I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1612 

To require criminal background checks on all firearms transactions occurring 

at gun shows. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 17, 2017 

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. 

BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. COHEN, Mr. 

CONYERS, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. MICHAEL

F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. KEATING, 

Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. 

MEEKS, Mr. NADLER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. O’ROURKE, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. 

POCAN, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. SERRANO, 

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, and Mrs. LOWEY) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require criminal background checks on all firearms 

transactions occurring at gun shows. 

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 ‘‘Gun Show Loophole 

5 Closing Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GUN SHOW BACKGROUND CHECK. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 

3 (1) approximately 5,200 traditional gun shows 

4 are held annually across the United States, attract5 ing thousands of attendees per show and hundreds 

6 of Federal firearms licensees and unlicensed fire7 arms sellers; and 

8 (2) gun shows at which firearms are exhibited 

9 or offered for sale or exchange provide a convenient 

10 and centralized commercial location where criminals 

11 and other prohibited persons obtain firearms without 

12 background checks and without records that enable 

13 firearm tracing. 

14 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 921(a) of title 18, United 

15 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(36) GUN SHOW.—The term ‘gun show’— 

18 ‘‘(A) means any event at which 50 or more fire19 arms are offered or exhibited for sale, exchange, or 

20 transfer, if one or more of the firearms has been 

21 shipped or transported in, or otherwise affects, inter22 state or foreign commerce; 

23 ‘‘(B) does not include an offer or exhibit of fire24 arms for sale, exchange, or transfer by an individual 

25 from the personal collection of that individual, at the 


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1 private residence of that individual, if the individual 

2 is not required to be licensed under section 923; and 

3 ‘‘(C) does not include an offer or exhibit of fire4 arms for sale, exchange, or transfer at events— 

5 ‘‘(i) where not more than 100 firearms are 

6 offered or exhibited for sale, exchange or trans7 fer; 

8 ‘‘(ii) that are conducted by private, not-for9 profit organizations whose primary purpose is 

10 owning and maintaining real property for the 

11 purpose of hunting activities; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) that are attended only by permanent 

13 or annual dues-paying members of the organi14 zations, and the members of the immediate 

15 families of the dues-paying members. 

16 ‘‘(37) GUN SHOW VENDOR.—The term ‘gun show 

17 vendor’ means a person who is not licensed under section 

18 923 and who exhibits, sells, offers for sale, transfers, or 

19 exchanges a firearm at a gun show, regardless of whether 

20 or not the person arranges with the gun show operator 

21 for a fixed location from which to exhibit, sell, offer for 

22 sale, transfer, or exchange the firearm.’’. 

23 (c) REGULATION OF FIREARMS TRANSFERS AT GUN

24 SHOWS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 44 of such title is 

2 amended by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘§ 932. Regulation of firearms transfers at gun shows 

4 ‘‘(a) REGISTRATION OF GUN SHOW OPERATORS.— 

5 It shall be unlawful for a person to operate a gun show, 

6 unless— 

7 ‘‘(1) the person has attained 21 years of age; 

8 ‘‘(2) the person (and, if the person is a corpora9 tion, partnership, or association, each individual pos10 sessing, directly or indirectly, the power to direct or 

11 cause the direction of the management and policies 

12 of the corporation, partnership, or association) is not 

13 prohibited by subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 

14 from transporting, shipping, or receiving firearms or 

15 ammunition in interstate or foreign commerce; 

16 ‘‘(3) the person has not willfully violated any 

17 provision of this chapter or regulation issued under 

18 this chapter; 

19 ‘‘(4) the person has registered with the Attor20 ney General as a gun show operator, in accordance 

21 with regulations promulgated by the Attorney Gen22 eral, and as part of the registration— 

23 ‘‘(A) has provided the Attorney General 

24 with a photograph and the fingerprints of the 

25 person; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) has certified that the person meets 

2 the requirements of subparagraphs (A) through 

3 (D) of section 923(d)(1); 

4 ‘‘(5) the person has not willfully failed to dis5 close any material information required, and has not 

6 made any false statement as to any material fact, in 

7 connection with the registration; and 

8 ‘‘(6) the person has paid the Attorney General 

9 a fee for the registration, in an amount determined 

10 by the Attorney General. 

