I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1258 

To provide adequate protections for gun owners, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 

Mr. PERRY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Appropriations, 

Veterans’ Affairs, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, for a 

period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide adequate protections for gun owners, 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 ‘‘Protecting Gun Rights 

5 and Due Process Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH. 

7 (a) TITLE 18 DEFINITIONS.—Chapter 44 of title 18, 

8 United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in section 921(a), by adding at the end the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(38)(A) The term ‘has been adjudicated men4 tally incompetent or has been committed to a psy5 chiatric hospital’, with respect to a person— 

6 ‘‘(i) means the person is the subject of an 

7 order or finding by a Federal, State, or local ju8 dicial officer or court— 

9 ‘‘(I) that was issued after a hearing— 

10 ‘‘(aa) of which the person re11 ceived actual notice; and 

12 ‘‘(bb) at which the person had an 

13 opportunity to participate with coun14 sel; and 

15 ‘‘(II) that found that the person, as a 

16 result of marked subnormal intelligence, 

17 mental impairment, mental illness, mental 

18 incompetency, mental condition, or mental 

19 disease— 

20 ‘‘(aa) was guilty but mentally ill 

21 in a criminal case, in a jurisdiction 

22 that provides for such a verdict; 

23 ‘‘(bb) was not guilty in a criminal 

24 case by reason of insanity or mental 

25 disease or defect; 


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1 ‘‘(cc) was incompetent to stand 

2 trial in a criminal case; or 

3 ‘‘(dd) was not guilty by reason of 

4 lack of mental responsibility under 

5 section 850a of title 10 (article 50a of 

6 the Uniform Code of Military Jus7 tice); and 

8 ‘‘(ii) does not mean— 

9 ‘‘(I) an admission to a psychiatric 

10 hospital for observation; or 

11 ‘‘(II) a voluntary admission to a psy12 chiatric hospital. 

13 ‘‘(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, the 

14 term ‘order or finding’ does not include— 

15 ‘‘(i) an order or finding that has expired, 

16 been dismissed, or expunged; 

17 ‘‘(ii) an order or finding that is no longer 

18 applicable because a judicial officer or court has 

19 found that the person who is the subject of the 

20 order or finding— 

21 ‘‘(I) does not present a danger to him22 self or herself or to others; 

23 ‘‘(II) has been restored to sanity or 

24 cured of mental disease or defect; 


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1 ‘‘(III) has been restored to com2 petency; or 

3 ‘‘(IV) no longer requires involuntary 

4 inpatient or outpatient treatment by a psy5 chiatric hospital; or 

6 ‘‘(iii) an order or finding with respect to 

7 which the person who is subject to the order or 

8 finding has been granted relief from disabilities 

9 under section 925(c) of this title, under a pro10 gram described in section 101(c)(2)(A) or 105 

11 of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 

12 2007 (34 U.S.C. 40911(c)(2)(A); 34 U.S.C. 

13 40915), or under any other State-authorized re14 lief from disabilities program of the State in 

15 which the original commitment or adjudication 

16 occurred. 

17 ‘‘(C) For the purposes of this paragraph, the 

18 term ‘actual notice’ means notice that was served to 

19 the individually personally and does not mean notice 

20 by publication or other general means. 

21 ‘‘(39) The term ‘psychiatric hospital’ includes a 

22 mental health facility, a mental hospital, a sani23 tarium, or a psychiatric facility, including a psy24 chiatric ward in a general hospital.’’; and 

25 (2) in section 922— 


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1 (A) in subsection (d)(4)— 

2 (i) by striking ‘‘as a mental defective’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘mentally incompetent’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘any mental institu5 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘a psychiatric hos6 pital’’; and 

7 (B) in subsection (g)(4)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘as a mental defective 

9 or who has’’ and inserting ‘‘mentally in10 competent or has’’; and 

11 (ii) by striking ‘‘mental institution’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘psychiatric hospital’’. 

13 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

14 The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (34 

15 U.S.C. 40902 et seq.) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘as a mental defective’’ each 

17 place that term appears and inserting ‘‘mentally in18 competent’’; 

19 (2) by striking ‘‘mental institution’’ each place 

20 that term appears and inserting ‘‘psychiatric hos21 pital’’; 

22 (3) in section 101(c)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre24 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘to the 


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1 mental health of a person’’ and inserting ‘‘to 

2 whether a person is mentally incompetent’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

4 (i) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 

5 ‘‘to the mental health of a person’’ and in6 serting ‘‘to whether a person is mentally 

7 incompetent’’; and 

8 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

9 ‘‘to the mental health of a person’’ and in10 serting ‘‘to whether a person is mentally 

11 incompetent’’; and 

12 (4) in section 102(c)(3)— 

13 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

14 ‘‘AS A MENTAL DEFECTIVE OR COMMITTED TO

15 A MENTAL INSTITUTION’’ and inserting ‘‘AS

16 MENTALLY INCOMPETENT OR COMMITTED TO A

17 MENTAL INSTITUTION’’; and 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘mental institutions’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘psychiatric hospitals’’. 

