II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2458 

To authorize the Attorney General to deny the transfer of firearms and 

explosives and Federal firearms and explosives licenses and permits to 

known or suspected terrorists. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 27, 2018 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Ms. HEITKAMP, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. 

TOOMEY, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. KING, Mr. NELSON, Mr. MANCHIN, and Mr. 

KAINE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To authorize the Attorney General to deny the transfer of 

firearms and explosives and Federal firearms and explosives licenses and permits to known or suspected terrorists. 

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 ‘‘Terrorist Firearms 

5 Prevention Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITY TO DENY TRANSFERS 

2 OF FIREARMS, EXPLOSIVES, AND FIREARMS 

3 AND EXPLOSIVES LICENSES AND PERMITS TO 

4 TERRORISTS. 

5 (a) AUTHORITY.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en7 actment of this Act, in accordance with the proce8 dures under this section, and without regard to sec9 tion 842, 843, section 922(g) or (n), or section 923 

10 of title 18, United States Code, the Attorney Gen11 eral may deny the transfer of a firearm, not later 

12 than 3 business days after a licensee under chapter 

13 44 of title 18, United States Code, contacts the na14 tional instant criminal background check system es15 tablished under section 103 of Public Law 103–159 

16 (34 U.S.C. 40901), deny the transfer of an explo17 sive, or deny the issuance of a Federal firearms or 

18 explosives license or permit, if either of the following 

19 are met: 

20 (A) NO FLY LIST.—The Attorney General 

21 determines that the transferee or applicant— 

22 (i) based on the totality of the cir23 cumstances, represents a threat to public 

24 safety based on a reasonable suspicion that 

25 the transferee or applicant is engaged, or 

26 has been engaged, in conduct constituting, 


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1 in preparation of, in aid of, or related to 

2 terrorism, or providing material support or 

3 resources therefor; and 

4 (ii) based on credible information, 

5 poses— 

6 (I) a threat of committing an act 

7 of international terrorism or domestic 

8 terrorism with respect to an aircraft 

9 (including a threat of piracy, or a 

10 threat to airline, passenger, or civil 

11 aviation security); 

12 (II) a threat of committing an 

13 act of domestic terrorism with respect 

14 to the homeland; 

15 (III) a threat of committing an 

16 act of international terrorism against 

17 any United States Government facility 

18 abroad and associated or supporting 

19 personnel, including United States 

20 embassies, consulates and missions, 

21 military installations, United States 

22 ships, United States aircraft, or other 

23 auxiliary craft owned or leased by the 

24 United States Government; or 


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1 (IV) a threat of engaging in or 

2 conducting a violent act of terrorism 

3 and is operationally capable of doing 

4 so. 

5 (B) SELECTEE LIST.—The Attorney Gen6 eral determines that the transferee or appli7 cant— 

8 (i) based on the totality of the cir9 cumstances, represents a threat to public 

10 safety based on a reasonable suspicion that 

11 the transferee or applicant is engaged, or 

12 has been engaged, in conduct constituting, 

13 in preparation of, in aid of, or related to 

14 terrorism, or providing material support or 

15 resources therefor; and 

16 (ii) based on credible information, 

17 is— 

18 (I) a member of a terrorist orga19 nization (including a foreign terrorist 

20 organization designated pursuant to a 

21 statute or Executive order); and 

22 (II) associated with terrorist ac23 tivity, unless information exists that 

24 demonstrates that the application of 


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1 secondary screening to such individual 

2 is not necessary. 

3 (2) NICS.—Solely for purposes of sections 

4 922(t) (1), (2), (5), and (6) of title 18, United 

5 States Code, and section 103(g) of Public Law 103– 

6 159 (34 U.S.C. 40901(g)), a denial by the Attorney 

7 General under paragraph (1) shall be treated as 

8 equivalent to a determination that receipt of a fire9 arm would violate subsection (g) or (n) of section 

10 922 of title 18, United States Code. During the 3- 

11 business-day period beginning when a licensee under 

12 chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, contacts 

13 the national instant criminal background check sys14 tem established under section 103 of Public Law 

15 103–159 (34 U.S.C. 40901), and notwithstanding 

16 section 922(t)(2) of title 18, United States Code, the 

17 Attorney General may delay assigning a unique iden18 tification number to a transfer of a firearm in order 

19 to determine whether the transferee or applicant 

20 meets the requirements under paragraph (1). 

