103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3098

AN ACT

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit

handgun ammunition to, a juvenile.nition by, or the private transfer of a handgun orthe possession of a handgun or handgun ammu-
103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3098

AN ACT

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the possession of a handgun or handgun ammunition by, or

the private transfer of a handgun or handgun ammunition to, a juvenile.

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

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.

4 The Congress finds and declares that—

5 (1) Crime, particularly crime involving drugs

6 and guns, is a pervasive, nationwide problem.
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1 (2) Problems with crime at the local level are

2 exacerbated by the interstate movement of drugs,

3 funds, and criminal gangs.

4 (3) Firearms and ammunition, and handguns in

5 particular, move easily in interstate commerce, as

6 documented in numerous hearings in both the Judi7 ciary Committee of the House of Representatives

8 and Judiciary Committee of the Senate.

9 (4) In fact, even before the sale of a handgun,

10 the gun, its component parts, ammunition, and the

11 raw materials from which they are made have con12 siderably moved in interstate commerce.

13 (5) While criminals freely move from State to

14 State, ordinary citizens may fear to travel to or

15 through certain parts of the country due to the con16 cern that violent crime is not under control, and for17 eigners may decline to travel in the United States

18 for the same reason.

19 (6) Just as the hardened drug kingpins begin

20 their life in the illicit drug culture by exposure to

21 drugs at a young age, violent criminals often start

22 their criminal careers on streets where the ready

23 availability of guns to young people results in the ac24 ceptability of their random use.
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1 (7) Violent crime and the use of illicit drugs go

2 hand-in-hand, and attempts to control one without

3 controlling the other may be fruitless.

4 (8) Individual States and localities find it im5 possible to handle the problem by themselves; even

6 States and localities that have made a strong effort

7 to prevent, detect, and punish crime find their effort

8 unavailing due in part to the failure or inability of

9 other States and localities to take strong measures.

10 (9) Inasmuch as illicit drug activity and related

11 violent crime overflow State lines and national

12 boundaries, the Congress has power, under the inter13 state commerce clause and other provisions of the

14 Constitution, to enact measures to combat these

15 problems.

16 (10) The Congress finds that it is necessary

17 and appropriate to assist the States in controlling

18 crime by stopping the commerce in handguns with

19 juveniles nationwide, and allowing the possession of

20 handguns by juveniles only when handguns are pos21 sessed and used for legitimate purposes under ap22 propriate conditions.
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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF THE POSSESSION OF A HANDGUN

2 OR AMMUNITION BY, OR THE PRIVATE

3 TRANSFER OF A HANDGUN OR AMMUNITION

4 TO, A JUVENILE.

5 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 921(a) of title 18, United

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow7 ing new paragraph:

8 ‘‘(29) The term ‘handgun’ means—

9 ‘‘(A) a firearm that has a short stock and is de10 signed to be held and fired by the use of a single

11 hand; and

12 ‘‘(B) any combination of parts from which a

13 firearm described in subparagraph (A) can be as14 sembled.’’.

15 (b) OFFENSE.—Section 922 of title 18, United States

16 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new

17 subsection:

18 ‘‘(s)(1) It shall be unlawful for a person to sell, de19 liver, or otherwise transfer to a juvenile, or to a person

20 who the transferor knows or has reasonable cause to be21 lieve is a juvenile—

22 ‘‘(A) a handgun; or

23 ‘‘(B) ammunition that is suitable for use only

24 in a handgun.

25 ‘‘(2) It shall be unlawful for any person who is a juve26 nile to knowingly possess—
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1 ‘‘(A) a handgun; or

2 ‘‘(B) ammunition that is suitable for use

3 only in a handgun.

4 ‘‘(3) This subsection does not apply—

5 ‘‘(A) to a temporary transfer of a handgun or

6 ammunition to a juvenile, or to the possession or use

7 of a handgun or ammunition by a juvenile, if the

8 handgun and ammunition are possessed and used by

9 the juvenile—

10 ‘‘(i) in the course of employment, in the

11 course of ranching or farming related to activi12 ties at the residence of the juvenile (or on prop13 erty used for ranching or farming at which the

14 juvenile, with the permission of the property

15 owner or lessee, is performing activities related

16 to the operation of the farm or ranch), target

17 practice, hunting, or a course of instruction in

18 the safe and lawful use of a handgun;

19 ‘‘(ii) with the prior written consent of the

20 juvenile’s parent or guardian who is not prohib21 ited by Federal, State, or local law from pos22 sessing a firearm;

23 ‘‘(iii) with the prior written consent in the

24 juvenile’s possession at all times when a hand25 gun is in the possession of the juvenile; and
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1 ‘‘(iv) in accordance with State and local

2 law;

3 ‘‘(B) during transportation by the juvenile of an

4 unloaded handgun in a locked container directly

5 from the place of transfer to a place at which an ac6 tivity described in subparagraph (A)(i) is to take

7 place, and transportation by the juvenile of that

8 handgun, unloaded and in a locked container, di9 rectly from the place at which such an activity took

10 place to the transferor;

11 ‘‘(C) to a juvenile who is a member of the

12 Armed Forces of the United States or the National

13 Guard who possesses or is armed with a handgun in

14 the line of duty;

15 ‘‘(D) to a transfer by inheritance of title (but

16 not possession) of a handgun or ammunition to a ju17 venile; or

18 ‘‘(E) to the possession of a handgun or ammu19 nition by a juvenile taken in defense of the juvenile

20 or other persons against an intruder into the resi21 dence of the juvenile or a residence in which the ju22 venile is an invited guest.

