II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1973 

To prevent gun trafficking in the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 8, 2011 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. LAUTENBERG, and Mr. 

KERRY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To prevent gun trafficking in the United States. 

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 Trafficking Pre5 vention Act of 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds and declares that— 

8 (1) in gun crimes occurring in New York City, 

9 approximately 90 percent of the guns used were 

10 originally sold in other States and moved across 

11 State lines before being recovered in crimes; 


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1 (2) according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 2010, in the United States, 2 2 ⁄3 of all 

3 murders committed resulted from the use of a fire4 arm, and 2,199 people under the age of 22 were 

5 murdered with a firearm; 

6 (3) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms 

7 and Explosives (in this section referred to as the 

8 ‘‘ATF’’) has found that straw purchasers are the 

9 largest source of guns trafficked into the illegal mar10 ket; 

11 (4) then Acting ATF Director Michael J. Sulli12 van’s April 19, 2007 testimony to the Senate Appro13 priations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, 

14 Science, and Related Agencies, named as ‘‘signifi15 cant regional, national and international trafficking 

16 corridors’’— 

17 (A) the Southwest Border; 

18 (B) the I–95 corridor between Miami and 

19 Boston; 

20 (C) Northern rural Mississippi to Chicago; 

21 (D) Northern Indiana to Chicago; 

22 (E) the triangle between Los Angeles, Las 

23 Vegas and Phoenix; and 

24 (F) Birmingham to Chicago; 


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1 (5) there are approximately 2,500 agents, 824 

2 Industry Operator Investigators, and 640 super3 visory, field-based industry operations investigators 

4 responsible for inspecting approximately 120,000 

5 Federal firearm licensees and 11,000 Federal explo6 sive licensees; 

7 (6) the average cycle of inspection is 7 to 10 

8 years; and 

9 (7) the ATF needs more resources to prevent 

10 guns from falling into the hands of those persons 

11 not legally allowed to possess them. 

12 SEC. 3. TRAFFICKING IN FIREARMS. 

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

14 States Code, is amended by inserting at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘§ 932. Trafficking in firearms 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 ‘‘(1) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful for any 

19 person knowingly, regardless of whether anything of 

20 value is exchanged— 

21 ‘‘(A) to ship, transport, transfer, or other22 wise dispose to a person, 2 or more firearms in 

23 or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, if 

24 the transferor knows or has reasonable cause to 

25 believe that such disposition would be in violaVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:31 Dec 10, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1973.IS S1973

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1 tion of, or would result in a violation of any 

2 Federal, State, or local law punishable by a 

3 term of imprisonment exceeding 1 year; 

4 ‘‘(B) to receive from a person, 2 or more 

5 firearms in or affecting interstate or foreign 

6 commerce, if the recipient knows or has reason7 able cause to believe that such receipt would be 

8 in violation of, or would result in a violation of 

9 any Federal, State, or local law punishable by 

10 a term of imprisonment exceeding 1 year; 

11 ‘‘(C) except a licensed importer, licensed 

12 manufacturer, or licensed dealer, to make mate13 rially false statements to a licensed importer, li14 censed manufacturer, or licensed dealer, relat15 ing to the purchase, receipt, or acquisition from 

16 a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or 

17 licensed dealer of 2 or more firearms that have 

18 moved in or affected interstate or foreign com19 merce, for the person, or for or on behalf of any 

20 other person; or 

21 ‘‘(D) to direct, promote, or facilitate con22 duct specified in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C). 

23 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates this 

24 section shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not 

25 more than 20 years, or both. 


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1 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

2 ‘‘(A) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.—It is an af3 firmative defense to any prosecution for a viola4 tion of subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph 

5 (1) or a violation of paragraph (1)(D) that re6 lates to conduct specified in subparagraph (A) 

7 or (B) of paragraph (1) that the firearm at 

8 issue was transferred only after a background 

9 check on the actual buyer pursuant to section 

10 922(t) indicated that the actual buyer’s receipt 

11 of the firearm would not violate subsection (g) 

12 or (n) of section 922 or State law. 

13 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

14 ‘‘(i) the term ‘term of imprisonment 

15 exceeding 1 year’ does not include any of16 fense classified by such jurisdiction as a 

17 misdemeanor and punishable by a term of 

18 imprisonment of 2 years or less; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘actual buyer’ means 

20 the individual for whom the firearm is 

21 being purchased, as described in paragraph 

22 (1)(C). 

