II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 54 

To increase public safety by punishing and deterring firearms trafficking. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 22 (legislative day, JANUARY 3), 2013 

Mr. LEAHY (for himself and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To increase public safety by punishing and deterring firearms 

trafficking. 

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 ‘‘Stop Illegal Trafficking 

5 in Firearms Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Punishing and deterring straw purchasing of firearms. 

Sec. 4. Amendments to section 922(a)(6). 

Sec. 5. Amendments to section 922(d). 

Sec. 6. Amendments to section 924(h). 

Sec. 7. Amendments to section 924(k). 


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1 SEC. 3. PUNISHING AND DETERRING STRAW PURCHASING 

2 OF FIREARMS. 

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

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘§ 932. Straw purchasing of firearms 

7 ‘‘(a) Any person (other than a licensed importer, li8 censed manufacturer, or licensed dealer) who knowingly 

9 purchases any firearm for, on behalf of, or with intent to 

10 transfer it to, any other person, if that firearm has moved 

11 in or otherwise affected interstate or foreign commerce, 

12 or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be fined under 

13 this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years or both. For 

14 purposes of this section, the term ‘purchases’ includes the 

15 receipt of any firearm from pawn or on consignment by 

16 a person who does not own the firearm. 

17 ‘‘(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any firearm 

18 that is lawfully purchased by a person— 

19 ‘‘(1) to be given as a bona fide gift to a recipi20 ent who provided no service or tangible thing of 

21 value to acquire the firearm, unless the person 

22 knows or has reason to believe such recipient is pro23 hibited by Federal, State, or local law from pos24 sessing, receiving, selling, shipping, transporting, 

25 transferring, or otherwise disposing of the firearm; 

26 or 


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1 ‘‘(2) to be given to a bona fide winner of an or2 ganized raffle, contest, or auction conducted in ac3 cordance with law and sponsored by a national, 

4 State, or local organization or association, unless the 

5 person knows or has reason to believe such recipient 

6 is prohibited by Federal, State, or local law from 

7 possessing, purchasing, receiving, selling, shipping, 

8 transporting, transferring, or otherwise disposing of 

9 the firearm. 

10 ‘‘(c) If any violation of subsection (a) is committed 

11 knowing or with reasonable cause to believe that any fire12 arm involved will be used to commit a crime of violence, 

13 the person shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment 

14 of not more than 30 years. 

15 ‘‘§ 933. Forfeiture and fines 

16 ‘‘(a)(1) Any person convicted of a violation of this 

17 chapter shall forfeit to the United States, irrespective of 

18 any provision of State law— 

19 ‘‘(A) any property constituting, or derived from, 

20 any proceeds the person obtained, directly or indi21 rectly, as the result of such violation; and 

22 ‘‘(B) any of the person’s property used, or in23 tended to be used, in any manner or part, to com24 mit, or to facilitate the commission of, such viola25 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The court, in imposing sentence on a person con2 victed of a violation of this chapter, shall order, in addition 

3 to any other sentence imposed pursuant to this chapter, 

4 that the person forfeit to the United States all property 

5 described in paragraph (1). 

6 ‘‘(b) A defendant who derives profits or other pro7 ceeds from an offense under this chapter may be fined 

8 not more than the greater of— 

9 ‘‘(1) the fine otherwise authorized by this part; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(2) the amount equal to twice the gross profits 

12 or other proceeds of the offense under this chap13 ter.’’. 

14 (b) TITLE III AUTHORIZATION.—Section 2516(1)(n) 

15 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking 

16 ‘‘and 924(n)’’ and inserting ‘‘, 924, and 932’’. 

17 (c) RACKETEERING AMENDMENT.—Section 

18 1961(1)(B) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

19 by adding at the end the following: ‘‘section 932 (relating 

20 to trafficking in firearms),’’. 

21 (d) MONEY LAUNDERING AMENDMENT.—Section 

22 1956(c)(7)(D) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

23 by striking ‘‘section 924(n)’’ and inserting ‘‘sections 

24 924(n) and 932’’. 


