I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2038

To reauthorize the assault weapons ban, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 8, 2003

Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York (for herself, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. 

SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. NADLER, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. JACKSON-LEE

of Texas, Ms. WATERS, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. WEXLER, 

Mr. WEINER, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, Mr. EMANUEL, Mr. 

CASE, Mrs. MALONEY, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. KENNEDY

of Rhode Island, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. ACKERMAN, Ms. 

SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. HONDA, Mr. STARK, Ms. SOLIS, Ms. LEE, Mr. VAN

HOLLEN, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. NORTON, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. 

RUSH, Ms. WATSON, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. 

JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. OWENS, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 

Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. FARR, Ms. 

LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. MARKEY, 

Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. HOLT, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. PASCRELL, 

Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. 

ENGEL, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, 

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. FATTAH, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. BISHOP of New York, and Mr. 

LANGEVIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To reauthorize the assault weapons ban, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Assault Weapons Ban 

3 and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2003’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 921(a)(30) of title 18, 

6 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(30) The term ‘semiautomatic assault weapon’ 

8 means any of the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) The following rifles or copies or duplicates 

10 thereof: 

11 ‘‘(i) AK, AKM, AKS, AK–47, AK–74, 

12 ARM, MAK90, Misr, NHM 90, NHM 91, SA 

13 85, SA 93, VEPR; 

14 ‘‘(ii) AR–10; 

15 ‘‘(iii) AR–15, Bushmaster XM15, Armalite 

16 M15, or Olympic Arms PCR; 

17 ‘‘(iv) AR70; 

18 ‘‘(v) Calico Liberty; 

19 ‘‘(vi) Dragunov SVD Sniper Rifle or 

20 Dragunov SVU; 

21 ‘‘(vii) Fabrique National FN/FAL, FN/

22 LAR, or FNC; 

23 ‘‘(viii) Hi-Point Carbine; 

24 ‘‘(ix) HK–91, HK–93, HK–94, or HK–

25 PSG–1; 

26 ‘‘(x) Kel-Tec Sub Rifle; 
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1 ‘‘(xi) M1 Carbine; 

2 ‘‘(xii) Saiga; 

3 ‘‘(xiii) SAR–8, SAR–4800; 

4 ‘‘(xiv) SKS with detachable magazine; 

5 ‘‘(xv) SLG 95; 

6 ‘‘(xvi) SLR 95 or 96; 

7 ‘‘(xvii) Steyr AUG; 

8 ‘‘(xviii) Sturm, Ruger Mini–14; 

9 ‘‘(xix) Tavor; 

10 ‘‘(xx) Thompson 1927, Thompson M1, or 

11 Thompson 1927 Commando; or 

12 ‘‘(xxi) Uzi, Galil and Uzi Sporter, Galil 

13 Sporter, or Galil Sniper Rifle (Galatz). 

14 ‘‘(B) The following pistols or copies or dupli15 cates thereof: 

16 ‘‘(i) Calico M–110; 

17 ‘‘(ii) MAC–10, MAC–11, or MPA3; 

18 ‘‘(iii) Olympic Arms OA; 

19 ‘‘(iv) TEC–9, TEC–DC9, TEC–22 Scor20 pion, or AB–10; or 

21 ‘‘(v) Uzi. 

22 ‘‘(C) The following shotguns or copies or dupli23 cates thereof: 

24 ‘‘(i) Armscor 30 BG; 

25 ‘‘(ii) SPAS 12 or LAW 12; 
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1 ‘‘(iii) Striker 12; or 

2 ‘‘(iv) Streetsweeper. 

3 ‘‘(D) A semiautomatic rifle that has an ability 

4 to accept a detachable magazine, and that has—

5 ‘‘(i) a folding or telescoping stock; 

6 ‘‘(ii) a threaded barrel; 

7 ‘‘(iii) a pistol grip; 

8 ‘‘(iv) a forward grip; or 

9 ‘‘(v) a barrel shroud. 

10 ‘‘(E)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), a 

11 semiautomatic rifle that has a fixed magazine with 

12 the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds. 

13 ‘‘(ii) Clause (i) shall not apply to an attached 

14 tubular device designed to accept, and capable of op15 erating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition. 

16 ‘‘(F) A semiautomatic pistol that has the ability 

17 to accept a detachable magazine, and has—

18 ‘‘(i) a second pistol grip; 

19 ‘‘(ii) a threaded barrel; 

20 ‘‘(iii) a barrel shroud; or 

21 ‘‘(iv) the capacity to accept a detachable 

22 magazine at a location outside of the pistol 

23 grip. 
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1 ‘‘(G) A semiautomatic pistol with a fixed maga2 zine that has the capacity to accept more than 10 

3 rounds. 

