I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3540 

To require criminal background checks on all firearms transactions occurring 

at events that provide a venue for the sale, offer for sale, transfer, 

or exchange of firearms, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 28, 2005 

Mr. CASTLE (for himself, Mrs. MCCARTHY, Mr. KIRK, and Mr. SHAYS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require criminal background checks on all firearms transactions occurring at events that provide a venue for 

the sale, offer for sale, transfer, or exchange of firearms, 

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 ‘‘Gun Show Loophole 

5 Closing Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(36) SPECIAL FIREARMS EVENT.—The term ‘spe2 cial firearms event’— 

3 ‘‘(A) means any event at which 75 or more fire4 arms are offered or exhibited for sale, exchange, or 

5 transfer, if 1 or more of the firearms has been 

6 shipped or transported in, or otherwise affects, inter7 state or foreign commerce; 

8 ‘‘(B) does not include an offer or exhibit of fire9 arms for sale, exchange, or transfer by an individual 

10 from the personal collection of that individual, at the 

11 private residence of that individual, if the individual 

12 is not required to be licensed under section 923 or 

13 932; and 

14 ‘‘(C) does not include an offer or exhibit of fire15 arms for sale, exchange, or transfer at events con16 ducted and attended by permanent or annual dues 

17 paying members, and their immediate family, of pri18 vate, not-for-profit organizations whose primary pur19 pose is owning and maintaining real property for the 

20 purpose of hunting activities. 

21 ‘‘(37) SPECIAL FIREARMS EVENT LICENSEE.—The 

22 term ‘special firearms event licensee’ means any person 

23 who has obtained and holds a valid license in compliance 

24 with section 932(d) and who is authorized to contact the 

25 national instant criminal background check system on be-
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1 half of another individual, who is not licensed under this 

2 chapter, for the purpose of conducting a background check 

3 for a potential firearms transfer at a special firearms 

4 event in accordance with section 932(c). 

5 ‘‘(38) SPECIAL FIREARMS EVENT VENDOR.—The 

6 term ‘special firearms event vendor’ means any person 

7 who is not required to be licensed under section 923 and 

8 who exhibits, sells, offers for sale, transfers, or exchanges 

9 1 or more firearms at a special firearms event, regardless 

10 of whether or not the person arranges with the special fire11 arms event promoter for a fixed location from which to 

12 exhibit, sell, offer for sale, transfer, or exchange 1 or more 

13 firearms.’’. 

14 SEC. 3. REGULATION OF FIREARMS TRANSFERS AT SPE15 CIAL FIREARMS EVENTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 44 of title 18, United 

17 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘§ 932. Regulation of firearms transfers at special 

20 firearms events 

21 ‘‘(a) SPECIAL FIREARMS EVENTS OPERATORS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION TO ATTORNEY GENERAL OF

23 SPECIAL FIREARMS EVENT OPERATORS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful 

25 for any person to operate a special firearms 
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1 event unless that person notifies the Attorney 

2 General in accordance with regulations promul3 gated by the Attorney General. 

4 ‘‘(B) FEES.—The Attorney General shall 

5 be prohibited from imposing or collecting any 

6 fee from special firearms event operators in 

7 connection with the notification requirement in 

8 subparagraph (A). 

9 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES OF SPECIAL FIREARMS

10 EVENTS OPERATORS.—It shall be unlawful for a spe11 cial firearms events operator to organize, plan, pro12 mote, or operate a special firearms event unless that 

13 operator— 

14 ‘‘(A) not later than 30 days before the 

15 commencement of the special firearms event, 

16 notifies the Attorney General, in writing, of the 

17 date, time, duration, and location of the special 

18 firearms event, and the special firearms event 

19 vendors planning to participate; 

20 ‘‘(B) before the commencement of the spe21 cial firearms event, or in the case of a vendor 

22 who arrives after the commencement of the 

23 event, upon the arrival of the vendor, verifies 

24 the identity of each special firearms event ven25 dor participating in the special firearms event 
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1 by examining a valid identification document 

