I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1488

To control crime by increasing penalties for armed violent criminals.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 7, 1995

Mr. BARR (for himself, Mr. MCCOLLUM, Mr. BRYANT of Tennessee, Mrs.

CHENOWETH, Mr. STOCKMAN, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. BREWSTER, Mr. TAUZIN, and Mr. VOLKMER) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To control crime by increasing penalties for armed violent

criminals.

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 ‘‘Citizens’ Protection

5 From Violent Crime Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:

8 (1) One of the primary duties of government is

9 to protect its citizens from armed violent criminals.

10 America’s cherished liberty and the social and eco-
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1 nomic prosperity of its communities are dependent

2 upon government’s ability to maintain public safety.

3 (2) The fulfillment of government’s responsibil4 ity is not achieved by gun control laws. Criminals,

5 by definition, operate outside the law and routinely

6 acquire firearms when they so desire.

7 (3) The only true effect of gun control laws is

8 to disarm citizens who have no intention of harming

9 others except in the course of self-defense. These

10 laws also have the effect of criminalizing the mere

11 possession of certain types of guns even when such

12 possession is for entirely lawful purposes.

13 (4) The Second Amendment to the Constitution

14 of the United States guarantees citizens the right to

15 possess firearms. This right is grounded in the need

16 for self-defense.

17 (5) People in the United States frequently use

18 firearms to defend themselves because police cannot

19 always protect, and are not legally liable for failing

20 to protect, individual citizens.
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1 SEC. 3. MANDATORY PRISON TERMS FOR POSSESSING,

2 BRANDISHING, OR DISCHARGING A FIREARM

3 OR DESTRUCTIVE DEVICE DURING A STATE

4 CRIME THAT IS A SERIOUS VIOLENT FELONY

5 OR SERIOUS DRUG OFFENSE.

6 Section 924(c) of title 18, United States Code, is

7 amended—

8 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as

9 paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively;

10 (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the

11 following:

12 ‘‘(1) A person who, during and in relation to any

13 crime of violence or drug trafficking crime (including a

14 crime of violence or serious drug trafficking crime which

15 provides for an enhanced punishment if committed by the

16 use of a deadly or dangerous weapon or device) for which

17 the person may be prosecuted in a court of the United

18 States—

19 ‘‘(A) possesses a firearm, shall, in addition to

20 the sentence imposed for the crime of violence or

21 drug trafficking crime, be sentenced to imprison22 ment for 5 years;

23 ‘‘(B) brandishes a firearm, shall, in addition to

24 the sentence imposed for the crime of violence or

25 drug trafficking crime, be sentenced to imprison26 ment for 10 years; or
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1 ‘‘(C) discharges a firearm with the intent to in2 jure another person, shall, in addition to the sen3 tence imposed for the crime of violence or drug traf4 ficking crime, be sentenced to imprisonment for 20

5 years;

6 except that if the firearm is a short-barreled rifle or short7 barreled shotgun, such additional sentence shall be impris8 onment for 5 years more than the term of imprisonment

9 that would otherwise be imposed under this paragraph,

10 and if the firearm is a machinegun or destructive device

11 or is equipped with a firearm silencer or firearm muffler,

12 such additional sentence shall be imprisonment for 30

13 years.

14 ‘‘(2)(A) A person who, during and in relation to a

15 serious violent felony or serious drug offense (including

16 a serious violent felony or serious drug offense that pro17 vides for an enhanced punishment if committed by the use

18 of a deadly or dangerous weapon or device) for which the

19 person may be prosecuted in a court of any State—

20 ‘‘(i) possesses a firearm, shall, in addition to

21 the sentence imposed for the serious violent felony or

22 serious drug offense, be sentenced to imprisonment

23 for not less than 5 years;

24 ‘‘(ii) brandishes a firearm, shall, in addition to

25 the sentence imposed for the serious violent felony or
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1 serious drug offense, be sentenced to imprisonment

2 for not less than 10 years; or

3 ‘‘(iii) discharges a firearm with the intent to in4 jure another person, shall, in addition to the sen5 tence imposed for the serious violent felony or seri6 ous drug offense, be sentenced to imprisonment for

7 not less than 20 years;

8 except that if the firearm is a machinegun or destructive

9 device or is equipped with a firearm silencer or firearm

10 muffler, such additional sentence shall be imprisonment

11 for not less than 30 years.

12 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the con13 duct of a person in defense of person or property during

14 the course of a crime committed by another person (in15 cluding the arrest or attempted arrest of such other per16 son during or immediately after the commission of the

17 crime), unless the person engaged in or participated in

18 criminal conduct that gave rise to the criminal conduct

19 of such other person.

20 ‘‘(C) It is the intent of the Congress that—

21 ‘‘(i) this paragraph shall be used to supplement

22 but not supplant the efforts of State and local pros23 ecutors in prosecuting serious violent felonies and

24 serious drug offenses that could be prosecuted under

25 State law; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) the Attorney General shall give due def2 erence to the interest that a State or local prosecu3 tor has in prosecuting a person under State law.