21 (b) NOTIFICATION OF PROSPECTIVE FIREARMS AND

22 EXPLOSIVES TRANSFERS TO KNOWN OR SUSPECTED

23 TERRORIST.—The Attorney General and Federal, State, 

24 and local law enforcement shall be immediately notified, 

25 as appropriate, of any request to transfer a firearm or exVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Mar 01, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2458.IS S2458

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1 plosive to a person who is, or within the previous 5 years 

2 was, identified in the Terrorist Screening Database main3 tained by the Terrorist Screening Center of the Federal 

4 Bureau of Investigation. 

5 (c) REVIEW OF DENIAL.— 

6 (1) REMEDIAL PROCEDURES AND PETITION

7 FOR REVIEW.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—An individual who is a 

9 citizen or lawful permanent resident of the 

10 United States and who seeks to challenge a de11 nial by the Attorney General under subsection 

12 (a)(1) may— 

13 (i) pursue the remedial procedures 

14 under section 103(g) of Public Law 103– 

15 159 (34 U.S.C. 40901(g)); or 

16 (ii) file a petition for review and any 

17 claims related to that petition in the 

18 United States District Court for the Dis19 trict of Columbia or in the district court of 

20 the United States for the judicial district 

21 in which the individual resides. 

22 (B) EXHAUSTION NOT REQUIRED.—A peti23 tioner is not required to exhaust the remedial 

24 procedures authorized under clause (i) of subVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Mar 01, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2458.IS S2458

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1 paragraph (A) before filing a petition for review 

2 under clause (ii) of subparagraph (A). 

3 (C) PROCEDURES.—Notwithstanding any 

4 other provision of law, the Attorney General 

5 may promulgate regulations governing pro6 ceedings under subparagraph (A)(i) to prevent 

7 the unauthorized disclosure of information that 

8 reasonably could be expected to result in dam9 age to national security or ongoing law enforce10 ment operations. 

11 (2) DEADLINES FOR FILING.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

13 subparagraph (B), a petition for review under 

14 paragraph (1)(A)(ii), and any claims related to 

15 that petition, shall be filed not later than the 

16 earlier of— 

17 (i) 1 year after the petitioner receives 

18 actual notice of the reason for the denial 

19 by the Attorney General; or 

20 (ii) 5 years after the petitioner re21 ceives notice of the denial by the Attorney 

22 General. 

23 (B) EXCEPTION.—The district court in 

24 which a petition for review is to be filed under 

25 paragraph (1)(A)(ii) may allow the petition to 


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1 be filed after the deadline specified in subpara2 graph (A) only if there is good cause for not fil3 ing by that deadline. 

4 (3) AUTHORITY OF DISTRICT COURTS.—The 

5 district court in which a petition for review is filed 

6 under paragraph (1)(A)(ii)— 

7 (A) shall have— 

8 (i) jurisdiction to decide all relevant 

9 questions of law and fact; and 

10 (ii) exclusive jurisdiction to affirm, 

11 amend, modify, or set aside any part of the 

12 denial of the Attorney General that is the 

13 subject of the petition for review; and 

14 (B) may order the Attorney General to 

15 conduct further proceedings. 

16 (4) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—No district court of the 

18 United States or court of appeals of the United 

19 States shall have jurisdiction to consider the 

20 lawfulness or constitutionality of this section ex21 cept pursuant to a petition for review under 

22 subsection (c)(1)(A)(ii). 

23 (B) NONCITIZENS.—No district court of 

24 the United States or court of appeals of the 

25 United States shall have jurisdiction to hear 


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1 any claim by an individual who is not a citizen 

2 or lawful permanent resident of the United 

3 States related to or arising out of a denial by 

4 the Attorney General under subsection (a)(1). 