23 ‘‘(C) PURCHASE.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

24 apply to a firearm that is— 


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1 ‘‘(i) lawfully acquired by a person to 

2 be given to another person not prohibited 

3 from possessing a firearm under Federal, 

4 State, or local law as a gift; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) lawfully received or otherwise ac6 quired by a court-appointed trustee, re7 ceiver, or conservator for, or on behalf of, 

8 an estate or creditor or by a person to 

9 carry out a bequest, or an acquisition by 

10 intestate succession under the laws of the 

11 State of residence of the person. 

12 ‘‘(b) SENTENCING GUIDELINES ENHANCEMENTS.— 

13 Pursuant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, 

14 United States Code, the United States Sentencing Com15 mission shall amend the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to 

16 provide for an appropriate increase in the offense level for 

17 each of the following violations of this section, if the of18 fense involves the shipping, transporting, transferring, dis19 posing of, or receiving— 

20 ‘‘(1) more than 4, but fewer than 15 firearms; 

21 ‘‘(2) more than 14, but fewer than 25 firearms; 

22 ‘‘(3) more than 24 but fewer than 100 fire23 arms; and 

24 ‘‘(4) 100 or more firearms. 


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1 ‘‘(c) ORGANIZER.—If a violation of subsection (a) is 

2 committed by a person in concert with 5 or more other 

3 persons with respect to whom such person occupies a posi4 tion of organizer, a supervisory position, or any other posi5 tion of management, that person may be sentenced to an 

6 additional term of imprisonment of not more than 5 con7 secutive years. 

8 ‘‘(d) CONSPIRACY.—Any person who attempts or con9 spires to commit any offense defined in this section may 

10 be subject to the same penalties, including those under 

11 subsections (b) and (c), as those prescribed for the com12 pleted offense.’’. 

13 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

14 The table of sections of chapter 44 of title 18, United 

15 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

‘‘932. Trafficking in firearms.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. CRACKING DOWN ON CORRUPT GUN DEALERS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 923 of title 18, United 

19 States Code, is amended by striking subsections (e) and 

20 (f) and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(e)(1) If the holder of a license issued under this 

22 section knowingly violates any provision of this chapter, 

23 chapter 53 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the 

24 Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.), or sec25 tion 1001 of this title, or any rule or regulation as preVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:31 Dec 10, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1973.IS S1973

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1 scribed by the Attorney General, the Attorney General 

2 may— 

3 ‘‘(A) assess on the licensee a civil penalty of not 

4 more than $2,500; and 

5 ‘‘(B) suspend for not more than 6 months, or 

6 revoke, any license issued under this section. 

7 ‘‘(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the 

8 Attorney General may, after notice and opportunity for 

9 hearing, assess a civil penalty on, or suspend or revoke 

10 any license issued to, a licensee under this section, if the 

11 licensee fails to have secure gun storage or safety devices 

12 available at any place in which firearms are sold under 

13 the license to persons who are not licensees. 

14 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply in any case 

15 in which a secure gun storage or safety device is tempo16 rarily unavailable because of theft, casualty loss, consumer 

17 sales, backorders from a manufacturer, or any other simi18 lar reason beyond the control of the licensee, and the deal19 er shall not be considered to be in violation of the require20 ment to make available such a device. 

21 ‘‘(3) The Attorney General may, after notice and op22 portunity for hearing, assess a civil penalty, suspend or 

23 revoke the license of a dealer who knowingly transfers 

24 armor piercing ammunition. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The Attorney General may suspend or revoke 

2 any license issued under this section if the holder of the 

3 license has been indicted for knowingly violating any provi4 sion of this chapter, chapter 53 of the Internal Revenue 

5 Code of 1986, the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 

6 2751 et seq.), or section 1001 of this title in a manner 

7 that could create a threat to public safety. 

8 ‘‘(f)(1) Any person whose application for a license is 

9 denied and any holder of a license which is suspended or 

10 revoked or who is assessed a civil penalty shall receive 

11 written notice from the Attorney General stating specifi12 cally the grounds upon which the application was denied 

13 or upon which the license was suspended or revoked or 

14 the civil penalty assessed. Any notice of a fine, suspension, 

15 or revocation of a license shall be given to the holder of 

16 the license not less than 14 days before the effective date 

17 of the suspension, revocation, or imposition of a civil pen18 alty, unless the Attorney General determines that good 

19 cause exists to waive such notification requirement, in 

20 which case notification shall be given as soon as prac21 ticable. 

22 ‘‘(2) If the Attorney General denies an application 

23 for a license, or suspends or revokes a license, or assesses 

24 a civil penalty, the Attorney General shall, upon request 

25 by the aggrieved party, promptly hold a hearing to review 


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1 the denial, suspension, revocation, or assessment. A hear2 ing under this paragraph shall be held at a location con3 venient to the aggrieved party and shall be conducted pur4 suant to chapter 5 of title 5. 