4 ‘‘(3) In the case of the second or subsequent convic5 tion of a person under this subsection—

6 ‘‘(A) if the person possessed a firearm during

7 and in relation to such second or subsequent crime

8 of violence, drug trafficking crime, serious violent

9 felony, or serious drug offense, the person shall, in

10 addition to the sentence imposed for such second or

11 subsequent offense, be sentenced to imprisonment

12 for not less than 20 years;

13 ‘‘(B) if the person brandished a firearm during

14 and in relation to such second or subsequent crime

15 of violence, drug trafficking crime, serious violent

16 felony, or serious drug offense, the person shall, in

17 addition to the sentence imposed for such second or

18 subsequent offense, be sentenced to imprisonment

19 for not less than 25 years; or

20 ‘‘(C) if the person discharged a firearm with

21 the intent to injure another person during and in re22 lation to such second or subsequent crime of vio23 lence, drug trafficking crime, serious violent felony,

24 or serious drug offense, the person shall, in addition

25 to the sentence imposed for such second or subse-
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1 quent offense, be sentenced to imprisonment for not

2 less than 30 years;

3 except that if the firearm is a machinegun or destructive

4 device or is equipped with a firearm silencer or firearm

5 muffler, the person shall, in addition to the sentence im6 posed for such second or subsequent offense, be sentenced

7 to life imprisonment.

8 ‘‘(4)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

9 the court shall not impose a probationary sentence on any

10 person convicted of a violation of this subsection, nor shall

11 a term of imprisonment imposed under this subsection run

12 concurrently with any other term of imprisonment includ13 ing that imposed for the crime of violence, drug trafficking

14 crime, serious violent felony, or serious drug offense in

15 which the firearm was used.

16 ‘‘(B) No person sentenced under this subsection shall

17 be released for any reason whatsoever during a term of

18 imprisonment imposed under this subsection.’’; and

19 (3) by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(7) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘seri21 ous violent felony’ shall have the meaning given such term

22 by section 3559(c)(2)(F)(i).

23 ‘‘(8) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘seri24 ous drug offense’ means an offense under State law that,

25 had the offense been prosecuted in a court of the United
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1 States, would have been punishable under section

2 401(b)(1)(B) or section 408 of the Controlled Substances

3 Act (21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(B), 848), or section 1010(b)(2)

4 of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21

5 U.S.C. 960(b)(2)).’’.

6 SEC. 4. MANDATORY PENALTIES FOR VIOLENT FELONS.

7 Section 924(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code, is

8 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The court

9 shall sentence a person convicted of an offense under sec10 tion 922(g)(1) of this title to not less than 5 years in pris11 on if the person has a prior conviction for a serious violent

12 felony (as defined in section 3559(c)(2)(F)), and to not

13 less than 10 years in prison if the person has 2 such prior

14 convictions.’’.

15 SEC. 5. SERIOUS JUVENILE DRUG OFFENSES AS ARMED CA16 REER CRIMINAL ACT PREDICATES.

17 Section 924(e)(2)(A) of title 18, United States Code,

18 is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (i);

20 (2) in clause (ii), by striking the semicolon and

21 inserting ‘‘or which, if it had been prosecuted as a

22 violation of the Controlled Substances Act (21

23 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) at the time of the offense, and

24 because of the type and quantity of the controlled

25 substance involved, would have been punishable by a
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1 maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years or

2 more; or’’; and

3 (3) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(iii) any act of juvenile delinquency

5 that if committed by an adult would be a

6 serious drug offense described in this para7 graph;’’.

8 SEC. 6. PRETRIAL DETENTION FOR POSSESSION OF FIRE9 ARMS OR EXPLOSIVES BY CONVICTED VIO10 LENT FELONS.

11 Section 3156(a)(4) of title 18, United States Code,

12 is amended—

13 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph

14 (B);

15 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub16 paragraph (C) and inserting a semicolon; and

17 (3) by adding after subparagraph (C) the fol18 lowing:

19 ‘‘(D) an offense that is a violation of sec20 tion 842(i) of this title (relating to possession

21 of explosives by convicted felons); or

22 ‘‘(E) an offense that is a violation of sec23 tion 922(g)(1) of this title (relating to posses24 sion of firearms by convicted felons), if the of25 fender has previously been convicted of such a
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1 violation or of any other offense described in

2 this paragraph.’’.

3 SEC. 7. ARMED VIOLENT CRIMINAL APPREHENSION DIREC4 TIVE.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General

7 of the United States shall establish an armed violent

8 criminal apprehension program consistent with the follow9 ing requirements:

10 (1) Each United States attorney shall designate

11 at least 1 assistant United States attorney to pros12 ecute armed violent criminals.

13 (2) Each United States attorney shall establish

14 an armed violent criminal apprehension task force

15 comprised of appropriate law enforcement represent16 atives. The task force shall develop strategies for re17 moving armed violent criminals from the streets,

18 taking into consideration—

19 (A) the importance of severe punishment

20 in deterring armed violent crime;

21 (B) the effectiveness of Federal and State

22 laws pertaining to apprehension and prosecu23 tion of armed violent criminals;
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1 (C) the resources available to each law en2 forcement agency participating in the task

3 force;

4 (D) the nature and extent of the violent

5 crime occurring in the district for which the

6 United States attorney is appointed; and

7 (E) the principle of limited Federal in8 volvement in the prosecution of crimes tradi9 tionally prosecuted in State and local jurisdic10 tions.