5 (d) REQUIREMENT FOR AN ADMINISTRATIVE

6 RECORD AND PROCEDURES FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

7 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the following 

8 procedures shall apply with respect to a petition for review 

9 filed in a district court under subsection (c)(1)(A)(ii): 

10 (1) The United States shall file with the court 

11 an administrative record, which shall consist of— 

12 (A) the information the Attorney General 

13 relied upon in denying the transfer or applica14 tion; 

15 (B) a summary of known material mitiga16 tion information; 

17 (C) any information the petitioner has sub18 mitted pursuant to any administrative process; 

19 and 

20 (D) any information determined relevant 

21 by the United States. 

22 (2)(A) The petitioner may file with the court 

23 any information determined relevant by the peti24 tioner. 


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1 (B) With leave of the court, the United States 

2 may supplement the administrative record with addi3 tional information. 

4 (3) All information in the administrative record 

5 that is not classified and is not otherwise privileged 

6 or subject to statutory protections shall be provided 

7 to the petitioner. 

8 (4) No discovery shall be permitted, unless the 

9 court shall determine extraordinary circumstances 

10 requires discovery in the interests of justice. 

11 (5) Sensitive security information contained in 

12 the administrative record may only be provided to 

13 petitioners counsel, pursuant to a protective order. 

14 (6)(A) The administrative record may include 

15 classified information, which the United States shall 

16 submit to the court in camera and ex parte. The 

17 court shall review all classified information in cam18 era and ex parte unless it enters an order under 

19 paragraph (C). 

20 (B) The United States shall notify the peti21 tioner if the administrative record filed under para22 graph (1) contains classified information. 

23 (C) The court is authorized to determine the 

24 extent to which cleared counsel shall be permitted to 

25 access classified information necessary to protect the 


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1 due process rights of a petitioner and enter an ap2 propriate order. 

3 (D)(i) If the court enters an order under sub4 paragraph (C) providing for the disclosure of infor5 mation and the United States files with the court an 

6 affidavit of the Attorney General objecting to the 

7 disclosure, the court shall order that the information 

8 not be disclosed. 

9 (ii) If information is not disclosed under clause 

10 (i), the court shall enter such an order as the inter11 ests of justice require, which may include an order 

12 quashing the denial by the Attorney General under 

13 subsection (a)(1). 

14 (iii) An order under subparagraph (C) or clause 

15 (ii) of this subparagraph shall be subject to review 

16 by a court of appeals pursuant to section 1292 of 

17 title 28, United States Code. 

18 (iv) An order under clause (ii) shall be adminis19 tratively stayed for 7 days. 

20 (v) The functions and duties of the Attorney 

21 General under this subparagraph— 

22 (I) may be exercised by the Deputy Attor23 ney General, the Associate Attorney General, or 

24 by an Assistant Attorney General designated by 

25 the Attorney General for such purpose; and 


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1 (II) may not be delegated to any other offi2 cial. 

3 (E) Any information disclosed under subpara4 graph (C) shall be subject to an appropriate protec5 tive order. 

6 (7)(A) The administrative record may include 

7 information obtained or derived from an order issued 

8 under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 

9 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), without regard to 

10 subsections (c), (e), (f), (g), and (h) of section 106 

11 (50 U.S.C. 1806), subsections (d), (f), (g), (h), and 

12 (i) of section 305 (50 U.S.C. 1825), subsections (c), 

13 (e), (f), (g), and (h) of section 405 (50 U.S.C. 

14 1845), and section 706 (50 U.S.C. 1881e) of that 

15 Act. If the United States intends to use such infor16 mation against an aggrieved person (as defined in 

17 section 101, 301, or 401 of the Foreign Intelligence 

18 Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801, 1821, 

19 and 1841)), it shall provide in camera and ex parte 

20 notice to the court concerning such use. 

21 (B) If the court receives a notice under sub22 paragraph (A), the court shall review, in camera and 

23 ex parte, the order described in that subparagraph 

24 and any other materials that may be submitted by 

25 the United States. 