4 ‘‘(H) A semiautomatic shotgun that has—

5 ‘‘(i) a folding or telescoping stock; 

6 ‘‘(ii) a pistol grip; 

7 ‘‘(iii) the ability to accept a detachable 

8 magazine; or 

9 ‘‘(iv) a fixed magazine capacity of more 

10 than 5 rounds. 

11 ‘‘(I) A shotgun with a revolving cylinder. 

12 ‘‘(J) A frame or receiver that is identical to, or 

13 based substantially on the frame or receiver of, a 

14 firearm described in any of subparagraphs (A) 

15 through (I) or (L). 

16 ‘‘(K) A conversion kit. 

17 ‘‘(L) A semiautomatic rifle or shotgun origi18 nally designed for military or law enforcement use, 

19 or a firearm based on the design of such a firearm, 

20 that is not particularly suitable for sporting pur21 poses, as determined by the Attorney General. In 

22 making the determination, there shall be a rebut23 table presumption that a firearm procured for use 

24 by the United States military or any Federal law en25 forcement agency is not particularly suitable for 
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1 sporting purposes, and a firearm shall not be deter2 mined to be particularly suitable for sporting pur3 poses solely because the firearm is suitable for use 

4 in a sporting event.’’.

5 (b) RELATED DEFINITIONS.—Section 921(a) of such 

6 title is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(36) BARREL SHROUD.—The term ‘barrel shroud’ 

8 means a shroud that is attached to, or partially or com9 pletely encircles, the barrel of a firearm so that the shroud 

10 protects the user of the firearm from heat generated by 

11 the barrel, but does not include a slide that encloses the 

12 barrel, and does not include an extension of the stock 

13 along the bottom of the barrel which does not encircle or 

14 substantially encircle the barrel. 

15 ‘‘(37) CONVERSION KIT.—The term ‘conversion kit’ 

16 means any part or combination of parts designed and in17 tended for use in converting a firearm into a semiauto18 matic assault weapon, and any combination of parts from 

19 which a semiautomatic assault weapon can be assembled 

20 if the parts are in the possession or under the control of 

21 a person. 

22 ‘‘(38) DETACHABLE MAGAZINE.—The term ‘detach23 able magazine’ means an ammunition feeding device that 

24 can readily be inserted into a firearm. 
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1 ‘‘(39) FIXED MAGAZINE.—The term ‘fixed magazine’ 

2 means an ammunition feeding device contained in, or per3 manently attached to, a firearm. 

4 ‘‘(40) FOLDING OR TELESCOPING STOCK.—The term 

5 ‘folding or telescoping stock’ means a stock that folds, 

6 telescopes, or otherwise operates to reduce the length, size, 

7 or any other dimension, or otherwise enhances the 

8 concealability, of a firearm. 

9 ‘‘(41) FORWARD GRIP.—The term ‘forward grip’ 

10 means a grip located forward of the trigger that functions 

11 as a pistol grip. 

12 ‘‘(42) PISTOL GRIP.—The term ‘pistol grip’ means a 

13 grip, a thumbhole stock, or any other characteristic that 

14 can function as a grip. 

15 ‘‘(43) THREADED BARREL.—The term ‘threaded bar16 rel’ means a feature or characteristic that is designed in 

17 such a manner to allow for the attachment of a firearm 

18 as defined in section 5845(a) of the National Firearms 

19 Act (26 U.S.C. 5845(a)).’’. 

20 SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF SUNSET. 

21 Section 110105 of the Violent Crime Control and 

22 Law Enforcement Act of 1994 is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘—’’ and all that follows 

24 through ‘‘(1)’’; and 
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1 (2) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and all that follows 

2 through ‘‘that date’’. 

3 SEC. 4. GRANDFATHER PROVISIONS. 

4 Section 922(v)(2) of title 18, United States Code, is 

5 amended—

6 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(2)’’; 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘on the date of the enactment 

8 of this subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘as of September 

9 13, 1994’’; and 

10 (3) by adding after and below the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(B) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any firearm 

13 the possession or transfer of which would (but for this sub14 paragraph) be unlawful by reason of this subsection, and 

15 which is otherwise lawfully possessed on the date of the 

16 enactment of this subparagraph.’’. 

17 SEC. 5. REPEAL OF CERTAIN EXEMPTIONS. 

18 Section 922(v)(3) of title 18, United States Code, is 

19 amended by striking ‘‘(3)’’ and all that follows through 

20 the 1st sentence and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any firearm 

22 that—

23 ‘‘(A) is manually operated by bolt, pump, level, 

24 or slide action; 
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1 ‘‘(B) has been rendered permanently inoperable; 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(C) is an antique firearm.’’. 