11 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF GUN SHOW OPERA12 TORS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for a 

14 person to operate a gun show, unless the person— 

15 ‘‘(A) not later than 30 days before the 

16 commencement of the gun show, notifies the 

17 Attorney General, in writing, of the date, time, 

18 duration, and location of the gun show, and the 

19 identity of each person who will be a gun show 

20 vendor at the gun show; 

21 ‘‘(B) before commencement of the gun 

22 show— 

23 ‘‘(i) verifies the identity of each indi24 vidual who will be a gun show vendor at 

25 the gun show by examining a valid identiVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Mar 22, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1612.IH H1612

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1 fication document (as defined in section 

2 1028(d)(3)) of the individual containing a 

3 photograph of the individual; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) requires each such individual to 

5 sign— 

6 ‘‘(I) a ledger, and enter into the 

7 ledger identifying information con8 cerning the individual; and 

9 ‘‘(II) a notice which sets forth 

10 the obligations of a gun show vendor 

11 under this chapter; and 

12 ‘‘(C) notifies each person who attends the 

13 gun show of the requirements of this chapter, 

14 in accordance with such regulations as the At15 torney General shall prescribe. 

16 ‘‘(2) RECORDKEEPING.—A person who oper17 ates, or has operated, a gun show shall maintain 

18 records demonstrating compliance with paragraph 

19 (1)(B), at such place, for such period of time, and 

20 in such form as the Attorney General shall require 

21 by regulation, or transmit the records to the Attor22 ney General. 

23 ‘‘(c) BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIRED BEFORE

24 TRANSFER OF FIREARM BETWEEN UNLICENSED PER25 SONS.—It shall be unlawful for a person who is not liVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Mar 22, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1612.IH H1612

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1 censed under this chapter to transfer possession of, or title 

2 to, a firearm at, or on the curtilage of, a gun show, to 

3 another person who is not so licensed, or for a person who 

4 is not so licensed to receive possession of, or title to, a 

5 firearm at, or on the curtilage of, a gun show from another 

6 person who is not so licensed, unless a licensed importer, 

7 licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer— 

8 ‘‘(1) has entered into a separate bound record 

9 the make, model, and serial number of the firearm, 

10 and such other information about the transaction as 

11 the Attorney General may require by regulation; and 

12 ‘‘(2) has notified the prospective transferor and 

13 prospective transferee of the firearm that the na14 tional instant criminal background check system es15 tablished under section 103 of the Brady Handgun 

16 Violence Prevention Act has provided the licensee 

17 with a unique identification number, indicating that 

18 receipt of the firearm by the prospective transferee 

19 would not violate section 922 of this title or State 

20 law. 

21 ‘‘(d) RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A licensee who provides a 

23 notice pursuant to subsection (c)(2) with respect to 

24 the transfer of a firearm shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) not later than 10 days after the date 

2 of the transfer, submit to the Attorney General 

3 a report of the transfer, which report shall 

4 specify the make, model, and serial number of 

5 the firearm, and contain such other information 

6 and be on such form, as the Attorney General 

7 shall require by regulation, except that the re8 port shall not include the name of or other 

9 identifying information relating to any person 

10 involved in the transfer who is not licensed 

11 under this chapter; and 

12 ‘‘(B) retain a record of the transfer, in13 cluding the same information as would be re14 quired if the transfer were from the inventory 

15 of the licensee, as part of the permanent busi16 ness records of the licensee. 

17 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Attorney General may 

18 not impose any recordkeeping requirement on any 

19 gun show vendor by reason of this section.’’. 

20 (2) PENALTIES.—Section 924(a) of such title is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(8)(A) Whoever knowingly violates subsection (a) or 

23 (d) of section 932 shall be fined under this title, impris24 oned not more than 5 years, or both. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Whoever knowingly violates subsection (b) or (c) 

2 of section 932, shall be— 

3 ‘‘(i) fined under this title, imprisoned not more 

4 than 2 years, or both; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a second or subsequent con6 viction, fined under this title, imprisoned not more 

7 than 5 years, or both. 

