I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2403

To expand the powers of the Attorney General to regulate the manufacture, 

distribution, and sale of firearms and ammunition, and to expand the 

jurisdiction of the Attorney General to include firearm products and 

nonpowder firearms. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 10, 2003

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island (for himself, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, 

Mr. MEEHAN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LANTOS, Ms. SOLIS, 

Mr. TOWNS, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To expand the powers of the Attorney General to regulate 

the manufacture, distribution, and sale of firearms and 

ammunition, and to expand the jurisdiction of the Attorney General to include firearm products and nonpowder 

firearms.

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Firearms Safety and Consumer Protection Act of 2003’’. 
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purposes. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—REGULATION OF FIREARM PRODUCTS 

Sec. 101. Regulatory authority. 

Sec. 102. Orders; inspections. 

TITLE II—PROHIBITIONS 

Sec. 201. Prohibitions. 

Sec. 202. Inapplicability to governmental authorities. 

TITLE III—ENFORCEMENT 

Subtitle A—Civil Enforcement 

Sec. 301. Civil penalties. 

Sec. 302. Injunctive enforcement and seizure. 

Sec. 303. Imminently hazardous firearms. 

Sec. 304. Private cause of action. 

Sec. 305. Private enforcement of this Act. 

Sec. 306. Effect on private remedies. 

Subtitle B—Criminal Enforcement 

Sec. 351. Criminal penalties. 

TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS 

Sec. 401. Firearm injury information and research. 

Sec. 402. Annual report to Congress. 

TITLE V—RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW 

Sec. 501. Subordination to the Arms Export Control Act. 

Sec. 502. Effect on State law.

3 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

4 The purposes of this Act are—

5 (1) to protect the public against unreasonable 

6 risk of injury and death associated with firearms 

7 and related products; 

8 (2) to develop safety standards for firearms and 

9 related products; 
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1 (3) to assist consumers in evaluating the com2 parative safety of firearms and related products; 

3 (4) to promote research and investigation into 

4 the causes and prevention of firearm-related deaths 

5 and injuries; and 

6 (5) to restrict the availability of weapons that 

7 pose an unreasonable risk of death or injury. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 (a) SPECIFIC TERMS.—In this Act: 

10 (1) FIREARMS DEALER.—The term ‘‘firearms 

11 dealer’’ means—

12 (A) any person engaged in the business (as 

13 defined in section 921(a)(21)(C) of title 18, 

14 United States Code) of dealing in firearms at 

15 wholesale or retail; 

16 (B) any person engaged in the business (as 

17 defined in section 921(a)(21)(D) of title 18, 

18 United States Code) of repairing firearms or of 

19 making or fitting special barrels, stocks, or trig20 ger mechanisms to firearms; and 

21 (C) any person who is a pawnbroker. 

22 (2) FIREARM PART.—The term ‘‘firearm part’’ 

23 means—

24 (A) any part or component of a firearm as 

25 originally manufactured; 
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1 (B) any good manufactured or sold—

2 (i) for replacement or improvement of 

3 a firearm; or 

4 (ii) as any accessory or addition to the 

5 firearm; and 

6 (C) any good that is not a part or compo7 nent of a firearm and is manufactured, sold, de8 livered, offered, or intended for use exclusively 

9 to safeguard individuals from injury by a fire10 arm. 

11 (3) FIREARM PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘firearm 

12 product’’ means a firearm, firearm part, nonpowder 

13 firearm, and ammunition. 

14 (4) FIREARM SAFETY REGULATION.—The term 

15 ‘‘firearm safety regulation’’ means a regulation pre16 scribed under this Act. 

17 (5) FIREARM SAFETY STANDARD.—The term 

18 ‘‘firearm safety standard’’ means a standard pro19 mulgated under this Act. 

20 (6) NONPOWDER FIREARM.—The term ‘‘non21 powder firearm’’ means a device specifically designed 

22 to discharge BBs, pellets, darts, or similar projec23 tiles by the release of stored energy. 

24 (b) OTHER TERMS.—Each term used in this Act that 

25 is not defined in subsection (a) shall have the meaning 
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1 (if any) given that term in section 921(a) of title 18, 

2 United States Code. 

3 TITLE I—REGULATION OF 

4 FIREARM PRODUCTS 

5 SEC. 101. REGULATORY AUTHORITY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall pre7 scribe such regulations governing the design, manufacture, 

8 and performance of, and commerce in, firearm products, 

9 consistent with this Act, as are reasonably necessary to 

10 reduce or prevent unreasonable risk of injury resulting 

11 from the use of those products. 

