I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 820 

To require criminal background checks on all firearms transactions occurring 

at gun shows. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 28, 2019 

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York 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 gun shows. 

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 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GUN SHOW BACKGROUND CHECK. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 

8 (1) approximately 5,200 traditional gun shows 

9 are held annually across the United States, attract10 ing thousands of attendees per show and hundreds 


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1 of Federal firearms licensees and unlicensed fire2 arms sellers; and 

3 (2) gun shows at which firearms are exhibited 

4 or offered for sale or exchange provide a convenient 

5 and centralized commercial location where criminals 

6 and other prohibited persons obtain firearms without 

7 background checks and without records that enable 

8 firearm tracing. 

9 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 921(a) of title 18, United 

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

12 ‘‘(36) GUN SHOW.—The term ‘gun show’— 

13 ‘‘(A) means any event at which 50 or more fire14 arms are offered or exhibited for sale, exchange, or 

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

16 shipped or transported in, or otherwise affects, inter17 state or foreign commerce; 

18 ‘‘(B) does not include an offer or exhibit of fire19 arms for sale, exchange, or transfer by an individual 

20 from the personal collection of that individual, at the 

21 private residence of that individual, if the individual 

22 is not required to be licensed under section 923; and 

23 ‘‘(C) does not include an offer or exhibit of fire24 arms for sale, exchange, or transfer at events— 


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1 ‘‘(i) where not more than 100 firearms are 

2 offered or exhibited for sale, exchange or trans3 fer; 

4 ‘‘(ii) that are conducted by private, not-for5 profit organizations whose primary purpose is 

6 owning and maintaining real property for the 

7 purpose of hunting activities; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) that are attended only by permanent 

9 or annual dues-paying members of the organi10 zations, and the members of the immediate 

11 families of the dues-paying members. 

12 ‘‘(37) GUN SHOW VENDOR.—The term ‘gun show 

13 vendor’ means a person who is not licensed under section 

14 923 and who exhibits, sells, offers for sale, transfers, or 

15 exchanges a firearm at a gun show, regardless of whether 

16 or not the person arranges with the gun show operator 

17 for a fixed location from which to exhibit, sell, offer for 

18 sale, transfer, or exchange the firearm.’’. 

19 (c) REGULATION OF FIREARMS TRANSFERS AT GUN

20 SHOWS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 44 of such title is 

22 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 932. Regulation of firearms transfers at gun shows 

2 ‘‘(a) REGISTRATION OF GUN SHOW OPERATORS.— 

3 It shall be unlawful for a person to operate a gun show, 

4 unless— 

5 ‘‘(1) the person has attained 21 years of age; 

6 ‘‘(2) the person (and, if the person is a corpora7 tion, partnership, or association, each individual pos8 sessing, directly or indirectly, the power to direct or 

9 cause the direction of the management and policies 

10 of the corporation, partnership, or association) is not 

11 prohibited by subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 

12 from transporting, shipping, or receiving firearms or 

13 ammunition in interstate or foreign commerce; 

14 ‘‘(3) the person has not willfully violated any 

15 provision of this chapter or regulation issued under 

16 this chapter; 

17 ‘‘(4) the person has registered with the Attor18 ney General as a gun show operator, in accordance 

19 with regulations promulgated by the Attorney Gen20 eral, and as part of the registration— 

21 ‘‘(A) has provided the Attorney General 

22 with a photograph and the fingerprints of the 

23 person; and 

24 ‘‘(B) has certified that the person meets 

25 the requirements of subparagraphs (A) through 

26 (D) of section 923(d)(1); 


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1 ‘‘(5) the person has not willfully failed to dis2 close any material information required, and has not 

3 made any false statement as to any material fact, in 

4 connection with the registration; and 

5 ‘‘(6) the person has paid the Attorney General 

6 a fee for the registration, in an amount determined 

7 by the Attorney General. 

8 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF GUN SHOW OPERA9 TORS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for a 

11 person to operate a gun show, unless the person— 

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

13 commencement of the gun show, notifies the 

14 Attorney General, in writing, of the date, time, 

15 duration, and location of the gun show, and the 

16 identity of each person who will be a gun show 

17 vendor at the gun show; 

18 ‘‘(B) before commencement of the gun 

19 show— 

20 ‘‘(i) verifies the identity of each indi21 vidual who will be a gun show vendor at 

22 the gun show by examining a valid identi23 fication document (as defined in section 

24 1028(d)(3)) of the individual containing a 

25 photograph of the individual; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) requires each such individual to 

2 sign— 

3 ‘‘(I) a ledger, and enter into the 

4 ledger identifying information con5 cerning the individual; and 

6 ‘‘(II) a notice which sets forth 

7 the obligations of a gun show vendor 

8 under this chapter; and 

9 ‘‘(C) notifies each person who attends the 

10 gun show of the requirements of this chapter, 

11 in accordance with such regulations as the At12 torney General shall prescribe. 

13 ‘‘(2) RECORDKEEPING.—A person who oper14 ates, or has operated, a gun show shall maintain 

15 records demonstrating compliance with paragraph 

16 (1)(B), at such place, for such period of time, and 

17 in such form as the Attorney General shall require 

18 by regulation, or transmit the records to the Attor19 ney General. 