2 (as defined in section 1028(d)(2)) of the vendor 

3 containing a photograph of the vendor; 

4 ‘‘(C) before the commencement of the spe5 cial firearms event, or in the case of a vendor 

6 who arrives after the commencement of the 

7 event, upon the arrival of the vendor, requires 

8 each special firearms event vendor to sign— 

9 ‘‘(i) a ledger with identifying informa10 tion concerning the vendor; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) a notice advising the vendor of 

12 the obligations of the vendor under this 

13 chapter; 

14 ‘‘(D) notifies each person who attends the 

15 special firearms event of the requirements of 

16 this chapter, in accordance with such regula17 tions as the Attorney General shall prescribe; 

18 ‘‘(E) not later than 5 days after the last 

19 day of the special firearms event, submits to the 

20 Attorney General a copy of the ledger and no21 tice described in subparagraph (C)(i); and 

22 ‘‘(F) maintains a copy of the records de23 scribed in subparagraphs (B) and (C) at the 

24 permanent place of business of the operator for 
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1 such period of time and in such form as the At2 torney General shall require by regulation. 

3 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRANSFERORS OTHER

4 THAN LICENSEES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If any part of a firearm 

6 transaction takes place at a special firearms event, 

7 or on the curtilage of the event, it shall be unlawful 

8 for any person who is not licensed under this chap9 ter to transfer a firearm to another person who is 

10 not licensed under this chapter, unless the firearm 

11 is transferred through a licensed importer, licensed 

12 manufacturer, licensed dealer, or a special firearms 

13 event licensee in accordance with subsection (c). 

14 ‘‘(2) CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS.—A per15 son who is subject to the requirement of paragraph 

16 (1) shall not— 

17 ‘‘(A) transfer the firearm to the transferee 

18 until the licensed importer, licensed manufac19 turer, licensed dealer, or a special firearms 

20 event licensee through which the transfer is 

21 made makes the notification described in sub22 section (c)(2)(A); or 

23 ‘‘(B) transfer the firearm to the transferee 

24 if the person has been notified under subsection 
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1 (c)(2)(B) that the transfer would violate section 

2 922 or State law. 

3 ‘‘(3) ABSENCE OF RECORDKEEPING REQUIRE4 MENTS.—Nothing in this section shall permit or au5 thorize the Attorney General to impose record6 keeping requirements on any nonlicensed special 

7 firearms event vendor. 

8 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF LICENSEES.—A licensed 

9 importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or special 

10 firearms event licensee who agrees to assist a person who 

11 is not licensed under this chapter in carrying out the re12 sponsibilities of that person under subsection (b) with re13 spect to the transfer of a firearm shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) except as provided in paragraph (2), com15 ply with section 922(t) as if transferring the firearm 

16 from the inventory of the licensed importer, licensed 

17 manufacturer, or licensed dealer to the designated 

18 transferee (although a licensed importer, licensed 

19 manufacturer, or licensed dealer complying with this 

20 subsection shall not be required to comply again 

21 with the requirements of section 922(t) in delivering 

22 the firearm to the nonlicensed transferor); 

23 ‘‘(2) not later than 3 business days (meaning 

24 days on which State offices are open) after the date 

25 of the agreement to purchase, or if the event is held 
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1 in a State that has been certified by the Attorney 

2 General under section 4 of the Gun Show Loophole 

3 Closing Act of 2004, not later than 24 hours after 

4 such date (or 3 business days after such date if ad5 ditional information is required in order to verify 

6 disqualifying information from a State that has not 

7 been certified by the Attorney General), notify the 

8 nonlicensed transferor and the nonlicensed trans9 feree— 

10 ‘‘(A) of any response from the national 

11 criminal background check system, or if the li12 censee has had no response from the national 

13 criminal background check system within the 

14 applicable time period under this paragraph, 

15 notify the nonlicensed transferor that no re16 sponse has been received and that the transfer 