12 (b) MAXIMUM INTERVAL BETWEEN ISSUANCE OF

13 PROPOSED AND FINAL REGULATION.—Not later than 120 

14 days after the date on which the Attorney General issues 

15 a proposed regulation under subsection (a) with respect 

16 to a matter, the Attorney General shall issue a regulation 

17 in final form with respect to the matter. 

18 (c) PETITIONS.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person may petition the 

20 Attorney General to—

21 (A) issue, amend, or repeal a regulation 

22 prescribed under subsection (a) of this section; 

23 or
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1 (B) require the recall, repair, or replace2 ment of a firearm product, or the issuance of 

3 refunds with respect to a firearm product. 

4 (2) DEADLINE FOR ACTION ON PETITION.—Not 

5 later than 120 days after the date on which the At6 torney General receives a petition referred to in 

7 paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall—

8 (A) grant, in whole or in part, or deny the 

9 petition; and 

10 (B) provide the petitioner with the reasons 

11 for granting or denying the petition. 

12 SEC. 102. ORDERS; INSPECTIONS. 

13 (a) AUTHORITY TO PROHIBIT MANUFACTURE, SALE, 

14 OR TRANSFER OF FIREARM PRODUCTS MADE, IMPORTED, 

15 TRANSFERRED, OR DISTRIBUTED IN VIOLATION OF REG16 ULATION.—The Attorney General may issue an order pro17 hibiting the manufacture, sale, or transfer of a firearm 

18 product which the Attorney General finds has been manu19 factured, or has been or is intended to be imported, trans20 ferred, or distributed in violation of a regulation pre21 scribed under this Act. 

22 (b) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE THE RECALL, REPAIR, 

23 OR REPLACEMENT OF, OR THE PROVISION OF REFUNDS

24 WITH RESPECT TO FIREARM PRODUCTS.—The Attorney 

25 General may issue an order requiring the manufacturer 
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1 of, and any dealer in, a firearm product which the Attor2 ney General determines poses an unreasonable risk of in3 jury to the public, is not in compliance with a regulation 

4 prescribed under this Act, or is defective, to—

5 (1) provide notice of the risks associated with 

6 the product, and of how to avoid or reduce the risks, 

7 to—

8 (A) the public; 

9 (B) in the case of the manufacturer of the 

10 product, each dealer in the product; and 

11 (C) in the case of a dealer in the product, 

12 the manufacturer of the product and the other 

13 persons known to the dealer as dealers in the 

14 product; 

15 (2) bring the product into conformity with the 

16 regulations prescribed under this Act; 

17 (3) repair the product; 

18 (4) replace the product with a like or equivalent 

19 product which is in compliance with those regula20 tions; 

21 (5) refund the purchase price of the product, 

22 or, if the product is more than 1 year old, a lesser 

23 amount based on the value of the product after rea24 sonable use; 
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1 (6) recall the product from the stream of com2 merce; or 

3 (7) submit to the Attorney General a satisfac4 tory plan for implementation of any action required 

5 under this subsection. 

6 (c) AUTHORITY TO PROHIBIT MANUFACTURE, IM7 PORTATION, TRANSFER, DISTRIBUTION, OR EXPORT OF

8 UNREASONABLY RISKY FIREARM PRODUCTS.—The At9 torney General may issue an order prohibiting the manu10 facture, importation, transfer, distribution, or export of a 

11 firearm product if the Attorney General determines that 

12 the exercise of other authority under this Act would not 

13 be sufficient to prevent the product from posing an unrea14 sonable risk of injury to the public. 