20 SEC. 3. PROTECTING THE SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS OF 

21 VETERANS. 

22 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered 

23 veteran’’ means a person who, on the day before the date 

24 of enactment of this Act, is considered to have been adju25 dicated as mentally incompetent or committed to a psyVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Apr 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1258.IH H1258

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1 chiatric hospital under subsection (d)(4) or (g)(4) of sec2 tion 922 of title 18, United States Code, as a result of 

3 having been found by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

4 to be mentally incompetent. 

5 (b) REVIEW AND CERTIFICATION.— 

6 (1) REVIEW.—The Secretary of Veterans Af7 fairs shall not later than 90 days after the date of 

8 enactment of this Act, conduct a review relating to 

9 each covered veteran to determine whether the pro10 ceedings for the adjudication or commitment of the 

11 covered veteran were conducted in accordance with, 

12 and resulted in an order or finding described in, sec13 tion 921(a)(38) of title 18, United States Code (as 

14 added by this Act). 

15 (2) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary of Vet16 erans Affairs shall certify that the proceedings under 

17 paragraph (1) were conducted in accordance with, 

18 and resulted in an order or finding described in, sec19 tion 921(a)(38) of title 18, United States Code (as 

20 added by this Act), ensure that the records of the 

21 covered veteran used for purposes of any determina22 tion of whether the covered veteran is disqualified 

23 from possessing or receiving a firearm under sub24 section (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United 

25 States Code, are modified to indicate that the covVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Apr 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1258.IH H1258

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1 ered veteran has not been adjudicated mentally in2 competent or committed to a psychiatric hospital. 

3 (c) ENFORCEMENT.— 

4 (1) IDENTIFICATION OF INACCURATE

5 RECORDS.—Not later than January 1 of each year, 

6 the Attorney General shall— 

7 (A) review the record of each person who 

8 is considered to have been adjudicated mentally 

9 incompetent or committed to a psychiatric hos10 pital by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under 

11 subsection (d)(4) or (g)(4) of section 922 of 

12 title 18, United States Code, as a result of hav13 ing been found by the Secretary of Veterans Af14 fairs to be mentally incompetent; 

15 (B) identify each record reviewed under 

16 subparagraph (A) that does not include docu17 mentation indicating that the proceedings for 

18 the adjudication or commitment were conducted 

19 in accordance with, and resulted in an order or 

20 finding described in section 921(a)(38) of title 

21 18, United States Code, as added by this Act; 

22 and 

23 (C) submit to the Secretary of the Treas24 ury and the Committee on the Judiciary and 

25 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 


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1 House of Representatives and the Committee 

2 on the Judiciary and the Committee on Vet3 erans’ Affairs of the Senate a report providing 

4 the number of records identified under subpara5 graph (B) in the previous year. 

6 (2) RESCISSION.—Effective on the date on 

7 which the Attorney General submits a report under 

8 paragraph (1)(C), there is rescinded from the unob9 ligated balances in the appropriations account ap10 propriated under the heading ‘‘GENERAL ADMINIS11 TRATION’’ under the heading ‘‘DEPARTMENTAL AD12 MINISTRATION’’ under the heading ‘‘DEPART13 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS’’ the amount 

14 equal to the product of— 

15 (A) the number of records that the report 

16 states were identified by the Attorney General 

17 under paragraph (1)(B); and 

18 (B) $10,000. 

19 (d) APPOINTMENT OF FIDUCIARIES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 55 of title 38, 

21 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

22 end the following: 

23 ‘‘§ 5511. Use of determinations. 

24 ‘‘No determination by the Secretary that benefits 

25 under this title to which an individual is entitled shall be 


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1 paid to a fiduciary shall be considered to be a determina2 tion that the individual has been adjudicated mentally in3 competent for purposes of subsections (d)(4) and (g)(4) 

4 of section 922 of title 18.’’. 

5 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec6 tions for chapter 55 of title 38, United States Code, 

7 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘5511. Use of determinations.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. USE OF DETERMINATIONS MADE BY THE COMMIS9 SIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY. 

