(I) a doctoral degree from a
regionally accredited university,
college, or professional school; and
``(II) not less than 2 years of
supervised experience in health
services, of which--
``(aa) not less than 1 year
is of postdoctoral experience;
and
``(bb) not less than 1 year
is of experience in an
organized health service
program; or
``(ii) has--
``(I) a graduate degree in
psychology from a regionally accredited
university or college; and
``(II) not less than 6 years of
experience as a psychologist, of which
not less than 2 years are of supervised
experience in health services;
``(B) the term `covered offense' means battery,
assault, aggravated assault, or violation of an order
of protection, in which a firearm was used or
possessed;
``(C) the term `identification document' has the
meaning given the term in section 1028(d);
``(D) the term `licensed individual' means an
individual issued a firearm owner license under
paragraph (3);
``(E) the term `physician' means a doctor of
medicine legally authorized to practice medicine by the
State in which the physician performs that function or
action;
``(F) the term `qualified examiner' means a medical
professional authorized to conduct a qualifying mental
health evaluation by the State in which the evaluation