I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3018

To prohibit the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer, receipt,

or transportation of handguns in any manner affecting interstate or

foreign commerce, except for or by members of the Armed Forces,

law enforcement officials, and, as authorized by the Secretary of the

Treasury, licensed importers, manufacturers, and dealers, and pistol

clubs.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 5, 1996

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

on the Judiciary

A BILL

To prohibit the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase,

transfer, receipt, or transportation of handguns in any

manner affecting interstate or foreign commerce, except

for or by members of the Armed Forces, law enforcement

officials, and, as authorized by the Secretary of the

Treasury, licensed importers, manufacturers, and dealers,

and pistol clubs.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2

•HR 3018 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Handgun Control Act

3 of 1996’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.

5 The Congress hereby finds and declares—

6 (1) that the estimated total number of hand7 guns in private hands has reached seventy-six mil8 lion;

9 (2) that handguns play a major role, and a role

10 disproportionate to their number in comparison with

11 long guns, in the commission of homicide, aggra12 vated assault, and armed robbery, and that the per13 centage of violent crimes in which handguns are

14 used is increasing;

15 (3) that more than one-half of all handguns are

16 acquired secondhand and that licensing and restric17 tions on sale of new handguns will not significantly

18 reduce handgun crime and handgun violence;

19 (4) that with few exceptions handguns are not

20 used for sporting or recreational purposes and that

21 such purposes do not require keeping of handguns in

22 private homes;

23 (5) that handguns in the home are of less value

24 than is commonly thought in defending against in25 truders and that such defensive purposes can be

26 adequately accomplished by other means;
3

•HR 3018 IH

1 (6) that violent crimes perpetrated with hand2 guns constitute a burden upon and interfere with

3 interstate and foreign commerce and threaten the

4 internal security and domestic tranquillity of the Na5 tion; and

6 (7) that a national firearms policy which re7 stricts the availability of handguns for nonlaw en8 forcement and nonmilitary purposes will significantly

9 reduce violent crime, reduce deaths from handguns,

10 and reduce other handgun violence in the United

11 States.

12 SEC. 3. HANDGUN CONTROLS.

13 Title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting

14 after chapter 50 the following:

15 ‘‘CHAPTER 50A—HANDGUNS

‘‘Sec.

‘‘1091. Unlawful acts.

‘‘1092. Licensing.

‘‘1093. Penalties.

‘‘1094. Exceptions.

‘‘1095. Voluntary delivery to law enforcement agency; reimbursement.

‘‘1096. Rules and regulations.

‘‘1097. Effect on State law.

‘‘1098. Definitions.

16 ‘‘§ 1091. Unlawful acts

17 ‘‘(a) Except as provided in section 1094 of this chap18 ter and in subsection (b) of this section, it shall be unlaw19 ful for any person to import, manufacture, sell, buy, trans20 fer, receive, or transport any handgun.
4

•HR 3018 IH

1 ‘‘(b) The Secretary may, consistent with public safety

2 and necessity, exempt from the operation of subsection (a)

3 of this section such importation, manufacture, sale, pur4 chase, transfer, receipt, or transportation of handguns by

5 importers, manufacturers, or dealers, licensed under chap6 ter 44 of this title, and by pistol clubs licensed under this

7 chapter, as may in his judgment be required for the oper8 ation of such pistol clubs or for purposes described in sec9 tion 1094 of this chapter.

10 ‘‘§ 1092. Licensing

11 ‘‘(a) A pistol club desiring to be licensed under this

12 chapter shall file an application for such license with the

13 Secretary. The application shall be in such form and con14 tain such information as the Secretary shall by regulation

15 prescribe. The fee for such license shall be $25 per year.

16 ‘‘(b) Any importer, manufacturer, or dealer desiring

17 to be licensed under this chapter shall apply as provided

18 in chapter 44 of this title.