10 (a) TITLE II.—Section 205(j) of the Social Security 

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 405(j)) is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(11) No determination by the Commissioner of So14 cial Security with respect to an individual, including a de15 termination that benefits under this title to which such 

16 individual is entitled shall be paid to a representative 

17 payee, shall be considered to be a determination that the 

18 individual has been adjudicated mentally incompetent for 

19 purposes of subsection (d)(4) or (g)(4) of section 922 of 

20 title 18, United States Code.’’. 

21 (b) TITLE XVI.—Section 1631(a)(2) of such Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 1383(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(J) No determination by the Commissioner of Social 

25 Security with respect to an individual, including a deterVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Apr 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1258.IH H1258

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1 mination that benefits under this title to which such indi2 vidual is entitled shall be paid to a representative payee, 

3 shall be considered to be a determination that the indi4 vidual has been adjudicated mentally incompetent for pur5 poses of subsection (d)(4) or (g)(4) of section 922 of title 

6 18, United States Code.’’. 

7 (c) ENFORCEMENT.— 

8 (1) IDENTIFICATION OF INACCURATE

9 RECORDS.—Not later than January 1 of each year, 

10 the Attorney General shall— 

11 (A) review the record of each person who 

12 is considered to have been adjudicated mentally 

13 incompetent or committed to a psychiatric hos14 pital under subsection (d)(4) or (g)(4) of sec15 tion 922 of title 18, United States Code, as a 

16 result of a determination by the Commissioner 

17 of Social Security Administration; 

18 (B) identify each such record that does not 

19 include documentation indicating that the pro20 ceedings for the adjudication or commitment 

21 were conducted in accordance with, and re22 sulted in an order or finding described in, sec23 tion 921(a)(38) of title 18, United States Code, 

24 as added by this Act; and 


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1 (C) submit to the Secretary of the Treas2 ury and Congress a report providing the num3 ber of records identified under subparagraph 

4 (B). 

5 (2) RESCISSION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the date 

7 on which the Attorney General submits a report 

8 under paragraph (1)(C), there is rescinded from 

9 the unobligated balances in the Federal Old10 Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the 

11 Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, the 

12 Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, and 

13 the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance 

14 Trust Fund, on a pro rata basis, the amount 

15 equal to the product of— 

16 (i) the number of records that the re17 port states were identified by the Attorney 

18 General under paragraph (1)(B); and 

19 (ii) $10,000. 

20 (B) TREATMENT OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts 

21 rescinded under subparagraph (A) shall be 

22 deemed to have been expended for costs de23 scribed in section 201(g)(1) of the Social Secu24 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 401(g)(1)). 


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1 SEC. 5. STATE HEALTH REPORTS. 

2 Section 102(c)(3) of the NICS Improvement Amend3 ments Act of 2007 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following: ‘‘A report made available 

5 by a State indicating that a person has been adjudicated 

6 as mentally incompetent or committed to a mental institu7 tion shall not be used for purposes of any determination 

8 of whether a person is disqualified from possessing or re9 ceiving a firearm under subsection (g) or (n) of section 

10 922 of title 18, United States Code, unless the Attorney 

11 General determines that the proceedings for the adjudica12 tion or commitment were conducted in accordance with, 

13 and resulted in an order or finding described in, section 

14 921(a)(38) of title 18, United States Code, and that the 

15 State has provided clear and convincing evidence that the 

16 person poses an imminent and significant danger.’’. 

17 SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY OF AMENDMENTS. 

18 With respect to any record of a person prohibited 

19 from possessing or receiving a firearm under subsection 

20 (d)(4) or (g)(4) of section 922 of title 18, United States 

21 Code, before the date of enactment of this Act, the Attor22 ney General shall remove such a record from the National 

23 Instant Criminal Background Check System— 

24 (1) upon being made aware that the person is 

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1 ing to the criteria under paragraph (38)(A)(i)(II) of 

2 section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code (as 

3 added by this Act), and is therefore no longer pro4 hibited from possessing or receiving a firearm; 

5 (2) upon being made aware that any order or 

6 finding that the record is based on is an order or 

7 finding described in paragraph (38)(B) of section 

8 921(a) of title 18, United States Code (as added by 

9 this Act); or 

10 (3) upon being made aware that the person has 

11 been found competent to possess a firearm after an 

12 administrative or judicial review under section 5511 

13 of title 38, United States Code (as added by this 

14 Act). 

Æ 


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