Firearms Legislation In The 112th Congress

H.R. 58 

(Scalise, Boren):

This bill would: allow an individual to purchase any firearm from a federal firearms licensee (FFL) in another state by going to his place of business -– thereby extending provisions currently applying only to rifles and shotguns and

  • require such an interstate sale to comply with both the law of the state in which the transaction occurs and the law of the state where the buyer resides;
  • extend these interstate sales provisions to FFL’s at gun shows;
  • allow a serviceman to claim residence in (1) his state of legal residence, (2) the state where he’s permanently stationed, AND (3) the state where he resides and commutes to the place where he’s stationed.

H.R. 77

(Jackson Lee):

This bill would authorize $150,000,000 a year (forever) to hire Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) personnel to police guns at the border.

H.R. 126

(Gingrey, Bachmann, Bartlett, Bishop, Blackburn, Burton, Carter, Conaway, Franks, Gohmert, Sam Johnson, Kline, Marchant, Paul, Roe, Rogers, Ross, Westmoreland, Young):

In determining that a gun was, for example, a full automatic, this bill would require the ATF to make a videotape of its testing and make it available to interested parties.

H.R. 224

(Jackson Lee):

This bill would expand federal hate crime laws, including a provision allowing a person to be sentenced up to life imprisonment if a gun is involved.

H.R. 227

(Jackson Lee):

This bill would:

  • amend 18 U.S.C. 922(x) — making it difficult to legally teach your kids the safe and effective use of firearms — by extending the subsection’s labyrinthine provisions concerning handguns to semiautos (and semiauto clips) and to persons less than 21 (rather than 18), with certain exceptions;
  • increase the penalties for violating 18 U.S.C. 922(x) to five years generally, but ten years in some circumstances;
  • enhance lock-up-your-safety provisions (1) to provide for a three year prison sentence if you keep a loaded gun in your home for self-defense and a child gains access to it and causes serious bodily injury; (2)to allow $10,000 civil penalties for gun dealers who fail to comply with lock-up-your safety requirements;
  • provide that it is “child abandonment” to allow your kid to be unaccompanied at a gun show (even to go to the bathroom);
  • provide for grants for “gun safety programs.”

H.R. 263

(Ackerman):

This bill would override McClure-Volkmer and would prohibit an FFL subject to license revocation from transferring any of his inventory.

H.R. 308

(McCarthy and 48 others):

This is the semiautomatic magazine ban. It would prohibit private transfers of magazines holding more than 10 rounds, even if they were grandfathered.

H.R. 324

(Filner):

This bill would, among other things, allow military law enforcement personnel to carry firearms.

H.R. 367

(Richardson):

This bill would make it a ten-year felony to “knowingly” carry a firearm within 250 feet of a building where you “know” a member of Congress is. Thus, the bill would create an incomprehensible series of moving “no-gun” zones. And while, for example, you would be exempted for a gun in your house, if you lived next door to a congressman, you could not carry your gun to your car parked on the street.

H.R. 420

(Rehberg, Boswell):

This bill would establish a 90-day “amnesty” period for NFA firearms (like automatics) held by a veteran or his family.

H.R. 496

(King of New York, Bishop, Engel, Rangel, Chu):

This bill would make it a ten-year felony to “knowingly” carry a firearm within 1,000 feet of a building where you “know” a member of Congress is. Thus, the bill would create an incomprehensible series of moving “no-gun” zones. And while, for example, you would be exempted for a gun in your house, if you lived next door to a congressman, you could not carry your gun to your car parked on the street.

H.R. 505

(Nadler):

This bill would create a new class of “prohibited persons” consisting of persons convicted of a “misdemeanor sex offense against a minor.” It is hard to imagine what sex crime against a minor would be so insignificant that it would be classified as a misdemeanor, but the most likely example would be, in some states, kid-on-kid sex.

H.R. 591

(McCarthy):

This is the gun show ban. It would provide for comprehensive and open-ended regulation and inspection of gun shows. But, more importantly, it would create a two-year prison sentence for any gun show sponsor who failed to notify EVERY attendee of his responsibilities under the Brady Law. No sane person would sponsor a gun show under these circumstances. In addition, the bill would significantly increase criminal sentences for recordkeeping violations by FFL’s or for Brady Law violations.

H.R. 615

(Lummis, Donnelly, Rehberg, Broun, Miller, Carter, King of Iowa, Ross, Bishop):

This bill would allow curios and relics to be imported into the U.S. without the approval of the Department of State or the Department of Defense.