8 ‘‘(C) In addition to any other penalties imposed 

9 under this paragraph, the Attorney General may, with re10 spect to any person who knowingly violates any provision 

11 of section 932— 

12 ‘‘(i) if the person is registered pursuant to sec13 tion 932(a), after notice and opportunity for a hear14 ing, suspend for not more than 6 months or revoke 

15 the registration of that person under section 932(a); 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(ii) impose a civil fine in an amount equal to 

18 not more than $10,000.’’. 

19 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con20 tents for such chapter is amended by adding at the 

21 end the following: 

‘‘Sec. 932. Regulation of firearms transfers at gun shows.’’. 

22 (d) INSPECTION AUTHORITY.—Section 923(g)(1) of 

23 such title is amended by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(E) Notwithstanding subparagraph (B) of this para25 graph, the Attorney General may enter during business 


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1 hours any place where a gun show operator operates a 

2 gun show or is required to maintain records pursuant to 

3 section 932(b)(2), for purposes of examining the records 

4 required by sections 923 and 932 and the inventory of 

5 licensees conducting business at the gun show. The entry 

6 and examination shall be conducted for the purposes of 

7 determining compliance with this chapter by gun show op8 erators and licensees conducting business at the gun show, 

9 and shall not require a showing of reasonable cause or 

10 a warrant.’’. 

11 (e) REPORTS OF MULTIPLE SALES ASSISTED BY LI12 CENSEES AT GUN SHOWS.—Section 923(g)(3)(A) of such 

13 title is amended by inserting ‘‘or provides pursuant to sec14 tion 932(c)(2) notice with respect to,’’ after ‘‘sells or oth15 erwise disposes of,’’. 

16 (f) INCREASED PENALTIES FOR SERIOUS RECORD17 KEEPING VIOLATIONS BY LICENSEES.—Section 924(a)(3) 

18 of such title is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), any 

20 licensed dealer, licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, 

21 or licensed collector who knowingly makes any false state22 ment or representation with respect to the information re23 quired by this chapter to be kept in the records of a person 

24 licensed under this chapter, or violates section 922(m), 


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1 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 

2 1 year, or both. 

3 ‘‘(B) If the violation described in subparagraph (A) 

4 is in relation to an offense— 

5 ‘‘(i) under paragraph (1) or (3) of section 

6 922(b), such person shall be fined under this title, 

7 imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) under subsection (a)(6) or (d) of section 

9 922, such person shall be fined under this title, im10 prisoned not more than 10 years, or both.’’. 

11 (g) INCREASED PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF

12 CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 (1) PENALTIES.—Section 924(a)(5) of such 

14 title is amended— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection (s) or (t) of 

16 section 922’’ and inserting ‘‘section 922(t)’’; 

17 and 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘1’’ and inserting ‘‘5’’. 

19 (2) ELIMINATION OF CERTAIN ELEMENTS OF

20 OFFENSE.—Section 922(t)(5) of such title is amend21 ed by striking ‘‘and, at the time’’ and all that fol22 lows through ‘‘State law’’. 

23 (h) AUTHORITY TO HIRE PERSONNEL TO INSPECT

24 GUN SHOWS.—The Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, To25 bacco, Firearms, and Explosives may hire at least 40 addiVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Mar 22, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1612.IH H1612

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1 tional Industry Operations Investigators for the purpose 

2 of carrying out inspections of gun shows (as defined in 

3 section 921(a)(36) of title 18, United States Code). 

4 (i) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—The Director of the 

5 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives 

6 shall submit biennial reports to the Congress on how fire7 arms (as defined in section 921(a)(3) of title 18, United 

8 States Code) are sold at gun shows (as defined in para9 graph (36) of such section), how this section is being car10 ried out, whether firearms are being sold without back11 ground checks conducted by the national instant criminal 

12 background check system established under section 103 

13 of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, what re14 sources are needed to carry out this section, and any rec15 ommendations for improvements to ensure that firearms 

16 are not sold without the background checks. 

17 (j) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend18 ments made by this section shall take effect 180 days after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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