19 ‘‘(c) Any application submitted under subsection (a)

20 shall be approved if—

21 ‘‘(1) all members of the pistol club are twenty22 one years of age or older;

23 ‘‘(2) no member of the pistol club is prohibited

24 from transporting, shipping, or receiving firearms or

25 ammunition in interstate or foreign commerce under
5

•HR 3018 IH

1 section 922(g) or (h) of this title or under the law

2 of the State in which the club will be located or of

3 the State in which the member is domiciled;

4 ‘‘(3) no member of the pistol club has willfully

5 violated any of the provisions of this chapter or of

6 chapter 44 of this title or any regulations issued

7 thereunder;

8 ‘‘(4) the pistol club has not willfully failed to

9 disclose any material information required, or has

10 not made any false statement as to any material

11 fact, in connection with his application; and

12 ‘‘(5) the pistol club has premises from which it

13 operates and—

14 ‘‘(A) maintains possession and control of

15 the handguns used by its members, and

16 ‘‘(B) has procedures and facilities for keep17 ing such handguns in a secure place, under the

18 control of the club’s chief officer, at all times

19 when they are not being used for target shoot20 ing or other sporting or recreational purposes.

21 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary must approve or deny an appli22 cation for a license within the forty-five-day period begin23 ning on the date it is received. If the Secretary fails to

24 act within such period, the applicant may file an action

25 under section 1361 of title 28 to compel the Secretary to
6

•HR 3018 IH

1 act. If the Secretary approves an applicant’s application,

2 such applicant shall be issued a license upon payment of

3 the prescribed fee.

4 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may, after notice and opportunity

5 for hearing, revoke any license issued under this section

6 if the holder of such license has violated any provision of

7 this chapter or of chapter 44 of this title or any rule or

8 regulation prescribed by the Secretary under such chap9 ters. The Secretary’s action under this paragraph may be

10 reviewed only as provided in subsection (e) of this section.

11 ‘‘(e)(1) Any person whose application for a license is

12 denied and any holder of a license which is revoked shall

13 receive a written notice from the Secretary stating specifi14 cally the grounds upon which the application was denied

15 or upon which the license was revoked. Any notice of rev16 ocation of a license shall be given to the holder of such

17 license before the effective date of the revocation.

18 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary denies an application for, or re19 vokes, a license, he shall, upon request by the aggrieved

20 party, promptly hold a hearing to review his denial or rev21 ocation. In the case of a revocation of a license, the Sec22 retary shall upon the request of the holder of the license

23 stay the effective date of the revocation. A hearing held

24 under this paragraph shall be held at a location convenient

25 to the aggrieved party.
7

•HR 3018 IH

1 ‘‘(3) If after a hearing held under paragraph (2) the

2 Secretary decides not to reverse his decision to deny an

3 application or revoke a license, the Secretary shall give

4 notice of his decision to the aggrieved party. The aggrieved

5 party may at any time within sixty days after the date

6 notice was given under this paragraph file a petition with

7 the United States District Court for the district in which

8 he resides or has his principal place of business for a judi9 cial review of such denial or revocation. In a proceeding

10 conducted under this subsection, the court may consider

11 any evidence submitted by the parties to the proceeding.

12 If the court decides that the Secretary was not authorized

13 to deny the application or to revoke the license, the court

14 shall order the Secretary to take such action as may be

15 necessary to comply with the judgment of the court.

16 ‘‘(f) Each licensed pistol club shall maintain such

17 records of receipt, sale, or other disposition, of handguns

18 at such place, for such period, and in such form as the

19 Secretary may by regulations prescribe. Such pistol clubs

20 shall make such records available for inspection at all rea21 sonable times, and shall submit to the Secretary such re22 ports and information with respect to such records and

23 the contents thereof as he shall by regulations prescribe.

24 The Secretary may enter at reasonable times the premises

25 (including places of storage) of any pistol club for the pur-
8

•HR 3018 IH

1 pose of inspecting or examining (1) any records of docu2 ments required to be kept by such pistol club under the

3 provisions of this chapter or chapter 44 of this title and

4 regulations issued under such chapters, and (2) any hand5 guns or ammunition kept or stored by such pistol club at

6 such premises. Upon the request of any State or any polit7 ical subdivision thereof, the Secretary may make available

8 to such State or any political subdivision thereof any infor9 mation which he may obtain by reason of the provisions

10 of this chapter with respect to the identification of persons

11 who are members of pistol clubs within such State or polit12 ical subdivision thereof, together with a description of the

13 handguns included in such pistol club’s license.