11 (3) Not less frequently than monthly, the Attor12 ney General shall require each United States attor13 ney to report to the Department of Justice the num14 ber of defendants charged with, or convicted of, vio15 lating section 922(g) or 924 of title 18, United

16 States Code, in the district for which the United

17 States attorney is appointed.

18 (4) Not less frequently than twice annually, the

19 Attorney General shall submit to the Congress a

20 compilation of the information received by the De21 partment of Justice pursuant to paragraph (3) and

22 a report on all waivers granted under subsection (b).

23 (b) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—

24 (1) REQUEST FOR WAIVER.—A United States

25 attorney may request the Attorney General to waive
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1 the requirements of subsection (a) with respect to

2 the United States attorney.

3 (2) PROVISION OF WAIVER.—The Attorney

4 General may waive the requirements of subsection

5 (a) pursuant to a request made under paragraph

6 (1), in accordance with guidelines which shall be es7 tablished by the Attorney General. In establishing

8 the guidelines, the Attorney General shall take into

9 consideration the number of assistant United States

10 attorneys in the office of the United States attorney

11 making the request and the level of violent crime

12 committed in the district for which the United

13 States attorney is appointed.

14 (c) ARMED VIOLENT CRIMINAL DEFINED.—As used

15 in this section, the term ‘‘armed violent criminal’’ means

16 a person who is accused of violating section 922(g)(1) of

17 title 18, United States Code, having been previously con18 victed of a violent crime, or who is accused of violating

19 section 924 of such title.

20 (d) SUNSET.—This section shall have no force or ef21 fect after the 5-year period that begins 180 days after the

22 date of the enactment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 8. RIGHT TO USE FIREARMS IN DEFENSE OF SELF OR

2 OTHER PERSONS WITHIN A HOME; ENFORCE3 MENT.

4 (a) REAFFIRMATION OF RIGHT.—A person not pro5 hibited by Federal law from receiving a firearm shall have

6 the right to use firearms within a home in defense of self

7 or other persons against a reasonably perceived threat of

8 imminent and unlawful infliction of serious bodily injury.

9 (b) FIREARM DEFINED.—As used in subsection (a),

10 the term ‘‘firearm’’ means—

11 (1) a shotgun (as defined in section 921(a)(5)

12 of title 18, United States Code);

13 (2) a rifle (as defined in section 921(a)(7) of

14 title 18, United States Code); or

15 (3) a handgun (as defined in section 10 of Pub16 lic Law 99–408).

17 (c) ENFORCEMENT.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person whose right under

19 subsection (a) is violated in any manner by any

20 other person or by any government may bring an ac21 tion in any United States district court against such

22 other person or government for damages, injunctive

23 relief, and such other relief as the court deems ap24 propriate.

25 (2) AUTHORITY TO AWARD A REASONABLE AT26 TORNEY’S FEE.—In an action brought under para-
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1 graph (1), the court, in its discretion, may allow the

2 prevailing plaintiff a reasonable attorney’s fee as

3 part of the costs.

4 (3) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action may

5 not be brought under paragraph (1) after the 5-year

6 period that begins with the date the violation de7 scribed in paragraph (1) is discovered.

8 SEC. 9. REPEAL OF THE BAN ON SEMIAUTOMATIC FIRE9 ARMS AND THE BAN ON LARGE CAPACITY

10 AMMUNITION FEEDING DEVICES.

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

12 States Code, is amended by striking subsections (v) and

13 (w) and by striking the appendix.

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS AND REPEALS.—

15 (1) Section 921(a) of such title is amended by

16 striking paragraphs (30) and (31).

17 (2) Section 924(a)(1)(B) of such title is amend18 ed by striking ‘‘(r), (v), or (w)’’ and inserting ‘‘or

19 (r)’’.

20 (3) Section 923(i) of such title is amended by

21 striking the last 2 sentences.

22 (4) Section 110104 of the Violent Crime Con23 trol and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (18 U.S.C.

24 921 note) is hereby repealed.
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1 (5) Section 110501 of such Act (28 U.S.C. 994

2 note) is hereby repealed.

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATES.—

4 (1) RETROACTIVE EFFECT GENERALLY.—Ex5 cept as provided in paragraph (2), the amendments

6 made by this section shall take effect as if such

7 amendments had been included in subtitle A of title

8 XI of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforce9 ment Act of 1994 on the date of the enactment of

10 such Act. Any liability, penalty, or forfeiture in11 curred by reason of any amendment made by section

12 110102 or 110103 of such Act is hereby extin13 guished, and any action or prosecution for the en14 forcement of any such liability, penalty, or forfeiture

15 shall not be sustained.

16 (2) EXCEPTION.—The amendment made by

17 subsection (b)(5) shall take effect on the date of the

18 enactment of this Act.

Æ