H.R. 645

(Ross, Jordan):

This bill would repeal the D.C. gun ban. It would prohibit D.C. from adopting new anti-gun laws. It would: (1) turn the semiauto ban into a full auto ban; (2) repeal registration requirements and ammunition bans; (3) specifically reiterate the Supreme Court’s guarantee of the right to defend your home, although it would not allow concealed carry and would broadly authorize D.C. to prohibit guns in “sensitive” public places.

H.R. 770

(Cuellar):

This bill would establish a “Border Enforcement Security Task Force.”

H.R. 808

(Kucinich et al.):

This bill would establish a Department of Peace.

H.R. 822

(Stearns):

This bill would grant national reciprocity (with the exception of Vermont, Wisconsin, and Illinois) to persons with a concealed carry license. Unlike some versions of this proposal, however, it is not “Vermont-friendly” with respect to states which do not require licenses for concealed carry.

H.R. 826

(Carter, Doggett):

This bill would require Active Shooter Training for personnel performing security functions on military reservations.

H.R. 919

(Franks):

This bill would convey land in Mohave County for the purpose setting up a target shooting facility.

H.R. 973 (Mrs. Adams & 50 others):  

This bill would prohibit any Article III court from considering “foreign law,” in whole or in part, in deciding any case — unless the laws or Constitution required it.  There has been an ongoing fight between the liberal and conservative wings of the Supreme Court concerning the extent to which U.S. courts can be influenced by foreign law.  This issue is now picking up increased relevance for gun owners because of the UN small arms treaty currently being blocked in the Senate — and because of another UN treaty, currently being negotiated, which could require licensure of American firearms and ban semiautomatics.  The reason this bill could be relevant is that, even if we were to succeed in blocking ratification of these bills in the Senate, some legal scholars would argue that their ratification by virtually all other UN members could make their provisions part of “international customary law,” which, they argue, would apply them to the U.S.

H.R. 1093 (King, Altmire):

This is a reincarnation of a bill which contains a hodge-podge of relatively minor good things — and one really bad thing which was used to secure the cosponsorship of the Judiciary Committee Chairman on the Senate version of the bill. The bad thing is that the bill would allow the ATF to impose, for the first time, civil penalties on federal firearms licensees. Civil penalties could easily put a small licensee out of business, but can be imposed without the burden of proof, disclosure requirements, and other protections accorded criminal defendants. And, although proponents argue that civil penalties will allow BATFE to impose penalties short of license revocation, there is no requirement that license revocations be reduced commensurately. While GOA has pushed other provisions in the bill tightening state-of-mind requirements and gun definitions, these are not enough to offset giving the ATF a tool which has served as the central engine for expanding the power and jurisdiction of other agencies (like the SEC). Go here to read a more in depth analysis of this bill.

H.R. 1181

(Griffin, Critz):

This bill would allow up to $3,000 in firearms to benefit from an optional provision in the bankruptcy code which can be used to exempt property from a bankruptcy estate.

H.R. 1443

(Broun, Boren, Ross, Altmire, Metheson, Bishop, Rehberg, Jenkins, Miller):

This bill would:
-prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from imposing restrictions on hunting and fishing equipment, including firearms
 – such as the proposed ban on lead ammunition; -prohibit the Departments of Interior and Agriculture from imposing new restrictions on hunting and fishing on federal lands;
-reduce federal funds for states that restrict hunting and fishing equipment.

H.R. 1506

(King of New York, Rangel, Ackerman, Rush, Waxman, Deutch, Holt, Norton, Engel, Doyle, Chu, Lance):

This bill would allow the Attorney General to outlaw the possession of a firearm by anyone whom the administration, at its discretion, decides to put on a “watch list” — i.e., anyone “known (or appropriately suspected) to be or have been engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for, in aid of, or related to terrorism, or providing material support thereof, and the Attorney General has a reasonable belief that the prospective transferee may use a firearm in connection with terrorism.” In addition, the government may withhold information concerning why it put someone on the “watch list.” Take into consideration that the federal definition of “terrorism” is very broad, and could, under some circumstances, be used by a hostile administration to go after Second Amendment organizations. For instance, militia action against terrorism might be held to be “related to” or “in connection with” terrorism.

H.R. 1552

(Israel):

This bill would impose a gun ban on any person who committed an act as a juvenile which (1) would be a felony if committed by an adult, (2) involved at least the “threatened use” of physical force, and (3) involved a “substantial risk of physical force.” Thus, a playground fight in kindergarten might subject an adult to a lifetime gun ban, which, unlike an actual crime, could not be expunged.

