I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1501

To prohibit the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer, receipt,

or transportation of handguns, in any manner affecting interstate or

foreign commerce, except for or by members of the Armed Forces,

law enforcement officials, and, as authorized by the Secretary of the

Treasury, licensed importers, manufacturers, dealers, and pistol clubs.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 25, 1993

Mr. YATES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on the Judiciary

A BILL

To prohibit the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase,

transfer, receipt, or transportation of handguns, in any

manner affecting interstate or foreign commerce, except

for or by members of the Armed Forces, law enforcement

officials, and, as authorized by the Secretary of the

Treasury, licensed importers, manufacturers, dealers, and

pistol clubs.

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

3 That this Act may be cited as the ‘‘Handgun Control Act

4 of 1993’’.
2

HR 1501 IH

1 SECTION 1. The Congress hereby finds and de2 clares—

3 (a) that the estimated total number of hand4 guns in private hands has more than doubled since

5 1978, bringing the total to sixty-six million;

6 (b) that handguns play a major role, and a role

7 disproportionate to their number in comparison with

8 long guns, in the commission of homicide, aggra9 vated assault, and armed robbery, and that the per10 centage of violent crimes in which handguns are

11 used is increasing;

12 (c) that more than one-half of all handguns are

13 acquired secondhand and that licensing and restric14 tions on sale of new handguns will not significantly

15 reduce handgun crime and handgun violence;

16 (d) that with few exceptions handguns are not

17 used for sporting or recreational purposes and that

18 such purposes do not require keeping of handguns in

19 private homes;

20 (e) that handguns in the home are of less value

21 than is commonly thought in defending against in22 truders and that such defensive purposes can be

23 adequately accomplished by other means;

24 (f) that violent crimes perpetrated with hand25 guns constitute a burden upon and interfere with
3

HR 1501 IH

1 interstate and foreign commerce and threaten the

2 internal security and domestic tranquillity of the Na3 tion; and

4 (g) that a national firearms policy which re5 stricts the availability of handguns for nonlaw en6 forcement and nonmilitary purposes will significantly

7 reduce violent crime, reduce deaths from handguns,

8 and reduce other handgun violence in the United

9 States.

10 SEC. 2. Title 18, United States Code, is amended by

11 inserting immediately after chapter 50 thereof the follow12 ing new chapter:

13 ‘‘CHAPTER 50A.—HANDGUNS

‘‘Sec.

‘‘1091. Unlawful acts.

‘‘1092. Licensing.

‘‘1093. Penalties.

‘‘1094. Exceptions.

‘‘1095. Voluntary delivery to law enforcement agency; reimbursement.

‘‘1096. Rules and regulations.

‘‘1097. Effect on State law.

‘‘1098. Separability clause.

‘‘1099. Appropriations.

‘‘1100. Definitions.

14 ‘‘§ 1091. Unlawful acts

15 ‘‘(a) Except as provided in section 1094 of this chap16 ter and in subsection (b) of this section, it shall be unlaw17 ful for any person to import, manufacture, sell, buy, trans18 fer, receive, or transport any handgun.

19 ‘‘(b) The Secretary may, consistent with public safety

20 and necessity, exempt from the operation of subsection (a)
4

HR 1501 IH

1 of this section such importation, manufacture, sale, pur2 chase, transfer, receipt, or transportation of handguns by

3 importers, manufacturers, or dealers, licensed under chap4 ter 44 of this title, and by pistol clubs licensed under this

5 chapter, as may in his judgment be required for the oper6 ation of such pistol clubs or for purposes described in sec7 tion 1094 of this chapter.

8 ‘‘§ 1092. Licensing

9 ‘‘(a) A pistol club desiring to be licensed under this

10 chapter shall file an application for such license with the

11 Secretary. The application shall be in such form and con12 tain such information as the Secretary shall by regulation

13 prescribe. The fee for such license shall be $25 per year.

14 ‘‘(b) Any importer, manufacturer, or dealer desiring

15 to be licensed under this chapter shall apply as provided

16 in chapter 44 of this title.