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

6 Attorney General decides not to reverse the decision to 

7 deny an application or suspend or revoke a license or as8 sess a civil penalty, the Attorney General shall give notice 

9 in writing of the decision to the aggrieved party. The ag10 grieved party may at any time within 60 days after the 

11 date of notice is given under this paragraph file a petition 

12 with the United States district court for the district in 

13 which the party resides or in which the party’s principal 

14 place of business is located for judicial review of the de15 nial, suspension, revocation, or assessment. Such judicial 

16 review shall be conducted pursuant to chapter 7 of title 

17 5. If the court decides that the Attorney General was not 

18 authorized to deny the application or to suspend or revoke 

19 the license or to assess the civil penalty, the court shall 

20 order the Attorney General to take such action as may 

21 be necessary to comply with the judgment of the court.’’. 

22 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (1) SECTION 925 OF TITLE 18.—Section 925 of 

24 title 18, United States Code, is amended— 

25 (A) by striking subsection (b); 


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1 (B) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), 

2 (e), and (f) as subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e), 

3 respectively; and 

4 (C) in subsection (e), as redesignated, by 

5 striking ‘‘under subsection (d)’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘under subsection (c)’’. 

7 (2) SECTION 922 OF TITLE 18.—Section 922(d) 

8 of title 18, United States Code, is amended in the 

9 matter following paragraph (9)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection (b) of section 

11 925’’ and inserting ‘‘section 923(e)(4)’’; and 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and in13 serting ‘‘subsection (b)’’. 

14 (3) ARMS EXPORT AND CONTROL ACT.—Section 

15 38(b)(1)(B)(i) of the Arms Export and Control Act 

16 (22 U.S.C. 2778(b)(1)(B)(i)) is amended by striking 

17 ‘‘section 925(e)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 925(d)’’. 

18 (4) ATOMIC ENERGY ACT OF 1954.—Section 

19 161A of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 

20 2201a) is amended by striking ‘‘section 925(d)(3)’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘section 925(c)(3)’’. 

22 SEC. 5. CHANGE THE STANDARD FOR GUN SELLER FED23 ERAL FIREARMS LICENSE APPROVAL. 

24 Section 923(d)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘willfully’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘knowingly’’; and 

3 (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘willfully’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘knowingly’’. 

5 SEC. 6. STRENGTHEN PENALTIES FOR RECORD-KEEPING 

6 VIOLATIONS. 

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

8 amended in the flush text following subparagraph (B) by 

9 striking ‘‘one year’’ and inserting ‘‘3 years’’. 

10 SEC. 7. CRACKING DOWN ON HIGH RISK GUN DEALERS. 

11 Section 923 of title 18, United States Code is amend12 ed by adding the following: 

13 ‘‘(m)(1) Not less than once each year, the Attorney 

14 General shall identify licensed firearms dealers who have 

15 a heightened risk of firearms being diverted to criminal 

16 use based on criteria determined by the Attorney General 

17 which may include 2 or more of the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) Short time-to-crime for crime guns traced 

19 to a dealer. 

20 ‘‘(B) Incomplete crime gun trace results for 

21 firearms sold by a dealer. 

22 ‘‘(C) Significant or frequently reported firearm 

23 losses or thefts by a dealer. 

24 ‘‘(D) Violations of Federal firearms laws by a 

25 dealer. 


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1 ‘‘(E) Any additional criteria determined by the 

2 Attorney General. 

3 ‘‘(2)(A) The Attorney General may impose special 

4 conditions on dealers determined to be subject to a height5 ened risk of diversion under paragraph (1) after written 

6 notice 14 days in advance, including— 

7 ‘‘(i) inspection or examination of inventory and 

8 records, notwithstanding subsection (g)(1)(B); 

9 ‘‘(ii) requirements that the dealer secure fire10 arms at its business premises in a manner to be de11 termined by the Attorney General; 

12 ‘‘(iii) mandatory inventory check and reconcili13 ation of firearms at the business premises by the 

14 dealer in a manner to be determined by the Attorney 

15 General and notwithstanding any other provision of 

16 Federal law; 

17 ‘‘(iv) notwithstanding section 922(t)(1)(B)(ii), a 

18 requirement that the dealer not complete firearm 

19 sales or transfers until the national instant criminal 

20 background check system has informed the dealer 

21 that the sale or transfer may proceed; and 

22 ‘‘(v) require that the dealer and employees un23 dergo special training in how to avoid illegal sales. 