14 ‘‘(g) Licenses issued under the provisions of sub15 section (c) of this section shall be kept posted and kept

16 available for inspection on the premises covered by the li17 cense.

18 ‘‘§ 1093. Penalties

19 ‘‘(a) Whoever violates any provision of this chapter

20 or knowingly makes any false statement or representation

21 with respect to the information required by the provisions

22 of this chapter to be kept in the records of a pistol club

23 licensed under this chapter, or in applying for any license

24 under the provisions of this chapter, shall be fined under

25 this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
9

•HR 3018 IH

1 ‘‘(b) Any handgun involved or used in, or intended

2 to be used in, any violation of the provisions of this chap3 ter or chapter 44 of this title or any rule or regulation

4 promulgated thereunder, or any violation of any other

5 criminal law of the United States, shall be subject to sei6 zure and forfeiture and all provisions of the Internal Reve7 nue Code of 1986 relating to the seizure, forfeiture, and

8 disposition of firearms shall, so far as applicable, extend

9 to seizures and forfeitures under the provisions of this

10 chapter.

11 ‘‘§ 1094. Exceptions

12 ‘‘(a) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply

13 with respect to the importation, manufacture, sale, pur14 chase, transfer, receipt, or transportation of any handgun

15 which the Secretary determines is being imported or man16 ufactured for, sold, or transferred to, purchased, received,

17 or transported by, or issued for the use of, the United

18 States or any department or agency thereof or any State

19 or any department, agency, or political subdivision thereof.

20 ‘‘(b) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply

21 with respect to the importation, manufacture, sale, pur22 chase, transfer, receipt, or transportation of a handgun

23 which the Secretary determines is unserviceable, not

24 restorable to firing condition, and intended for use as a

25 curio, museum piece, or collectors’ item.
10

•HR 3018 IH

1 ‘‘§ 1095. Voluntary delivery to law enforcement agen2 cy; reimbursement

3 ‘‘(a) A person may at any time deliver to any Federal,

4 State, or local law enforcement agency designated by the

5 Secretary a handgun owned or possessed by such person.

6 The Secretary shall arrange with each agency designated

7 to receive handguns for the transfer, destruction, or other

8 disposition of all handguns delivered under this section.

9 ‘‘(b) Upon proof of lawful acquisition and ownership

10 by a person delivering a handgun to a law enforcement

11 agency under this section, the owner of the handgun shall

12 be entitled to receive from the United States a payment

13 equal to the fair market value of the handgun or $25,

14 whichever is more. The Secretary shall provide for the

15 payment, directly or indirectly, through Federal, State,

16 and local law enforcement agencies, of the amounts to

17 which owners of handguns delivered under this section are

18 entitled.

19 ‘‘(c) The amounts authorized in subsection (b) of this

20 section shall be paid out of the fees collected under section

21 1092(a) of this chapter to the extent that such fees are

22 sufficient for this purpose. The remainder of amounts au23 thorized in subsection (b) of this section shall be paid out

24 of general revenues.
11

•HR 3018 IH

1 ‘‘§ 1096. Rules and regulations

2 ‘‘(a) The Secretary may prescribe such rules and reg3 ulations as he deems necessary to carry out the provisions

4 of this chapter, including—

5 ‘‘(1) regulations providing that a person li6 censed under this chapter, when dealing with an7 other person so licensed or with a person licensed

8 under chapter 44 of this title, shall provide such

9 other licensed person a certified copy of his license;

10 and

11 ‘‘(2) regulations providing for the issuance, at

12 a reasonable cost, to a person licensed under this

13 chapter, of certified copies of his license for use as

14 provided under regulations issued under paragraph

15 (1) of this subsection.