17 ‘‘(c) Any application submitted under subsection (a)

18 shall be approved if—

19 ‘‘(1) all members of the pistol club are twenty20 one years of age or older;

21 ‘‘(2) no member of the pistol club is prohibited

22 from transporting, shipping, or receiving firearms or

23 ammunition in interstate or foreign commerce under

24 section 922 (g) or (h) of this title or under the law
5

HR 1501 IH

1 of the State in which the club will be located or of

2 the State in which the member is domiciled;

3 ‘‘(3) no member of the pistol club has willfully

4 violated any of the provisions of this chapter or of

5 chapter 44 of this title or any regulations issued

6 thereunder;

7 ‘‘(4) the pistol club has not willfully failed to

8 disclose any material information required, or has

9 not made any false statement as to any material

10 fact, in connection with his application; and

11 ‘‘(5) the pistol club has premises from which it

12 operates and—

13 ‘‘(A) maintains possession and control of

14 the handguns used by its members, and

15 ‘‘(B) has procedures and facilities for keep16 ing such handguns in a secure place, under the

17 control of the club’s chief officer, at all times

18 when they are not being used for target shoot19 ing or other sporting or recreational purposes.

20 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary must approve or deny an appli21 cation for a license within the forty-five-day period begin22 ning on the date it is received. If the Secretary fails to

23 act within such period, the applicant may file an action

24 under section 1361 of title 28 to compel the Secretary to

25 act. If the Secretary approves an applicant’s application,
6

HR 1501 IH

1 such applicant shall be issued a license upon payment of

2 the prescribed fee.

3 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may, after notice and opportunity

4 for hearing, revoke any license issued under this section

5 if the holder of such license has violated any provision of

6 this chapter or of chapter 44 of this title or any rule or

7 regulation prescribed by the Secretary under such chap8 ters. The Secretary’s action under this paragraph may be

9 reviewed only as provided in subsection (e) of this section.

10 ‘‘(e)(1) Any person whose application for a license is

11 denied and any holder of a license which is revoked shall

12 receive a written notice from the Secretary stating specifi13 cally the grounds upon which the application was denied

14 or upon which the license was revoked. Any notice of rev15 ocation of a license shall be given to the holder of such

16 license before the effective date of the revocation.

17 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary denies an application for, or re18 vokes, a license, he shall, upon request by the aggrieved

19 party, promptly hold a hearing to review his denial or rev20 ocation. In the case of a revocation of a license, the Sec21 retary shall upon the request of the holder of the license

22 stay the effective date of the revocation. A hearing held

23 under this paragraph shall be held at a location convenient

24 to the aggrieved party.
7

HR 1501 IH

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

2 Secretary decides not to reverse his decision to deny an

3 application or revoke a license, the Secretary shall give

4 notice of his decision to the aggrieved party. The aggrieved

5 party may at any time within sixty days after the date

6 notice was given under this paragraph file a petition with

7 the United States District Court for the district in which

8 he resides or has his principal place of business for a judi9 cial review of such denial or revocation. In a proceeding

10 conducted under this subsection, the court may consider

11 any evidence submitted by the parties to the proceeding.

12 If the court decides that the Secretary was not authorized

13 to deny the application or to revoke the license, the court

14 shall order the Secretary to take such action as may be

15 necessary to comply with the judgment of the court.

16 ‘‘(f) Each licensed pistol club shall maintain such

17 records of receipt, sale, or other disposition, of handguns

18 at such place, for such period, and in such form as the

19 Secretary may by regulations prescribe. Such pistol clubs

20 shall make such records available for inspection at all rea21 sonable times, and shall submit to the Secretary such re22 ports and information with respect to such records and

23 the contents thereof as he shall by regulations prescribe.

24 The Secretary may enter at reasonable times the premises

25 (including places of storage) of any pistol club for the pur-
8

HR 1501 IH

1 pose of inspecting or examining (1) any records of docu2 ments required to be kept by such pistol club under the

3 provisions of this chapter or chapter 44 of this title and

4 regulations issued under such chapters, and (2) any hand5 guns or ammunition kept or stored by such pistol club at

6 such premises. Upon the request of any State or any polit7 ical subdivision thereof, the Secretary may make available

8 to such State or any political subdivision thereof any infor9 mation which he may obtain by reason of the provisions

10 of this chapter with respect to the identification of persons

11 who are members of pistol clubs within such State or polit12 ical subdivision thereof, together with a description of the

13 handguns included in such pistol club’s license.