23 ‘‘(4) A handgun or ammunition, the possession of

24 which is transferred to a juvenile in circumstances in

25 which the transferor is not in violation of this subsection
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1 shall not be subject to permanent confiscation by the Gov2 ernment if its possession by the juvenile subsequently be3 comes unlawful because of the conduct of the juvenile, but

4 shall be returned to the lawful owner when such handgun

5 or ammunition is no longer required by the Government

6 for the purposes of investigation or prosecution.

7 ‘‘(5) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘juve8 nile’ means a person who is less than 18 years of age.

9 ‘‘(6)(A) In a prosecution of a violation of this sub10 section, the court shall require the presence of a juvenile

11 defendant’s parent or legal guardian at all proceedings.

12 ‘‘(B) The court may use the contempt power to en13 force subparagraph (A).

14 ‘‘(C) The court may excuse attendance of a parent

15 or legal guardian of a juvenile defendant at a proceeding

16 in a prosecution of a violation of this subsection for good

17 cause shown.’’.

18 (c) PENALTIES.—Section 924(a) of title 18, United

19 States Code, is amended—

20 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)

21 or (3) of’’; and

22 (2) by adding at the end the following new

23 paragraph:

24 ‘‘(5)(A)(i) A juvenile who violates section 922(s) shall

25 be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 1 year,
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1 or both, except that a juvenile described in clause (ii) shall

2 be sentenced to probation on appropriate conditions and

3 shall not be incarcerated unless the juvenile fails to comply

4 with a condition of probation.

5 ‘‘(ii) A juvenile is described in this clause if—

6 ‘‘(I) the offense of which the juvenile is charged

7 is possession of a handgun or ammunition in viola8 tion of section 922(s)(2); and

9 ‘‘(II) the juvenile has not been convicted in any

10 court of an offense (including an offense under sec11 tion 922(s) or a similar State law, but not including

12 any other offense consisting of conduct that if en13 gaged in by an adult would not constitute an of14 fense) or adjudicated as a juvenile delinquent for

15 conduct that if engaged in by an adult would con16 stitute an offense.

17 ‘‘(B) A person other than a juvenile who knowingly

18 violates section 922(s)—

19 ‘‘(i) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned

20 not more than 1 year, or both; and

21 ‘‘(ii) if the person sold, delivered, or otherwise

22 transferred a handgun or ammunition to a juvenile

23 knowing or having reasonable cause to know that

24 the juvenile intended to carry or otherwise possess

25 or discharge or otherwise use the handgun or ammu-
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1 nition in the commission of a crime of violence, shall

2 be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than

3 10 years, or both.’’.

4 (d) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT OF JUVENILE DELIN5 QUENCY PROVISIONS IN TITLE 18, UNITED STATES

6 CODE.—

7 (1) SECTION 5031.—Section 5031 of title 18,

8 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or a

9 violation by such person of section 922(s)’’ before

10 the period at the end.

11 (2) SECTION 5032.—Section 5032 of title 18,

12 United States Code, is amended—

13 (A) in the first undesignated paragraph by

14 inserting ‘‘or (s)’’ after ‘‘922(p)’’; and

15 (B) in the fourth undesignated paragraph

16 by inserting ‘‘or section 922(s) of this title,’’ be17 fore ‘‘criminal prosecution on the basis’’.

18 (e) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT OF THE JUVENILE

19 JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION ACT OF

20 1974.—Section 223(a)(12)(A) of the Juvenile Justice and

21 Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.

22 5633(a)(12)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘which do not

23 constitute violations of valid court orders’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘(other than an offense that constitutes a violation of a
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1 valid court order or a violation of section 922(s) of title

2 18, United States Code, or a similar State law)’’.

3 (f) MODEL LAW.—The Attorney General, acting

4 through the Director of the National Institute for Juvenile

5 Justice and Delinquency Prevention, shall—

6 (1) evaluate existing and proposed juvenile

7 handgun legislation in each State;

8 (2) develop model juvenile handgun legislation

9 that is constitutional and enforceable;

10 (3) prepare and disseminate to State authorities

11 the findings made as the result of the evaluation;

12 and

13 (4) report to Congress by December 31, 1994,

14 findings and recommendations concerning the need

15 or appropriateness of further action by the Federal

16 Government.

Passed the House of Representatives November 20,

1993.

Attest:

Clerk.