16 ‘‘(b) The Secretary shall give reasonable public no17 tice, and afford to interested parties opportunity for hear18 ing, prior to prescribing rules and regulations authorized

19 by this section.

20 ‘‘§ 1097. Effect on State law

21 ‘‘No provision of this chapter shall be construed as

22 indicating an intent on the part of the Congress to occupy

23 the field in which such provision operates to the exclusion

24 of the law of any State on the same subject, unless there

25 is a direct and positive conflict between such provision and
12

•HR 3018 IH

1 the law of the State so that the two cannot be reconciled

2 or consistently stand together.

3 ‘‘§ 1098. Definitions

4 ‘‘As used in this chapter:

5 ‘‘(1) The term ‘person’ and the term ‘whoever’

6 include any individual, corporation, company, asso7 ciation, firm, partnership, club, society, or joint8 stock company.

9 ‘‘(2) The term ‘importer’ means any person en10 gaged in the business of importing or bringing hand11 guns into the United States for purposes of sale or

12 distribution; and the term ‘licensed importer’ means

13 any such person licensed under the provisions of

14 chapter 44 of this title.

15 ‘‘(3) The term ‘manufacturer’ means any per16 son engaged in the manufacture or assembly of

17 handguns for the purposes of sale or distribution;

18 and the term ‘licensed manufacturer’ means any

19 such person licensed under the provisions of chapter

20 44 of this title.

21 ‘‘(4) The term ‘dealer’ means (A) any person

22 engaged in the business of selling handguns at

23 wholesale or retail, (B) any person engaged in the

24 business of repairing handguns or of making or fit25 ting special barrels, or trigger mechanisms to hand-
13

•HR 3018 IH

1 guns, or (C) any person who is a pawnbroker. The

2 term ‘licensed dealer’ means any dealer who is li3 censed under the provisions of chapter 44 of this

4 title.

5 ‘‘(5) The term ‘collector’ means any person who

6 acquires, holds, or disposes of handguns as curios,

7 or relics, as the Secretary shall by regulation define,

8 and the term ‘licensed collector’ means any such per9 son licensed under the provisions of chapter 44 of

10 this title.

11 ‘‘(6) The term ‘Secretary’ or ‘Secretary of the

12 Treasury’ means the Secretary of the Treasury or

13 his delegate.

14 ‘‘(7) The term ‘handgun’ means any weapon—

15 ‘‘(A) designed or redesigned, or made, or

16 remade, and intended to be fired while held in

17 one hand;

18 ‘‘(B) having a barrel less than ten inches

19 in length; and

20 ‘‘(C) designed or redesigned, or made or

21 remade, to use the energy of an explosive to

22 expel a projectile or projectiles through a

23 smooth or rifled bore.

24 ‘‘(8) The term ‘pistol club’ means a club orga25 nized for target shooting with handguns or to use
14

•HR 3018 IH

1 handguns for sporting or other recreational purposes

2 and which—

3 ‘‘(A) maintains possession and control of

4 the handguns used by its members, and

5 ‘‘(B) has procedures and facilities for keep6 ing such handguns in a secure place, under the

7 control of the club’s chief officer, at all times

8 when they are not being used for target shoot9 ing, sporting, or other recreational purposes.

10 The term ‘licensed pistol club’ means any pistol club

11 which is licensed under this chapter.’’.

12 SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION.

13 The enforcement and administration of the amend14 ment made by this Act shall be vested in the Secretary

15 of the Treasury.

16 SEC. 5. EFFECT ON OTHER FEDERAL LAW.

17 Nothing in this Act or the amendment made by this

18 Act shall be construed as modifying or affecting any provi19 sion of—

20 (1) the National Firearms Act (chapter 53 of

21 the Internal Revenue Code of 1954);

22 (2) section 414 of the Mutual Security Act of

23 1954 (22 U.S.C. 1934), as amended, relating to mu24 nitions control; or
15

•HR 3018 IH

1 (3) section 1715 of title 18, United States

2 Code, relating to nonmailable firearms.

3 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

4 The provisions of this Act shall take effect one year

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Æ