14 ‘‘(g) Licenses issued under the provisions of sub15 section (c) of this section shall be kept posted and kept

16 available for inspection on the premises covered by the li17 cense.

18 ‘‘§ 1093. Penalties

19 ‘‘(a) Whoever violates any provision of this chapter

20 or knowingly makes any false statement or representation

21 with respect to the information required by the provisions

22 of this chapter to be kept in the records of a pistol club

23 licensed under this chapter, or in applying for any license

24 under the provisions of this chapter, shall be fined not

25 more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than five years,
9

HR 1501 IH

1 or both, and shall become eligible for parole as the board

2 of parole shall determine.

3 ‘‘(b) Any handgun involved or used in, or intended

4 to be used in, any violation of the provisions of this chap5 ter or chapter 44 of this title or any rule or regulation

6 promulgated thereunder, or any violation of any other

7 criminal law of the United States, shall be subject to sei8 zure and forfeiture and all provisions of the Internal Reve9 nue Code of 1954 relating to the seizure, forfeiture, and

10 disposition of firearms shall, so far as applicable, extend

11 to seizures and forfeitures under the provisions of this

12 chapter.

13 ‘‘§ 1094. exceptions

14 ‘‘(a) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply

15 with respect to the importation, manufacture, sale, pur16 chase, transfer, receipt, or transportation of any handgun

17 which the Secretary determines is being imported or man18 ufactured for, sold, or transferred to, purchased, received,

19 or transported by, or issued for the use of, the United

20 States or any department or agency thereof or any State

21 or any department, agency, or political subdivision thereof.

22 ‘‘(b) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply

23 with respect to the importation, manufacture, sale, pur24 chase, transfer, receipt, or transportation of a handgun

25 which the Secretary determines is unserviceable, not
10

HR 1501 IH

1 restorable to firing condition, and intended for use as a

2 curio, museum piece, or collectors’ item.

3 ‘‘§ 1095. Voluntary delivery to law enforcement agen4 cy; reimbursement

5 ‘‘(a) A person may at any time deliver to any Federal,

6 State, or local law enforcement agency designated by the

7 Secretary a handgun owned or possessed by such person.

8 The Secretary shall arrange with each agency designated

9 to receive handguns for the transfer, destruction, or other

10 disposition of all handguns delivered under this section.

11 ‘‘(b) Upon proof of lawful acquisition and ownership

12 by a person delivering a handgun to a law enforcement

13 agency under this section, the owner of the handgun shall

14 be entitled to receive from the United States a payment

15 equal to the fair market value of the handgun or $25,

16 whichever is more. The Secretary shall provide for the

17 payment, directly or indirectly, through Federal, State,

18 and local law enforcement agencies, of the amounts to

19 which owners of handguns delivered under this section are

20 entitled.

21 ‘‘(c) The amounts authorized in subsection (b) of this

22 section shall be paid out of the fees collected under section

23 1092(a) of this chapter to the extent that such fees are

24 sufficient for this purpose. The remainder of amounts au-
11

HR 1501 IH

1 thorized in subsection (b) of this section shall be paid out

2 of general revenues.

3 ‘‘§ 1096. Rules and regulations

4 ‘‘(a) The Secretary may prescribe such rules and reg5 ulations as he deems necessary to carry out the provisions

6 of this chapter, including—

7 ‘‘(1) regulations providing that a person li8 censed under this chapter, when dealing with an9 other person so licensed or with a person licensed

10 under chapter 44 of this title, shall provide such

11 other licensed person a certified copy of his license;

12 and

13 ‘‘(2) regulations providing for the issuance, at

14 a reasonable cost, to a person licensed under this

15 chapter, of certified copies of his license for use as

16 provided under regulations issued under paragraph

17 (1) of this subsection.

18 ‘‘(b) The Secretary shall give reasonable public no19 tice, and afford to interested parties opportunity for hear20 ing, prior to prescribing rules and regulations authorized

21 by this section.