H.R. 1642

(Quigley, Chu, Norton, Jackson, Moran):

This bill would:
-require all newly manufactured firearms to include a serial number inside the barrel that can be read only by an infrared light;
-allow Brady records to be kept, notwithstanding its title, indefinitely;
-require FFL’s to conduct new physical checks on firearms inventory.

H.R. 1781

(McCarthy and 35 others):

This bill would:

  • withhold federal crime-fighting funds from states which fail to provide a sufficient number of names to the FBI’s Instant Check system (with penalties possible for states that fall as little as 10% short of providing all names) [sec. 101];
  • require federal agencies to turn over the names of all prohibited persons (which would presumably include the names of all persons admitting to having smoked as little as one marijuana cigarette) [sec. 102];
  • redefine “adjudicated as a mental defective” (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(4)) to impose a gun ban in any case in which a “lawful authority” (including, presumably, a school or a Medicare-funded doctor) prescribes counseling or medication in response to “subnormal intelligence, mental illness, or incompetency” [sec. 103];
  • require colleges to set up a procedure for investigating students who are acting strange and “reporting” them [sec. 103];
  • ban all private person-to-person sales of firearms, requiring that all sales go through federal firearms licensees or the police, who would conduct a background check [Title II].

H.R. 1865

(Gibbs and 21 others)

This bill would prohibit the Army Corps of Engineers from banning firearms on water resources lands if (1) the person is not otherwise prohibited from posessing a firearm (2) posession is in compliance with the law of the state.

H.R. 1898

(Rehberg): This bill would require that a judge magistrate, or other judicial authority be required to issue an order before any veteran could be deemed a mental defective (and hence lose his gun rights) under the 1968 Act.

H.R. 2219

This is the Department of Defense funding bill.  It would, among other things, (1)  prohibit the destruction of military firearms (such as the Ml or M14), if they are legal for commercial sale, unless the Secretary certifies that they are unsafe, and (2) limit the disposal of armor-piercing rounds unless they are incapable of reuse or used to manufacture more ammunition.

H.R. 2252

(Bartlett and 18 other original cosponsors):

This bill reaffirms the right of non-prohibited persons to use firearms for self-defense, defense of one’s family, and defense of one’s home.  A person whose rights under the act are violated is authorized to bring a suit in federal court, with damages, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees.

H.R. 2398

(Scott of Virginia and Conyers): 

This bill would provide that a person who is convicted of two successive gun violations (even though they arise from the same act) would be subject to the enhanced penalty provisions currently applicable to drug offenders.

H.R. 2554 

(Maloney & 15 other original cosponsors): 

This bill would impose prison sentences of up to 20 years (25 years for the manager of a medium-sized gun shop) on anyone who sells a gun with reasonable cause to believe” that the purchaser is a prohibited person, might use the gun unlawfully, or is a straw purchaser.  The purchaser could be nothing more than a veteran who has been stripped of his rights without his knowledge, and everyone working for the gun shop could be sent away to prison for 10 years for “conspiracy.”  Obviously, the intent is, in the hands of an anti-gun administration, to make it prohibitively dangerous to operate a gun shop.

H.R. 2613

(Paul): 

This bill would repeal the Kohl Amendment, which banned guns within 1,000 feet of a permanent or temporary location of a school.

H.R. 2615

(Paul):  

This bill would eliminate the “sporting purposes exception” from the 1968 gun control act.   The “sporting purposes exception” is, among other uses, currently being used to ban the importation of shotguns on the basis that shotguns, supposedly, don’t have a “sporting purpose.”

H.R. 2618

 (Quigley): 

This bill would establish a ten­year prison sentence for anyone “knowingly” making a “false” statement on a 4473, license application, or relief from disability petition.  It is significant that, in recent years, case law in various areas has diminished the “knowing” standard to apply it, for instance, to severe reckless disregard.

H.R. 2619

(Rooney, Deutch): 

This bill would require that VA security personnel receive “active shooter training.”

H.R. 2900

(Broun): 

This “Vermont-friendly” bill would authorize a person who can carry concealed in his state of residence — or has a concealed carry permit in any state — to carry a concealed firearm in any state.  Unlike some reciprocity bills, it allows non-permit states like Vermont to benefit from its provisions.

S. 32

(Lautenberg, Feinstein, Menendez, Boxer, Kerry, Reed, Levin, Franken, Schumer, Durbin):

This is the Senate version of the semiautomatic magazine ban. It would prohibit private transfers of magazines holding more than 10 rounds, even if they were grandfathered.