4 SEC. 6. REQUIRING BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR THE 

5 TRANSFER OF LAWFULLY POSSESSED SEMI6 AUTOMATIC ASSAULT WEAPONS. 

7 Section 922(v) of title 18, United States Code, is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(5) It shall be unlawful for any person to transfer 

10 a semiautomatic assault weapon to which paragraph (1) 

11 does not apply, except through—

12 ‘‘(A) a licensed dealer, and for purposes of sub13 section (t) in the case of such a transfer, the weapon 

14 shall be considered to be transferred from the busi15 ness inventory of the licensed dealer and the dealer 

16 shall be considered to be the transferor; or 

17 ‘‘(B) a State or local law enforcement agency if 

18 the transfer is made in accordance with the proce19 dures provided for in subsection (t) of this section 

20 and section 923(g). 

21 ‘‘(6) The Attorney General shall establish and main22 tain, in a timely manner, a record of the make, model, 

23 and date of manufacture of any semiautomatic assault 

24 weapon which the Attorney General is made aware has 

25 been used in relation to a crime under Federal or State 
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1 law, and the nature and circumstances of the crime in2 volved, including the outcome of relevant criminal inves3 tigations and proceedings. The Attorney General shall an4 nually submit the record to the Congress and make the 

5 record available to the general public.’’. 

6 SEC. 7. STRENGTHENING THE BAN ON THE POSSESSION OR 

7 TRANSFER OF A LARGE CAPACITY AMMUNI8 TION FEEDING DEVICE. 

9 (a) BAN ON TRANSFER OF SEMIAUTOMATIC ASSAULT

10 WEAPON WITH LARGE CAPACITY AMMUNITION FEEDING

11 DEVICE.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 922 of title 18, 

13 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

14 subsection (y) the following: 

15 ‘‘(z) It shall be unlawful for any person to transfer 

16 any assault weapon with a large capacity ammunition 

17 feeding device.’’. 

18 (2) PENALTIES.—Section 924(a) of such title is 

19 amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(8) Whoever knowingly violates section 922(z) shall 

21 be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 

22 years, or both.’’. 

23 (b) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 922(w) of such title 

25 is amended—
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1 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘on or 

2 before the date of enactment of this subsection’’

3 and inserting ‘‘in the United States on or be4 fore September 13, 1994’’; 

5 (B) in paragraph (3)—

6 (i) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end of sub7 paragraph (B); and 

8 (ii) by striking subparagraph (C) and 

9 redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub10 paragraph (C); and 

11 (C) by striking paragraph (4) and insert12 ing the following: 

13 ‘‘(4) It shall be unlawful for a licensed manufacturer, 

14 licensed importer, or licensed dealer who transfers a large 

15 capacity ammunition feeding device that was manufac16 tured on or before September 13, 1994, to fail to certify 

17 to the Attorney General before the end of the 60-day pe18 riod that begins with the date of the transfer, in accord19 ance with regulations prescribed by the Attorney General, 

20 that the device was manufactured on or before September 

21 13, 1994.’’. 

22 (2) PENALTIES.—Section 924(a) of such title is 

23 further amended by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(9) Whoever knowingly violates section 922(w)(4) 

2 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 

3 5 years, or both.’’. 

4 SEC. 8. UNLAWFUL WEAPONS TRANSFERS TO JUVENILES. 

5 Section 922(x) of title 18, United States Code, is 

6 amended—

7 (1) in paragraph (1)—

8 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

9 period and inserting a semicolon; and 

10 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(C) a semiautomatic assault weapon; or 

12 ‘‘(D) a large capacity ammunition feeding de13 vice.’’; and 

14 (2) in paragraph (2)—

15 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

16 period and inserting a semicolon; and 

17 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(C) a semiautomatic assault weapon; or 

19 ‘‘(D) a large capacity ammunition feeding de20 vice.’’. 

21 SEC. 9. BAN ON IMPORTATION OF LARGE CAPACITY AMMU22 NITION FEEDING DEVICE. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 922(w) of title 18, United 

24 States Code, as amended by section 7(b)(1) of this Act, 

25 is further amended—
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1 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(1) Except as 

2 provided in paragraph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(1)(A) 

3 Except as provided in subparagraph (B)’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘(2) Para5 graph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A)’’; 

6 and 

7 (3) by inserting before paragraph (3) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(2) It shall be unlawful for any person to import 

10 or bring into the United States a large capacity ammuni11 tion feeding device.’’. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

13 921(a)(31)(A) of such title is amended by striking ‘‘manu14 factured after the date of enactment of the Violent Crime 

15 Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994’’.

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