15 (d) INSPECTIONS.—When the Attorney General has 

16 reason to believe that a violation of this Act or of a regula17 tion or order issued under this Act is being or has been 

18 committed, the Attorney General may, at reasonable 

19 times—

20 (1) enter any place in which firearm products 

21 are manufactured, stored, or held, for distribution in 

22 commerce, and inspect those areas where the prod23 ucts are manufactured, stored, or held; and 

24 (2) enter and inspect any conveyance being 

25 used to transport a firearm product. 
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1 TITLE II—PROHIBITIONS 

2 SEC. 201. PROHIBITIONS. 

3 (a) FAILURE OF MANUFACTURER TO TEST AND

4 CERTIFY FIREARM PRODUCTS.—It shall be unlawful for 

5 the manufacturer of a firearm product to transfer, dis6 tribute, or export a firearm product unless—

7 (1) the manufacturer has tested the product in 

8 order to ascertain whether the product is in con9 formity with the regulations prescribed under section 

10 101; 

11 (2) the product is in conformity with those reg12 ulations; and 

13 (3) the manufacturer has included in the pack14 aging of the product, and furnished to each person 

15 to whom the product is distributed, a certificate 

16 stating that the product is in conformity with those 

17 regulations. 

18 (b) FAILURE OF MANUFACTURER TO PROVIDE NO19 TICE OF NEW TYPES OF FIREARM PRODUCTS.—It shall 

20 be unlawful for the manufacturer of a new type of firearm 

21 product to manufacture the product, unless the manufac22 turer has provided the Attorney General with—

23 (1) notice of the intent of the manufacturer to 

24 manufacture the product; and 

25 (2) a description of the product. 
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1 (c) FAILURE OF MANUFACTURER OR DEALER TO

2 LABEL FIREARM PRODUCTS.—It shall be unlawful for a 

3 manufacturer of or dealer in firearms to transfer, dis4 tribute, or export a firearm product unless the product 

5 is accompanied by a label that—

6 (1) contains—

7 (A) the name and address of the manufac8 turer of the product; 

9 (B) the name and address of any importer 

10 of the product; 

11 (C) the model number of the product and 

12 the date the product was manufactured; 

13 (D) a specification of the regulations pre14 scribed under this Act that apply to the prod15 uct; and 

16 (E) the certificate required by subsection 

17 (a)(3) with respect to the product; and 

18 (2) is located prominently in conspicuous and 

19 legible type in contrast by typography, layout, or 

20 color with other printed matter on the label. 

21 (d) FAILURE TO MAINTAIN OR PERMIT INSPECTION

22 OF RECORDS.—It shall be unlawful for an importer of, 

23 manufacturer of, or dealer in a firearm product to fail 

24 to—
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1 (1) maintain such records, and supply such in2 formation, as the Attorney General may require in 

3 order to ascertain compliance with this Act and the 

4 regulations and orders issued under this Act; and 

5 (2) permit the Attorney General to inspect and 

6 copy those records at reasonable times. 

7 (e) IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION OF

8 UNCERTIFIED FIREARM PRODUCTS.—It shall be unlawful 

9 for any person to import into the United States or export 

10 a firearm product that is not accompanied by the certifi11 cate required by subsection (a)(3). 

12 (f) COMMERCE IN FIREARM PRODUCTS IN VIOLA13 TION OF ORDER ISSUED OR REGULATION PRESCRIBED

14 UNDER THIS ACT.—It shall be unlawful for any person 

15 to manufacture, offer for sale, distribute in commerce, im16 port into the United States, or export a firearm product—

17 (1) that is not in conformity with the regula18 tions prescribed under this Act; or 

19 (2) in violation of an order issued under this 

20 Act. 

21 (g) STOCKPILING.—It shall be unlawful for any per22 son to manufacture, purchase, or import a firearm prod23 uct, after the date a regulation is prescribed under this 

24 Act with respect to the product and before the date the 

25 regulation takes effect, at a rate that is significantly great-
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1 er than the rate at which the person manufactured, pur2 chased, or imported the product during a base period (pre3 scribed by the Attorney General in regulations) ending be4 fore the date the regulation is so prescribed. 

5 SEC. 202. INAPPLICABILITY TO GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORI6 TIES. 

7 Section 201 does not apply to any department or 

8 agency of the United States, of a State, or of a political 

9 subdivision of a State, or to any official conduct of any 

10 officer or employee of such a department or agency. 

11 TITLE III—ENFORCEMENT 

12 Subtitle A—Civil Enforcement 

13 SEC. 301. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

14 (a) AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE FINES.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 

16 impose upon any person who violates section 201 a 

17 civil fine in an amount that does not exceed the ap18 plicable amount described in subsection (b). 