17 may proceed; and 

18 ‘‘(B) of any receipt by the licensed im19 porter, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer 

20 of a notification from the national instant 

21 criminal background check system that the 

22 transfer would violate section 922 or would vio23 late State law; 

24 ‘‘(3) in the case of a transfer at one time or 

25 during any 5 consecutive business days, of 2 or more 
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1 pistols or revolvers, or any combination of pistols 

2 and revolvers totaling 2 or more, to the same non3 licensed person, in addition to the record keeping re4 quirements described in paragraph (4), prepare a re5 port of the multiple transfers, which report shall 

6 be— 

7 ‘‘(A) on a form specified by the Attorney 

8 General; and 

9 ‘‘(B) not later than the close of business 

10 on the date on which the multiple transfer oc11 curs, forwarded to— 

12 ‘‘(i) the office specified on the form 

13 described in subparagraph (A); and 

14 ‘‘(ii) the appropriate State law en15 forcement agency of the jurisdiction in 

16 which the transfer occurs; and 

17 ‘‘(4) comply with all record keeping require18 ments under this chapter. 

19 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL FIREARMS EVENT LICENSE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 

21 issue a special firearms event license to a person 

22 who submits an application for a special firearms 

23 event license in accordance with this subsection. 

24 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—The application required 

25 by paragraph (1) shall be approved if— 
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1 ‘‘(A) the applicant is 21 years of age or 

2 over; 

3 ‘‘(B) the application includes a photograph 

4 and the fingerprints of the applicant; 

5 ‘‘(C) the applicant (including, in the case 

6 of a corporation, partnership, or association, 

7 any individual possessing, directly or indirectly, 

8 the power to direct or cause the direction of the 

9 management and policies of the corporation, 

10 partnership, or association) is not prohibited 

11 from transporting, shipping, or receiving fire12 arms or ammunition in interstate or foreign 

13 commerce under subsection (g) or (n) of section 

14 922; 

15 ‘‘(D) the applicant has not willfully vio16 lated any of the provisions of this chapter or 

17 regulations issued thereunder; 

18 ‘‘(E) the applicant has not willfully failed 

19 to disclose any material information required, 

20 or has not made any false statement as to any 

21 material fact, in connection with the applica22 tion; and 

23 ‘‘(F) the applicant certifies that— 
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1 ‘‘(i) the applicant meets the require2 ments of subparagraphs (A) through (D) 

3 of section 923(d)(1); 

4 ‘‘(ii) the business to be conducted 

5 under the license is not prohibited by State 

6 or local law in the place where the licensed 

7 premises is located; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) the business will not be con9 ducted under the license until the require10 ments of State and local law applicable to 

11 the business have been met. 

12 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION AND APPROVAL.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon the approval of 

14 an application under this subsection and pay15 ment by the applicant of a fee of $200 for 3 

16 years, and upon renewal of a valid registration 

17 and payment of a fee of $90 for 3 years, the 

18 Attorney General shall issue to the applicant an 

19 instant check registration, and advise the Attor20 ney General of that registration. 

21 ‘‘(B) NICS.—A special firearms event li22 censee may contact the national instant crimi23 nal background check system established under 

24 section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence 

25 Prevention Act (18 U.S.C. 922 note) for infor-
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1 mation about any individual desiring to obtain 

2 a firearm at a special firearms event from any 

3 special firearms event vendor who has requested 

4 the assistance of the registrant in complying 

5 with subsection (c) with respect to the transfer 

6 of the firearm, during the 3-year period that 

7 begins on the date on which the registration is 

8 issued. 

9 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements for a 

10 special firearms event licensee shall not exceed the 

11 requirements for a licensed dealer and the record 

12 keeping requirements shall be the same. 

13 ‘‘(5) RESTRICTIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—A special 

15 firearms event licensee may have access to the 

16 national instant criminal background check sys17 tem to conduct a background check only at a 

18 special firearms event and only on behalf of an19 other person. 