24 ‘‘(B) Conditions may be imposed on a dealer identi25 fied as a high-risk dealer under this paragraph for no 


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1 longer than 1 year, unless the Attorney General deter2 mines that the dealer continues to have a heightened risk 

3 of firearms being diverted to criminal use. The Attorney 

4 General shall notify the dealer in writing of any such con5 ditions imposed on such dealer. 

6 ‘‘(3) After the Attorney General has identified a deal7 er as a high-risk dealer and has imposed conditions on 

8 that dealer, a knowing violation by the dealer of any condi9 tion imposed under this subsection shall be considered a 

10 willful violation of this chapter, for the purposes of section 

11 924(a)(1)(D). 

12 ‘‘(4)(A) Any dealer identified as a high-risk dealer 

13 under paragraph (1) may challenge the designation by re14 questing a hearing in writing to review within 60 days 

15 after notice of such designation. 

16 ‘‘(B) If after a hearing held under subparagraph (A) 

17 the Attorney General decides not to reverse the designa18 tion of the dealer as a high-risk dealer, the Attorney Gen19 eral shall give notice of the decision to the dealer. The 

20 dealer may at any time within 60 days after the date no21 tice is given under this subparagraph file a petition with 

22 the United States district court for the district in which 

23 the party resides or in which the party’s principal place 

24 of business is located for judicial review of the Attorney 


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1 General’s designation. Such judicial review shall be con2 ducted pursuant to chapter 7 of title 5. 

3 ‘‘(5) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 

4 limit the authority of the Attorney General under section 

5 926.’’. 

6 SEC. 8. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY ON 

7 LOST AND STOLEN FIREARMS. 

8 (a) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section 

9 the term ‘‘firearm’’— 

10 (1) means any weapon which will or is designed 

11 to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile 

12 by the action of an explosive and the frame or re13 ceiver of any such weapon; and 

14 (2) does not include an antique firearm, as de15 fined in section 921 of title 18, United States Code. 

16 (b) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

17 States shall conduct a study on firearms in the United 

18 States that are lost or stolen during commercial shipping, 

19 including— 

20 (1) determining the number of firearms that 

21 are lost or stolen during commercial shipping on av22 erage per year; 

23 (2) identifying how firearms are being lost or 

24 stolen during commercial shipping; 


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1 (3) what efforts, if any, to reduce the number 

2 of firearms that are lost or stolen during commercial 

3 shipping are being made by— 

4 (A) Federal law enforcement agencies; 

5 (B) firearm manufacturers; 

6 (C) firearm dealers; and 

7 (D) shipping companies that transport 

8 firearms; and 

9 (4) the role that firearms lost or stolen during 

10 commercial shipping play in interstate and inter11 national gun trafficking. 

12 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

14 United States shall submit to Congress a report that con15 tains— 

16 (1) the results of the study required under sub17 section (a); and 

18 (2) recommendations for how to reduce the 

19 number of firearms that are lost or stolen during 

20 commercial shipping. 

21 SEC. 9. AUTHORITY TO HIRE PERSONNEL TO ADDRESS 

22 TRAFFICKING IN FIREARMS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Bureau of Al24 cohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives may hire addi25 tional personnel sufficient for a firearms trafficking team 


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1 of additional agents, Industry Operations Investigators, 

2 and analysts that would enable the average inspections 

3 rate of gun dealers to operate on a 3-year inspection cycle. 

4 (b) AUTHORITY TO HIRE PERSONNEL TO ADDRESS

5 TRAFFICKING IN FIREARMS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Bureau 

7 of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives shall 

8 hire 500 additional Industry Operations Investiga9 tors and 1,000 additional Special Agents, subject to 

10 the availability of appropriations, for the purpose of 

11 addressing trafficking in firearms, as described in 

12 section 932 of title 18, United States Code, as added 

13 by this Act. 

14 (2) AUTHORITY.—There are authorized to be 

15 appropriated for the hiring and maintenance of 500 

16 additional Industry Operations Investigators and 

17 1,000 additional Special Agents such sum as are 

18 necessary— 

19 (A) for fiscal year 2013, to hire 125 Indus20 try Operations Investigators and 250 Special 

21 Agents; 

22 (B) for fiscal year 2014, to hire 125 In23 dustry Operations Investigators and 250 Spe24 cial Agents; 


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1 (C) for fiscal year 2015, to hire 125 Indus2 try Operations Investigators and 250 Special 

3 Agents; and 

4 (D) for fiscal year 2016, to hire 125 In5 dustry Operations Investigators and 250 Spe6 cial Agents. 

Æ 


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