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1 (C) If the court determines that the order de2 scribed in subparagraph (A) was not lawfully au3 thorized, or the information was not obtained in con4 formity with the order, it shall exclude such informa5 tion from consideration as part of the administrative 

6 record. 

7 (8) Any classified information, sensitive security 

8 information, law enforcement sensitive information, 

9 or information that is otherwise privileged or subject 

10 to statutory protections, that is part of the adminis11 trative record, or cited by the court or the parties, 

12 shall be treated by the court and the parties con13 sistent with the provisions of this subsection, and 

14 shall be sealed and preserved in the records of the 

15 court to be made available in the event of further 

16 proceedings. In no event shall such information be 

17 released as part of the public record. 

18 (9) The court shall award reasonable attorney 

19 fees to a petitioner who is a prevailing party in an 

20 action under this section. 

21 (10) After the expiration of the time to seek 

22 further review, or the conclusion of further pro23 ceedings, the court shall return the administrative 

24 record, including any and all copies, to the United 

25 States. All privileged information or other informaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Mar 01, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2458.IS S2458

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1 tion in the possession of counsel for the petitioner 

2 that was provided by the United States under a pro3 tective order shall be returned to the United States, 

4 or the counsel for the petitioner shall certify its de5 struction, including any and all copies. 

6 (e) SCOPE OF REVIEW.—The district court shall 

7 quash any denial by the Attorney General under sub8 section (a)(1), unless the United States demonstrates, 

9 based on the administrative record, on a de novo review 

10 of fact and law— 

11 (1) that the transferee or applicant— 

12 (A) based on the totality of the cir13 cumstances, represents a threat to public safety 

14 based on a reasonable suspicion that the trans15 feree or applicant is engaged, or has been en16 gaged, in conduct constituting, in preparation 

17 of, in aid of, or related to terrorism, or pro18 viding material support or resources therefor; 

19 and 

20 (B) based on credible information, poses— 

21 (i) a threat of committing an act of 

22 international terrorism or domestic ter23 rorism with respect to an aircraft (includ24 ing a threat of piracy, or a threat to air25 line, passenger, or civil aviation security); 


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1 (ii) a threat of committing an act of 

2 domestic terrorism with respect to the 

3 homeland; 

4 (iii) a threat of committing an act of 

5 international terrorism against any United 

6 States Government facility abroad and as7 sociated or supporting personnel, including 

8 United States embassies, consulates and 

9 missions, military installations, United 

10 States ships, United States aircraft, or 

11 other auxiliary craft owned or leased by 

12 the United States Government; or 

13 (iv) a threat of engaging in or con14 ducting a violent act of terrorism and is 

15 operationally capable of doing so; or 

16 (2) that the transferee or applicant— 

17 (A) based on the totality of the cir18 cumstances, represents a threat to public safety 

19 based on a reasonable suspicion that the trans20 feree or applicant is engaged, or has been en21 gaged, in conduct constituting, in preparation 

22 of, in aid of, or related to terrorism, or pro23 viding material support or resources therefor; 

24 and 

25 (B) based on credible information— 


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1 (i) is a member of a terrorist organi2 zation (including a foreign terrorist organi3 zation) designated pursuant to a statute or 

4 Executive order; and 

5 (ii) is associated with terrorist activ6 ity, unless information exists that dem7 onstrates that the application of secondary 

8 screening to such individual is not nec9 essary. 

10 (f) EFFECT OF QUASHING.—If the district court 

11 quashes a denial by the Attorney General under subsection 

12 (e), notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Attor13 ney General shall— 

14 (1) for a denial of the transfer of a firearm, 

15 cause a unique identifier to issue pursuant to section 

16 922(t)(2) of title 18, United States Code, not later 

17 than 3 days after the issuance of the order under 

18 subsection (e); and 

19 (2) for a denial of a license or permit, expedi20 tiously issue a license or permit under chapter 40 or 

21 44 of title 18, United States Code, as applicable. 

22 (g) REVIEW OF DECISION OF DISTRICT COURT.—A 

23 final decision of a district court under this section shall 

24 be subject to review by a court of appeals in accordance 

25 with section 1291 of title 28, United States Code. 


