II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2662 

To provide for a grant program for handgun licensing programs, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 12, 2018 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. MURPHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for a grant program for handgun licensing 

programs, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Handgun Purchaser 

5 Licensing Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) In 2016, 90 percent of the 11,004 firearm 

9 homicides in the United States occurred with a 

10 handgun. 


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1 (2) Recently published research by top national 

2 experts, notably on Missouri and Connecticut hand3 gun purchaser licensing laws, have estimated that 

4 Missouri’s repeal of its handgun purchaser licensing 

5 law led to a 25-percent increase in firearm homicide 

6 rates while Connecticut’s adoption of its handgun 

7 purchaser licensing law led to a 40-percent decrease 

8 in firearm homicide rates. 

9 (3) In States which have had effective handgun 

10 purchaser licensing laws for decades, such as Con11 necticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, 

12 the vast majority of guns traced to crimes originated 

13 in other States, which supports the need for hand14 gun purchaser licensing laws in every State. 

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act— 

17 (1) the terms ‘‘Attorney General’’, ‘‘State’’, and 

18 ‘‘handgun’’ have the meanings given those terms in 

19 section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code; and 

20 (2) the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has the meaning 

21 given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Deter22 mination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

23 5304). 


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1 SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED FOR HANDGUN LI2 CENSING. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may award 

4 grants to States, units of local government, and Indian 

5 tribes for the development, implementation, and evalua6 tion of handgun purchaser licensing requirements. 

7 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From the amounts ap8 propriated to carry out this Act and not later than 90 

9 days after such amounts are appropriated, the Attorney 

10 General shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eli11 gible applicants whose applications are approved under 

12 subsection (c) to assist such applicants in implementing 

13 and improving handgun purchaser licensing programs. 

14 (c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

15 under this Act, a State, unit of local government, or In16 dian tribe shall submit to the Attorney General an applica17 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

18 information as the Attorney General may require, includ19 ing— 

20 (1) a description of the law that the applicant 

21 has enacted to require a license for any purchase of 

22 a handgun including a description of any other ex23 emptions to such law; and 

24 (2) a description of how the applicant will use 

25 the grant to carry out or improve its handgun pur26 chaser licensing program. 


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1 (d) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible for 

2 grants, an applicant shall have in effect handgun pur3 chaser licensing laws that include the following provisions: 

4 (1) An individual applying for a handgun li5 cense or permit must be not less than 21 years old 

6 and be a national or lawful permanent resident of 

7 the United States. 

8 (2) Such an individual must apply for the hand9 gun purchaser license or permit at a law enforce10 ment agency in the State in which they reside. 

11 (3) Such an individual must reapply for the 

12 handgun purchaser license or permit after a period 

13 not longer than 5 years. 

14 (4) Such an individual must submit to a back15 ground investigation, and a criminal history check, 

16 in connection with their application, as established 

17 by the State. 

18 (5) Such an individual must submit fingerprints 

19 and photographs in connection with the application 

20 for the license or permit. 

21 (6) Such an individual must provide proof that 

22 the individual is legally present and lawfully resides 

23 in the United States, including a birth certificate, or 

24 valid passport. A lawful permanent resident must 

25 provide his or her alien registration number and 90- 


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1 day proof of residency. A naturalized citizen must 

2 provide proof of citizenship. 

3 (7) Any individual who is prohibited from pos4 sessing a firearm under section 922(g) of title 18, 

5 United States Code, may not receive a license or 

6 permit. 

7 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—A recipient of a grant under 

8 this Act shall use such grant to improve handgun pur9 chaser licensing programs of that grantee. 

10 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

12 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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