20 ‘‘(c) BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIRED BEFORE

21 TRANSFER OF FIREARM BETWEEN UNLICENSED PER22 SONS.—It shall be unlawful for a person who is not li23 censed under this chapter to transfer possession of, or title 

24 to, a firearm at, or on the curtilage of, a gun show, to 

25 another person who is not so licensed, or for a person who 


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1 is not so licensed to receive possession of, or title to, a 

2 firearm at, or on the curtilage of, a gun show from another 

3 person who is not so licensed, unless a licensed importer, 

4 licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer— 

5 ‘‘(1) has entered into a separate bound record 

6 the make, model, and serial number of the firearm, 

7 and such other information about the transaction as 

8 the Attorney General may require by regulation; and 

9 ‘‘(2) has notified the prospective transferor and 

10 prospective transferee of the firearm that the na11 tional instant criminal background check system es12 tablished under section 103 of the Brady Handgun 

13 Violence Prevention Act has provided the licensee 

14 with a unique identification number, indicating that 

15 receipt of the firearm by the prospective transferee 

16 would not violate section 922 of this title or State 

17 law. 

18 ‘‘(d) RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A licensee who provides a 

20 notice pursuant to subsection (c)(2) with respect to 

21 the transfer of a firearm shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) not later than 10 days after the date 

23 of the transfer, submit to the Attorney General 

24 a report of the transfer, which report shall 

25 specify the make, model, and serial number of 


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1 the firearm, and contain such other information 

2 and be on such form, as the Attorney General 

3 shall require by regulation, except that the re4 port shall not include the name of or other 

5 identifying information relating to any person 

6 involved in the transfer who is not licensed 

7 under this chapter; and 

8 ‘‘(B) retain a record of the transfer, in9 cluding the same information as would be re10 quired if the transfer were from the inventory 

11 of the licensee, as part of the permanent busi12 ness records of the licensee. 

13 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Attorney General may 

14 not impose any recordkeeping requirement on any 

15 gun show vendor by reason of this section.’’. 

16 (2) PENALTIES.—Section 924(a) of such title is 

17 amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(8)(A) Whoever knowingly violates subsection (a) or 

19 (d) of section 932 shall be fined under this title, impris20 oned not more than 5 years, or both. 

21 ‘‘(B) Whoever knowingly violates subsection (b) or (c) 

22 of section 932, shall be— 

23 ‘‘(i) fined under this title, imprisoned not more 

24 than 2 years, or both; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a second or subsequent con2 viction, fined under this title, imprisoned not more 

3 than 5 years, or both. 

4 ‘‘(C) In addition to any other penalties imposed 

5 under this paragraph, the Attorney General may, with re6 spect to any person who knowingly violates any provision 

7 of section 932— 

8 ‘‘(i) if the person is registered pursuant to sec9 tion 932(a), after notice and opportunity for a hear10 ing, suspend for not more than 6 months or revoke 

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

12 and 

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

14 not more than $10,000.’’. 

15 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con16 tents for such chapter is amended by adding at the 

17 end the following: 

‘‘Sec. 932. Regulation of firearms transfers at gun shows.’’. 

18 (d) INSPECTION AUTHORITY.—Section 923(g)(1) of 

19 such title is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(E) Notwithstanding subparagraph (B) of this para21 graph, the Attorney General may enter during business 

22 hours any place where a gun show operator operates a 

23 gun show or is required to maintain records pursuant to 

24 section 932(b)(2), for purposes of examining the records 

25 required by sections 923 and 932 and the inventory of 


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1 licensees conducting business at the gun show. The entry 

2 and examination shall be conducted for the purposes of 

3 determining compliance with this chapter by gun show op4 erators and licensees conducting business at the gun show, 

5 and shall not require a showing of reasonable cause or 

6 a warrant.’’. 

7 (e) REPORTS OF MULTIPLE SALES ASSISTED BY LI8 CENSEES AT GUN SHOWS.—Section 923(g)(3)(A) of such 

9 title is amended by inserting ‘‘or provides pursuant to sec10 tion 932(c)(2) notice with respect to,’’ after ‘‘sells or oth11 erwise disposes of,’’. 

12 (f) INCREASED PENALTIES FOR SERIOUS RECORD13 KEEPING VIOLATIONS BY LICENSEES.—Section 924(a)(3) 

14 of such title is amended to read as follows: 

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

16 licensed dealer, licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, 

17 or licensed collector who knowingly makes any false state18 ment or representation with respect to the information re19 quired by this chapter to be kept in the records of a person 

20 licensed under this chapter, or violates section 922(m), 

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

22 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 (g) INCREASED PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF

8 CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 (1) PENALTIES.—Section 924(a)(5) of such 

10 title is amended— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection (s) or (t) of 

12 section 922’’ and inserting ‘‘section 922(t)’’; 

13 and 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘1’’ and inserting ‘‘5’’. 

15 (2) ELIMINATION OF CERTAIN ELEMENTS OF

16 OFFENSE.—Section 922(t)(5) of such title is amend17 ed by striking ‘‘and, at the time’’ and all that fol18 lows through ‘‘State law’’. 

19 (h) AUTHORITY TO HIRE PERSONNEL TO INSPECT

20 GUN SHOWS.—The Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, To21 bacco, Firearms, and Explosives may hire at least 40 addi22 tional Industry Operations Investigators for the purpose 

23 of carrying out inspections of gun shows (as defined in 

24 section 921(a)(36) of title 18, United States Code). 


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1 (i) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—The Director of the 

2 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives 

3 shall submit biennial reports to the Congress on how fire4 arms (as defined in section 921(a)(3) of title 18, United 

5 States Code) are sold at gun shows (as defined in para6 graph (36) of such section), how this section is being car7 ried out, whether firearms are being sold without back8 ground checks conducted by the national instant criminal 

9 background check system established under section 103 

10 of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, what re11 sources are needed to carry out this section, and any rec12 ommendations for improvements to ensure that firearms 

13 are not sold without the background checks. 

14 (j) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend15 ments made by this section shall take effect 180 days after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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