II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 770 

To authorize for a grant program for handgun licensing programs, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 16, 2021 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. MURPHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To authorize for a grant program for handgun licensing 

programs, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Handgun Purchaser 

5 Licensing Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) In 2019, 91.3 percent of firearm homicides 

9 in the United States in which a firearm type was 

10 specified were committed with a handgun. 


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1 (2) Research by top national experts show 

2 that— 

3 (A) adoption of handgun purchaser licens4 ing laws are associated with significant reduc5 tions in firearm-related homicides; and 

6 (B) repeal of handgun purchaser licensing 

7 laws are associated with significant increases in 

8 firearm-related homicides. 

9 (3) Research on the effects of the adoption of 

10 a handgun purchaser licensing law in Connecticut in 

11 1995 showed— 

12 (A) a 27.8-percent reduction in the rate of 

13 firearm homicide; and 

14 (B) a 32.8-percent reduction in firearm 

15 suicide rates. 

16 (4) Published research has shown that the re17 peal of a handgun purchaser licensing law in Mis18 souri in 2007 was associated with— 

19 (A) a 47.3-percent increase in the rate of 

20 firearm homicide; and 

21 (B) a 23.5-percent increase in firearm sui22 cide rates. 

23 (5) In States that have had effective handgun 

24 purchaser licensing laws for decades, such as Con25 necticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, 


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1 the vast majority of firearms traced to crimes origi2 nated in States that do not have handgun purchaser 

3 licensing laws, which supports the need for handgun 

4 purchaser licensing laws in every State. 

5 (6) Research has shown that States with hand6 gun purchaser licensing laws export far fewer fire7 arms for criminal use in other States than States 

8 that lack handgun purchaser licensing laws. 

9 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED FOR HANDGUN LI10 CENSING. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Omnibus Crime 

12 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 

13 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘PART PP—HANDGUN LICENSING GRANT 

15 PROGRAM 

16 ‘‘SEC. 3061. DEFINITION. 

17 ‘‘In this part, the term ‘handgun’ has the meaning 

18 given the term in section 921(a) of title 18, United States 

19 Code. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 3062. GRANT PROGRAM. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may 

22 award grants to States, units of local government, and In23 dian tribes for the development, implementation, and eval24 uation of handgun purchaser licensing requirements. 


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1 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From the amounts 

2 appropriated to carry out this part, and not later than 

3 90 days after such amounts are appropriated, the Attor4 ney General shall award grants, on a competitive basis, 

5 to eligible applicants whose applications are approved 

6 under subsection (c) to assist such applicants in imple7 menting and improving handgun purchaser licensing pro8 grams. 

9 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

10 under this part, a State, unit of local government, or In11 dian tribe shall submit to the Attorney General an applica12 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

13 information as the Attorney General may require, includ14 ing— 

15 ‘‘(1) a description of the law that the applicant 

16 has enacted to require a license for any purchase of 

17 a handgun, including a description of any exemp18 tions to such law; and 

19 ‘‘(2) a description of how the applicant will use 

20 the grant to carry out or improve its handgun pur21 chaser licensing program. 

22 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible 

23 for a grant under this part, an applicant shall have in ef24 fect a handgun purchaser licensing law that includes the 

25 following requirements: 


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1 ‘‘(1) With respect to an individual applying for 

2 a handgun license or permit— 

3 ‘‘(A) the individual shall be— 

4 ‘‘(i) not less than 21 years old; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) a citizen or national of the 

6 United States or an alien lawfully admitted 

7 for permanent residence (as those terms 

8 are defined in section 101(a) of the Immi9 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

10 1101(a))); 

11 ‘‘(B) the individual shall apply for the 

12 handgun purchaser license or permit at a law 

13 enforcement agency in the State in which the 

14 individual resides; 

15 ‘‘(C) the individual shall reapply for the 

16 handgun purchaser license or permit after a pe17 riod not longer than 5 years; and 

18 ‘‘(D) the individual shall, in connection 

19 with the application for the handgun purchaser 

20 license or permit— 

21 ‘‘(i) submit to a background investiga22 tion and a criminal history check, as estab23 lished by the State, which shall ensure, at 

24 a minimum, that the individual is not pro25 hibited from possessing a firearm under 


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1 section 922(g) of title 18, United States 

2 Code; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) submit fingerprints and photo4 graphs. 

5 ‘‘(2) An individual who is prohibited from pos6 sessing a firearm under section 922(g) of title 18, 

7 United States Code, may not be issued a handgun 

8 purchasing license or permit. 

9 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.—Grant funds awarded under 

10 this part shall be used to improve the handgun purchaser 

11 licensing program of the grant recipient.’’. 

12 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

13 1001(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

14 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10261(a)) is amended by 

15 adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(29) There are authorized to be appropriated such 

17 sums as may be necessary to carry out part PP.’’. 

Æ 


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