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1 (h) EXCLUSIVE REMEDIES.—The remedial proce2 dures and a petition for review authorized under sub3 section (c)(1)(A) shall be the sole and exclusive remedies 

4 for a claim by an individual who challenges a denial under 

5 subsection (a)(1). 

6 (i) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.— 

7 (1) COURTS.—Not later than 14 days after the 

8 date on which a petition is filed challenging a denial 

9 under subsection (a)(1), a district court shall deter10 mine whether to quash the denial, unless the peti11 tioner consents to a longer period. 

12 (2) OF QUASHING.—If the district court 

13 quashes a denial by the Attorney General under sub14 section (e), a petitioner may submit the order quash15 ing the denial to the Department of Homeland Secu16 rity for expedited review, as appropriate. 

17 (j) TRANSPARENCY.—Not later than 60 days after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, and quarterly there19 after— 

20 (1) the Attorney General shall submit to the 

21 Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Com22 mittee on Intelligence of the Senate and the Com23 mittee on the Judiciary and the Permanent Select 

24 Committee on Intelligence of the House of Rep25 resentatives a report providing— 


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1 (A) the number of individuals denied a 

2 firearm or explosives transfer or a license or 

3 permit under subsection (a)(1) during the re4 porting period; 

5 (B) the number of petitions for review filed 

6 under subsection (c)(1)(A)(ii); and 

7 (C) the number of instances in which a 

8 district court quashed a denial by the Attorney 

9 General under subsection (e); and 

10 (2) the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

11 submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

12 Governmental Affairs, the Select Committee on In13 telligence, and the Committee on the Judiciary of 

14 the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Secu15 rity, the Permanent Select Committee on Intel16 ligence, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

17 House of Representatives a report providing— 

18 (A) the number of individuals— 

19 (i) with respect to whom a district 

20 court quashed a denial by the Attorney 

21 General under subsection (e); and 

22 (ii) who submitted the order quashing 

23 the denial to the Department of Homeland 

24 Security under subsection (i)(2); and 


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1 (B) a description of the actions taken and 

2 final determinations made by the Department 

3 of Homeland Security with regard to submis4 sions described in subparagraph (A)(ii) respect5 ing the status of individuals on the No Fly List 

6 or Selectee List, including the length of time 

7 taken to reach a final determination. 

8 (k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.—The term 

10 ‘‘classified information’’ has the meaning given that 

11 term in section 1(a) of the Classified Information 

12 Procedures Act (18 U.S.C. App.). 

13 (2) DOMESTIC TERRORISM.—The term ‘‘domes14 tic terrorism’’ has the meaning given that term in 

15 section 2331(5) of title 18, United States Code. 

16 (3) INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM.—The term 

17 ‘‘international terrorism’’ has the meaning given 

18 that term in section 2331(1) of title 18, United 

19 States Code. 

20 (4) MILITARY INSTALLATION.—The term ‘‘mili21 tary installation’’ has the meaning given that term 

22 in section 2801(c)(4) of title 10, United States 

23 Code. 

24 (5) NATIONAL SECURITY.—The term ‘‘national 

25 security’’ has the meaning given that term in section 


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1 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

2 U.S.C. 1189). 

3 (6) SENSITIVE SECURITY INFORMATION.—The 

4 term ‘‘sensitive security information’’ has the mean5 ing given that term by sections 114(r) and 40119 of 

6 title 49, United States Code, and the regulations 

7 and orders issued pursuant to those sections. 

8 (7) TERRORIST ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘terrorist 

9 activity’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

10 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality 

11 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)). 

12 (l) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec13 tion shall be construed to— 

14 (1) except as set forth in this section, authorize 

15 the Attorney General to modify the length of period 

16 before a firearm may be transferred under section 

17 922(t) of title 18, United States Code; or 

18 (2) apply to any claim other than a claim chal19 lenging the denial of a firearm, explosive, or 

20 issuance of a firearm or explosives permit or license 

21 by the Attorney General. 

Æ 


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