19 (2) SCOPE OF OFFENSE.—Each violation of sec20 tion 201 (other than of subsection (a)(3) or (d) of 

21 that section) shall constitute a separate offense with 

22 respect to each firearm product involved. 

23 (b) APPLICABLE AMOUNT.—

24 (1) FIRST 5-YEAR PERIOD.—The applicable 

25 amount for the 5-year period immediately following 
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1 the date of enactment of this Act is $5,000, or 

2 $10,000 if the violation is willful. 

3 (2) THEREAFTER.—The applicable amount dur4 ing any time after the 5-year period described in 

5 paragraph (1) is $10,000, or $20,000 if the violation 

6 is willful. 

7 SEC. 302. INJUNCTIVE ENFORCEMENT AND SEIZURE. 

8 (a) INJUNCTIVE ENFORCEMENT.—The Attorney 

9 General may bring an action to restrain any violation of 

10 section 201 in the United States district court for any dis11 trict in which the violation has occurred, or in which the 

12 defendant is found or transacts business. 

13 (b) CONDEMNATION.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may 

15 bring an action in rem for condemnation of a quali16 fied firearm product in the United States district 

17 court for any district in which the Attorney General 

18 has found and seized for confiscation the product. 

19 (2) QUALIFIED FIREARM PRODUCT DEFINED.—

20 In paragraph (1), the term ‘‘qualified firearm prod21 uct’’ means a firearm product—

22 (A) that is being transported or having 

23 been transported remains unsold, is sold or of24 fered for sale, is imported, or is to be exported; 

25 and 
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1 (B)(i) that is not in compliance with a reg2 ulation prescribed or an order issued under this 

3 Act; or 

4 (ii) with respect to which relief has been 

5 granted under section 303. 

6 SEC. 303. IMMINENTLY HAZARDOUS FIREARMS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the pendency of 

8 any other proceeding in a court of the United States, the 

9 Attorney General may bring an action in a United States 

10 district court to restrain any person who is a manufac11 turer of, or dealer in, an imminently hazardous firearm 

12 product from manufacturing, distributing, transferring, 

13 importing, or exporting the product. 

14 (b) IMMINENTLY HAZARDOUS FIREARM PRODUCT.—

15 In subsection (a), the term ‘‘imminently hazardous fire16 arm product’’ means any firearm product with respect to 

17 which the Attorney General determines that—

18 (1) the product poses an unreasonable risk of 

19 injury to the public; and 

20 (2) time is of the essence in protecting the pub21 lic from the risks posed by the product. 

22 (c) RELIEF.—In an action brought under subsection 

23 (a), the court may grant such temporary or permanent 

24 relief as may be necessary to protect the public from the 

25 risks posed by the firearm product, including—
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1 (1) seizure of the product; and 

2 (2) an order requiring—

3 (A) the purchasers of the product to be no4 tified of the risks posed by the product; 

5 (B) the public to be notified of the risks 

6 posed by the product; or 

7 (C) the defendant to recall, repair, or re8 place the product, or refund the purchase price 

9 of the product (or, if the product is more than 

10 1 year old, a lesser amount based on the value 

11 of the product after reasonable use). 

12 (d) VENUE.—An action under subsection (a)(2) may 

13 be brought in the United States district court for the Dis14 trict of Columbia or for any district in which any defend15 ant is found or transacts business. 

16 SEC. 304. PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any person aggrieved by any vio18 lation of this Act or of any regulation prescribed or order 

19 issued under this Act by another person may bring an ac20 tion against such other person in any United States dis21 trict court for damages, including consequential damages. 

22 In any action under this section, the court, in its discre23 tion, may award to a prevailing plaintiff a reasonable at24 torney’s fee as part of the costs.
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1 (b) RULE OF INTERPRETATION.—The remedy pro2 vided for in subsection (a) shall be in addition to any other 

3 remedy provided by common law or under Federal or State 

4 law. 

5 SEC. 305. PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT OF THIS ACT. 

6 Any interested person may bring an action in any 

7 United States district court to enforce this Act, or restrain 

8 any violation of this Act or of any regulation prescribed 

9 or order issued under this Act. In any action under this 

10 section, the court, in its discretion, may award to a pre11 vailing plaintiff a reasonable attorney’s fee as part of the 

12 costs. 