20 ‘‘(B) TRANSFER OF FIREARMS.—A special 

21 firearms event licensee shall not transfer a fire22 arm at a special firearms event. 

23 ‘‘(e) FIREARM TRANSACTION DEFINED.—In this sec24 tion, the term ‘firearm transaction’— 
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1 ‘‘(1) includes the sale, offer for sale, transfer, 

2 or exchange of a firearm; and 

3 ‘‘(2) does not include— 

4 ‘‘(A) the mere exhibition of a firearm; or 

5 ‘‘(B) the sale, transfer, or exchange of fire6 arms between immediate family members, in7 cluding parents, children, siblings, grand8 parents, and grandchildren.’’. 

9 (b) PENALTIES.—Section 924(a) of title 18, United 

10 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(8) (A) Whoever knowingly violates section 

13 932(a)(1) or 932(b)— 

14 ‘‘(i) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned 

15 not more than 2 years, or both; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a second or subsequent con17 viction, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned 

18 not more than 5 years, or both. 

19 ‘‘(B) Whoever knowingly violates section 932(a)(2) or 

20 932(c) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more 

21 than 5 years, or both. 

22 ‘‘(C) Whoever knowingly violates section 932(a)(3) 

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

24 2 years, or both. 
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1 ‘‘(D) In addition to any other penalties imposed 

2 under this paragraph, the Attorney General may, with re3 spect to any person who violates any provision of section 

4 932— 

5 ‘‘(i) if the person is registered pursuant to sec6 tion 932(a), after notice and opportunity for a hear7 ing, suspend for not more than 6 months or revoke 

8 the registration of that person under section 932(a); 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(ii) impose a civil fine in an amount equal to 

11 not more than $10,000.’’. 

12 (c) UNLAWFUL ACTS.—Section 922(b) of title 18, 

13 United States Code, is amended in the matter preceding 

14 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or licensed collector’’ and in15 serting ‘‘licensed collector, or special firearms event li16 censee’’. 

17 (d) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

18 Chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

19 in the chapter analysis, by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘932. Regulation of firearms transfers at special firearms events.’’. 

20 SEC. 4. STATE OPTION FOR 24-HOUR BACKGROUND 

21 CHECKS AT SPECIAL FIREARMS EVENTS FOR 

22 STATES WITH COMPUTERIZED DISQUALI23 FYING RECORDS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective 3 years after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act, a State may apply to the Attor-
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1 ney General for certification of the 24-hour verification 

2 authority of that State. 

3 (b) CERTIFICATION.—The Attorney General shall 

4 certify a State for 24-hour verification authority only upon 

5 a clear showing by the State, and certification by the Bu6 reau of Justice Statistics, that— 

7 (1) not less than 95 percent of all records con8 taining information that would disqualify an indi9 vidual under subsections (g) and (n) of section 922 

10 of title 18, United States Code, or under State law, 

11 is available on computer records in the State, and is 

12 searchable under the national instant criminal back13 ground check system established under section 103 

14 of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (18 

15 U.S.C. 922 note); 

16 (2) not less than 95 percent of all records con17 taining information that would disqualify an indi18 vidual under paragraphs (8) and (9) of subsection 

19 922(g) of title 18, United States Code, or under 

20 State law, is available on computer records in the 

21 State, and is searchable under the national instant 

22 criminal background check system established under 

23 section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Protec24 tion Act (18 U.S.C. 922 note); and 
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1 (3) the chief judicial officer of the State re2 quires the courts of the State to use the toll-free 

3 telephone number described in subsection (d)(1) to 

4 immediately notify the National Instant Criminal 

5 Background Check System each time a restraining 

6 order (as described in section 922(g)(8) of title 18, 

7 United States Code) is issued, lifted, or otherwise 

8 removed by order of the court. 