22 ‘‘§ 1097. Effect on State law

23 ‘‘No provision of this chapter shall be construed as

24 indicating an intent on the part of the Congress to occupy

25 the field in which such provision operates to the exclusion
12

HR 1501 IH

1 of the law of any State on the same subject, unless there

2 is a direct and positive conflict between such provision and

3 the law of the State so that the two cannot be reconciled

4 or consistently stand together.

5 ‘‘§ 1098. Separability

6 ‘‘If any provision of this chapter or the application

7 thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the

8 remainder of the chapter and the application of such pro9 vision to other persons not similarly situated or to other

10 circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

11 ‘‘§ 1099. Appropriations

12 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

13 as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

14 ‘‘§ 1100. Definitions

15 ‘‘As used in this chapter—

16 ‘‘(1) The term ‘person’ and the term ‘whoever’

17 include any individual, corporation, company, asso18 ciation, firm, partnership, club, society, or joint19 stock company.

20 ‘‘(2) The term ‘importer’ means any person en21 gaged in the business of importing or bringing hand22 guns into the United States for purposes of sale or

23 distribution; and the term ‘licensed importer’ means

24 any such person licensed under the provisions of

25 chapter 44 of this title.
13

HR 1501 IH

1 ‘‘(3) The term ‘manufacturer’ means any per2 son engaged in the manufacture or assembly of

3 handguns for the purposes of sale or distribution;

4 and the term ‘licensed manufacturer’ means any

5 such person licensed under the provisions of chapter

6 44 of this title.

7 ‘‘(4) The term ‘dealer’ means (A) any person

8 engaged in the business of selling handguns at

9 wholesale or retail, (B) any person engaged in the

10 business of repairing handguns or of making or fit11 ting special barrels, or trigger mechanisms to hand12 guns, or (C) any person who is a pawnbroker. The

13 term ‘licensed dealer’ means any dealer who is li14 censed under the provisions of chapter 44 of this

15 title.

16 ‘‘(5) The term ‘collector’ means any person who

17 acquires, holds, or disposes of handguns as curios,

18 or relics, as the Secretary shall by regulation define,

19 and the term ‘licensed collector’ means any such per20 son licensed under the provisions of chapter 44 of

21 this title.

22 ‘‘(6) The term ‘Secretary’ or ‘Secretary of the

23 Treasury’ means the Secretary of the Treasury or

24 his delegate.

25 ‘‘(7) The term ‘handgun’ means any weapon—
14

HR 1501 IH

1 ‘‘(A) designed or redesigned, or made, or

2 remade, and intended to be fired while held in

3 one hand;

4 ‘‘(B) having a barrel less than ten inches

5 in length; and

6 ‘‘(C) designed or redesigned, or made or

7 remade, to use the energy of an explosive to

8 expel a projectile or projectiles through a

9 smooth or rifled bore.

10 ‘‘(8) The term ‘pistol club’ means a club orga11 nized for target shooting with handguns or to use

12 handguns for sporting or other recreational purposes

13 and which—

14 ‘‘(A) maintains possession and control of

15 the handguns used by its members, and

16 ‘‘(B) has procedures and facilities for keep17 ing such handguns in a secure place, under the

18 control of the club’s chief officer, at all times

19 when they are not being used for target shoot20 ing, sporting, or other recreational purposes.

21 The term ‘licensed pistol club’ means any pistol club

22 which is licensed under this chapter.’’.

23 SEC. 3. The enforcement and administration of the

24 amendment made by this Act shall be vested in the Sec25 retary of the Treasury.
15

HR 1501 IH

1 SEC. 4. Nothing in this Act or the amendment made

2 thereby shall be construed as modifying or affecting any

3 provision of—

4 (a) the National Firearms Act (chapter 53 of

5 the Internal Revenue Code of 1954);

6 (b) section 414 of the Mutual Security Act of

7 1954 (22 U.S.C. 1934), as amended, relating to mu8 nitions control; or

9 (c) section 1715 of title 18, United States

10 Code, relating to nonmailable firearms.

11 SEC. 5. The provisions of this Act shall take effect

12 one year from the date of enactment.

Æ