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1 (e) DIRECTIVE TO SENTENCING COMMISSION.—Pur2 suant to its authority under section 994 of title 28, United 

3 States Code, and in accordance with this section, the 

4 United States Sentencing Commission shall review and 

5 amend its guidelines and policy statements to ensure that 

6 persons convicted of an offense under section 932 of title 

7 18, United States Code and other offenses applicable to 

8 the straw purchases of firearms are subject to increased 

9 penalties in comparison to those currently provided by the 

10 guidelines and policy statements for such straw pur11 chasing offenses. In carrying out this subsection, the Com12 mission shall ensure that the sentencing guidelines and 

13 policy statements reflect Congress’ intent that the applica14 ble guideline penalties be increased and the guidelines and 

15 policy statements reflect the extremely serious nature of 

16 the offenses described in the amendment made by sub17 section (a), the incidence of such offenses, and the need 

18 for an effective deterrent and appropriate punishment to 

19 prevent such offenses. 

20 (f) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

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

22 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

‘‘932. Straw purchasing of firearms. 

‘‘933. Forfeiture and fines.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 922(a)(6). 

2 Section 922(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘For purposes of paragraph (6), in addition to the eligi5 bility of a person to ship, transport, receive, or possess 

6 any firearm or ammunition, information concerning the 

7 identity, age, place of residence (to include address), and 

8 citizenship or immigration status of a person shall be con9 sidered material to the lawfulness of the sale or other dis10 position of a firearm or ammunition’’. 

11 SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 922(d). 

12 Section 922(d) of title 18, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

15 end; 

16 (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at 

17 the end and inserting ‘‘;’’; and 

18 (3) by striking the matter following paragraph 

19 (9) and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(10) is prohibited by State or local law from 

21 possessing, receiving, selling, shipping, transporting, 

22 transferring, or otherwise disposing of the firearm or 

23 ammunition; 

24 ‘‘(11) intends to sell or otherwise dispose of the 

25 firearm or ammunition to a person described in any 

26 of paragraphs (1) through (10); or 


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1 ‘‘(12) intends to sell or otherwise dispose of the 

2 firearm or ammunition in furtherance of a crime of 

3 violence or drug trafficking offense or to export the 

4 firearm or ammunition in violation of law. 

5 This subsection shall not apply with respect to the sale 

6 or disposition of a firearm or ammunition to a licensed 

7 importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or li8 censed collector who pursuant to subsection (b) of section 

9 925 is not precluded from dealing in firearms or ammuni10 tion, or to a person who has been granted relief from dis11 abilities pursuant to subsection (c) of section 925.’’. 

12 SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 924(h). 

13 Section 924 of title 18, United States Code, is 

14 amended by striking subsection (h) and inserting the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(h)(1) Whoever knowingly receives or transfers a 

17 firearm or ammunition, or attempts or conspires to do so, 

18 knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that such 

19 firearm or ammunition will be used to commit a crime of 

20 violence (as defined in subsection (c)(3)), a drug traf21 ficking crime (as defined in subsection (c)(2)), or a crime 

22 under the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et 

23 seq.), the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 

24 (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin 

25 Designation Act (21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), or section 


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1 212(a)(2)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

2 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(C)) shall be imprisoned not more than 

3 30 years, fined in accordance with this title, or both. 

4 ‘‘(2) No term of imprisonment imposed on a person 

5 under this subsection shall run concurrently with any term 

6 of imprisonment imposed on the person under section 

7 932.’’. 

8 SEC. 7. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 924(k). 

9 Section 924 of title 18, United States Code, is 

10 amended by striking subsection (k) and inserting the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(k)(1) A person who, with intent to engage in or 

13 to promote conduct that— 

14 ‘‘(A) is punishable under the Controlled Sub15 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), the Controlled 

16 Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 951 

17 et seq.), or chapter 705 of title 46; 

18 ‘‘(B) violates any law of a State relating to any 

19 controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of 

20 the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 802); or 

21 ‘‘(C) constitutes a crime of violence (as defined 

22 in subsection (c)(3)), 

23 smuggles or knowingly brings into the United States, a 

24 firearm or ammunition, or attempts or conspires to do so, 


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1 shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, fined under 

2 this title, or both. 

3 ‘‘(2) A person who, with intent to engage in or to 

4 promote conduct that— 

5 ‘‘(A) would be punishable under the Controlled 

6 Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), the Con7 trolled Substances Import and Export Act (21 

8 U.S.C. 951 et seq.), or chapter 705 of title 46, if the 

9 conduct had occurred within the United States; or 

10 ‘‘(B) would constitute a crime of violence (as 

11 defined in subsection (c)(3)) for which the person 

12 may be prosecuted in a court of the United States, 

13 if the conduct had occurred within the United 

14 States, 

15 smuggles or knowingly takes out of the United States, a 

16 firearm or ammunition, or attempts or conspires to do so, 

17 shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, fined under 

18 this title, or both.’’. 

Æ 


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