9 (c) CLARIFICATIONS.— 

10 (1) DISQUALIFYING INFORMATION.—Disquali11 fying information for each State under subsection 

12 (b) shall include the disqualifying records for that 

13 State generated during the 30 years preceding the 

14 date of application to the Attorney General for cer15 tification. 

16 (2) TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER.—Upon a 

17 showing by the State that a court of the State has 

18 developed computer systems which permit the court 

19 to immediately electronically notify the National In20 stant Criminal Background Check System with re21 spect to the issuance or lifting of restraining orders, 

22 the use of the toll-free telephone number described 

23 in subsection (d)(1) shall no longer be required 

24 under subsection (b)(3). 
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1 (d) NOTIFICATION INFRASTRUCTURE.—Before certi2 fying any State under subsection (b), the Attorney Gen3 eral shall— 

4 (1) create a toll-free telephone number through 

5 which State and local courts may immediately notify 

6 the National Instant Background Check System 

7 whenever a restraining order (as described in section 

8 922(g)(8) of title 18, United States Code) is issued, 

9 lifted, or otherwise removed by order of the court; 

10 and 

11 (2) encourage States to develop computer sys12 tems that permit courts to immediately electronically 

13 notify the National Instant Criminal Background 

14 Check System whenever a restraining order (as de15 scribed in section 922(g)(8) of title 18, United 

16 States Code) has been issued, lifted, or otherwise re17 moved by order of the court. 

18 (e) 24-HOUR PROVISION.—Upon certification by the 

19 Attorney General, the 24-hour provision in section 

20 932(c)(2) of title 18, United States Code, shall apply to 

21 the verification process (for transfers between unlicensed 

22 persons) in that State unless additional information is re23 quired in order to verify disqualifying information from 

24 a State that has not been certified by the Attorney Gen25 eral, in which case the 3 business day limit shall apply. 
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1 (f) ANNUAL REVIEW.—The Director of the Bureau 

2 of Justice Statistics shall annually review the certifications 

3 under this section. 

4 (g) REVOCATION.—The Attorney General shall re5 voke the certification required under this section for any 

6 State that is not in compliance with subsection (b). 

7 SEC. 5. INSPECTION AUTHORITY. 

8 Section 923(g)(1)(B), of title 18, United States Code, 

9 is amended by striking ‘‘or licensed dealer’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘licensed dealer, or special firearms event operator’’. 

11 SEC. 6. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR SERIOUS RECORD12 KEEPING VIOLATIONS BY LICENSEES. 

13 Section 924(a)(3) of title 18, United States Code, is 

14 amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(3) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 

16 any licensed dealer, licensed importer, licensed manufac17 turer, licensed collector, or special firearms event licensee 

18 who knowingly makes any false statement or representa19 tion with respect to the information required by this chap20 ter to be kept in the records of a person licensed under 

21 this chapter, or violates section 922(m) shall be fined 

22 under this title, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both. 

23 ‘‘(B) If the violation described in subparagraph (A) 

24 is in relation to an offense— 
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1 ‘‘(i) under paragraph (1) or (3) of section 

2 922(b), such person shall be fined under this title, 

3 imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) under subsection (a)(6) or (d) of section 

5 922, such person shall be fined under this title, im6 prisoned not more than 10 years, or both.’’. 

7 SEC. 7. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF CRIMI8 NAL BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIREMENTS. 

9 Section 924(a) of title 18, United States Code, as 

10 amended by section 3(b), is further amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘subsection 

12 (s) or (t) of section 922’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

13 922(s)’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(9) Whoever knowingly violates section 922(t) shall 

16 be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 

17 years, or both.’’. 

18 SEC. 8. RULE OF INTERPRETATION. 

19 A provision of State law is not inconsistent with this 

20 Act or an amendment made by this Act if the provision 

21 imposes a regulation or prohibition of greater scope or a 

22 penalty of greater severity than any prohibition or penalty 

23 imposed by this Act or an amendment made by this Act. 
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1 SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

3 take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

4 Act. 

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