S. 34

(Lautenberg, Menendez, Feinstein, Whitehouse, Reed, Levin, Schumer, Durbin, Boxer):

This bill would allow the Attorney General to prohibit you from owning firearms by placing your name on a “watch list” and notifying you of that fact. The Attorney General doesn’t need to tell you (or a court to which you appeal your disability) the basis for the loss of your gun rights (other than summaries and “redacted” documents which can be submitted to the court). We have seen other statutes — notably the Brady Law — under which you are supposedly given the statutory right to appeal your gun ban, and our experience in those cases has been that ATF frequently just ignores them.

S. 35

(Lautenberg, Reed, Menendez, Kerry, Feinstein, Whitehouse, Levin, Schumer, Durbin, Boxer, Wyden):

This is the Senate version of the gun show ban. It would provide for comprehensive and open-ended regulation and inspection of gun shows. But, more importantly, it would create a two-year prison sentence for any gun show sponsor who failed to notify EVERY attendee of his responsibilities under the Brady Law. No sane person would sponsor a gun show under these circumstances. In addition, the bill would significantly increase criminal sentences for recordkeeping violations by FFL’s or for Brady Law violations.

S. 176

(Boxer):

This bill would require every state issuing a concealed carry permit to comply with federal standards for that permit, including “demonstrat[ing] good cause for requesting a concealed firearm permit; and … demonstrat[ing] that the applicant is worthy of the public trust…”

S. 332

(Hatch, Roberts):

This bill is Senator Orrin Hatch’s stab at immigration reform. It allows enhanced penalties for the “possession” of firearms in connection with drug offenses. The Second Amendment community has opposed this effort to punish the “possession” of a firearm, without any evidence of its use or brandishing.

S. 381

(Tester, Crapo, Wicker, Inhofe, Enzi, Begich, Murkowski, Baucus):

This bill would expand the ability of licensed firearms importers to import firearms under the Arms Control and Disarmament Act if the importer certifies that the firearms are lawfully possessed in the country from which the firearms come, even if the importer does not obtain the permission of the Department of State and the Department of Defense.

S. 436

(Schumer, Gillibrand):

This is an effort to embody Barack Obama’s Arizona newspaper article into legislation — and to milk political advantage from the tragedy in Tucson. It would:

  • withhold federal crime-fighting funds from states which fail to provide a sufficient number of names to the FBI’s Instantcheck system (with penalties possible for states that fall as little as 10% short of providing all names [sec. 101];
  • require federal agencies to turn over the names of all prohibited persons (which would presumably include the names of all persons admitting to having smoked as little as one marijuana cigarette) [sec. 102];
  • redefine “adjudicated as a mental defective” (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(4)) to impose a gun ban in any case in which a “lawful authority” (including, presumably, a school or a Medicare-funded doctor) prescribes counseling or medication in response to “subnormal intelligence, mental illness, or incompetency” [sec. 103];
  • require colleges to set up a procedure for investigating students who are acting strange and “reporting” them [sec. 103]; -allow a person to be put on the FBI’s drug abuser list if, among other things, he admitted to “possessing a controlled substance unlawfully within the last five years” (thereby, humorously, removing current law’s theoretical gun ban for large numbers of unadmitted pot smokers) [sec.104];
  • ban all private person-to-person sales of firearms, requiring that all sales go through federal firearms licensees or the police, who would conduct a background check [Title II].

 

S. 526

(McCain, Kyl):

This bill would, among other things, remove environmental impediments to the Mohave Valley Shooting Range.

S. 570

(Tester, Ensign, Begich, Baucus, Burr, Chambliss, Inhofe, Paul, Barrasso, Coburn):

This bill would permanently prohibit the ATF from being able to require the reporting of multiple sales of rifles and shotguns, thus prohibiting regulations currently being moved by the ATF.

S. 798

 (Tester, McCain, Leahy): This bill would provide a 90-day “amnesty” period for veterans and their families for automatic and NFA firearms which were acquired by the veteran while on duty outside the U.S. prior to October 31, 1968.

S. 835

(Crapo, Leahy): This is the Senate counterpart of H.R. 1093.

S. 1249

 (Udall, Risch, Tester, Bennet): 

This bill would tweak Pittman-Robertson to allow a state to use up to 10% of its allocation for constructing or expanding public target ranges.

S. 1305

(Feinstein):

This bill would overturn the Supreme Court in order to make a person a “prohibited person” on the basis of a crime committed and prosecuted in a foreign country under foreign law.