13 SEC. 306. EFFECT ON PRIVATE REMEDIES. 

14 (a) IRRELEVANCY OF COMPLIANCE WITH THIS

15 ACT.—Compliance with this Act or any order issued or 

16 regulation prescribed under this Act shall not relieve any 

17 person from liability to any person under common law or 

18 State statutory law. 

19 (b) IRRELEVANCY OF FAILURE TO TAKE ACTION

20 UNDER THIS ACT.—The failure of the Attorney General 

21 to take any action authorized under this Act shall not be 

22 admissible in litigation relating to the product under com23 mon law or State statutory law. 
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1 Subtitle B—Criminal Enforcement 

2 SEC. 351. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 

3 Any person who has received from the Attorney Gen4 eral a notice that the person has violated a provision of 

5 this Act or of a regulation prescribed under this Act with 

6 respect to a firearm product and knowingly violates that 

7 provision with respect to the product shall be fined under 

8 title 18, United States Code, imprisoned not more than 

9 2 years, or both. 

10 TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE 

11 PROVISIONS 

12 SEC. 401. FIREARM INJURY INFORMATION AND RESEARCH. 

13 (a) INJURY DATA.—The Attorney General shall, in 

14 coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human 

15 Services—

16 (1) collect, investigate, analyze, and share with 

17 other appropriate government agencies cir18 cumstances of death and injury associated with fire19 arms; and 

20 (2) conduct continuing studies and investiga21 tions of economic costs and losses resulting from 

22 firearm-related deaths and injuries. 

23 (b) OTHER DATA.—The Attorney General shall—

24 (1) collect and maintain current production and 

25 sales figures for each licensed manufacturer, broken 
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1 down by the model, caliber, and type of firearms 

2 produced and sold by the licensee, including a list of 

3 the serial numbers of such firearms; 

4 (2) conduct research on, studies of, and inves5 tigation into the safety of firearm products and im6 proving the safety of firearm products; and 

7 (3) develop firearm safety testing methods and 

8 testing devices. 

9 (c) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—On a regular 

10 basis, but not less frequently than annually, the Attorney 

11 General shall make available to the public the results of 

12 the activities of the Attorney General under subsections 

13 (a) and (b). 

14 SEC. 402. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall pre16 pare and submit to the President and Congress at the be17 ginning of each regular session of Congress, a comprehen18 sive report on the administration of this Act for the most 

19 recently completed fiscal year. 

20 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under sub21 section (a) shall include—

22 (1) a thorough description, developed in coordi23 nation with the Secretary of Health and Human 

24 Services, of the incidence of injury and death and ef25 fects on the population resulting from firearm prod-
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1 ucts, including statistical analyses and projections, 

2 and a breakdown, as practicable, among the various 

3 types of such products associated with the injuries 

4 and deaths; 

5 (2) a list of firearm safety regulations pre6 scribed that year; 

7 (3) an evaluation of the degree of compliance 

8 with firearm safety regulations, including a list of 

9 enforcement actions, court decisions, and settlements 

10 of alleged violations, by name and location of the vi11 olator or alleged violator, as the case may be; 

12 (4) a summary of the outstanding problems 

13 hindering enforcement of this Act, in the order of 

14 priority; and 

15 (5) a log and summary of meetings between the 

16 Attorney General or employees of the Attorney Gen17 eral and representatives of industry, interested 

18 groups, or other interested parties. 

19 TITLE V—RELATIONSHIP TO 

20 OTHER LAW 

21 SEC. 501. SUBORDINATION TO ARMS EXPORT CONTROL 

22 ACT. 

23 In the event of any conflict between any provision of 

24 this Act and any provision of the Arms Export Control 
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1 Act, the provision of the Arms Export Control Act shall 

2 control. 

3 SEC. 502. EFFECT ON STATE LAW. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall not be construed 

5 to preempt any provision of the law of any State or polit6 ical subdivision thereof, or prevent a State or political sub7 division thereof from enacting any provision of law regu8 lating or prohibiting conduct with respect to a firearm 

9 product, except to the extent that such provision of law 

10 is inconsistent with any provision of this Act, and then 

11 only to the extent of the inconsistency. 

12 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—A provision of State 

13 law is not inconsistent with this Act if the provision im14 poses a regulation or prohibition of greater scope or a pen15 alty of greater severity than any prohibition or penalty im16 posed by this Act.

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