II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1977 

To provide family members and close associates of an individual who they 

fear is a danger to himself, herself, or others new tools to prevent 

gun violence. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 5, 2015 

Mrs. BOXER (for herself and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide family members and close associates of an individual who they fear is a danger to himself, herself, 

or others new tools to prevent gun violence. 

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 Violence Interven5 tion Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 

8 (1) the term ‘‘close associate’’ means, with re9 spect to an individual— 


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1 (A) a dating partner, friend, co-worker, or 

2 neighbor of the individual; or 

3 (B) any other person who has a relation4 ship with the individual so as to be concerned 

5 about the safety and well-being of the indi6 vidual, as determined by a State; 

7 (2) the term ‘‘family member’’ means, with re8 spect to an individual, a spouse, child, parent, sib9 ling, grandchild, or grandparent of the individual; 

10 (3) the term ‘‘firearm’’ has the meaning given 

11 the term in section 921 of title 18, United States 

12 Code; 

13 (4) the term ‘‘gun violence prevention order’’ 

14 means a written order, issued by a State court or 

15 signed by a magistrate (or other comparable judicial 

16 officer), prohibiting a named individual from having 

17 under the custody or control of the individual, own18 ing, purchasing, possessing, or receiving any fire19 arms; 

20 (5) the term ‘‘gun violence prevention warrant’’ 

21 means a written order, issued by a State court or 

22 signed by a magistrate (or other comparable judicial 

23 officer), regarding an individual who is subject to a 

24 gun violence prevention order and who is known to 

25 own or possess 1 or more firearms, that directs a 


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1 law enforcement officer to temporarily seize and re2 tain any firearm in the possession of the individual; 

3 (6) the term ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ means 

4 a public servant authorized by State law or by a 

5 State government agency to engage in or supervise 

6 the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecu7 tion of an offense; and 

8 (7) the term ‘‘wellness check’’ means a visit 

9 conducted by a law enforcement officer to the resi10 dence of an individual for the purpose of assessing 

11 whether the individual poses a danger to the indi12 vidual or others due to a mental, behavioral, or 

13 physical condition. 

14 SEC. 3. NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION ORDER 

15 AND WARRANT LAW. 

16 (a) ENACTMENT OF GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION

17 ORDER LAW.—In order to receive a grant under section 

18 4, on the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment 

19 of this Act, each State shall have in effect legislation 

20 that— 

21 (1) authorizes a gun violence prevention order 

22 and gun violence prevention warrant in accordance 

23 with subsection (b); and 

24 (2) requires each law enforcement agency of the 

25 State to comply with subsection (c). 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR GUN VIOLENCE PREVEN2 TION ORDERS AND WARRANTS.—Legislation required 

3 under subsection (a) shall be subject to the following re4 quirements: 

5 (1) APPLICATION FOR GUN VIOLENCE PREVEN6 TION ORDER.—A family member or close associate 

7 of an individual may submit an application to a 

8 State court, on a form designed by the court, that— 

9 (A) describes the facts and circumstances 

10 necessitating that a gun violence prevention 

11 order be issued against the named individual; 

12 (B) is signed by the applicant, under oath; 

13 and 

14 (C) includes any additional information re15 quired by the State court or magistrate (or 

16 other comparable judicial officer) to dem17 onstrate that possession of a firearm by the 

18 named individual poses a significant risk of per19 sonal injury to the named individual or others. 

20 (2) EXAMINATION OF APPLICANT AND WIT21 NESSES.—A State court or magistrate (or other 

22 comparable judicial officer) may, before issuing a 

23 gun violence prevention order— 


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1 (A) examine under oath, the individual 

2 who applied for the order under paragraph (1) 

3 and any witnesses the individual produces; and 

4 (B)(i) require that the individual or any 

5 witness submit a signed affidavit, which de6 scribes the facts the applicant or witness be7 lieves establish the grounds of the application; 

8 or 

9 (ii) take an oral statement from the indi10 vidual or witness under oath. 

11 (3) STANDARD FOR ISSUANCE OF ORDER.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State court or mag13 istrate (or other comparable judicial officer) 

14 may issue a gun violence prevention order only 

15 upon a finding of probable cause that posses16 sion of a firearm by the named individual poses 

17 a significant risk of personal injury to the 

18 named individual or others. 

19 (B) NOTIFICATION.— 

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—The court shall no21 tify the Department of Justice and com22 parable State agency of the gun violence 

23 prevention order not later than 2 court 

24 days after issuing the order. The court 

25 shall also notify the Department of Justice 


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1 and comparable State agency of any order 

2 restoring the ability of the individual to 

3 own or possess firearms not later than 2 

4 court days after issuing the order to re5 store the individual’s right to own or pos6 sess any type of firearm that may be law7 fully owned and possessed. Such notice 

8 shall be submitted in an electronic format, 

9 in a manner prescribed by the Department 

10 of Justice and the comparable State agen11 cy. 

12 (ii) UPDATE OF DATABASES.—As 

13 soon as practicable after receiving a notifi14 cation under clause (i), the Department of 

15 Justice and comparable State agency shall 

16 update the background check databases of 

17 the Department and agency, respectively, 

18 to reflect the prohibitions articulated in the 

19 gun violence prevention order. 

20 (4) ISSUANCE OF GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION

21 WARRANT.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—After issuing a gun vio23 lence prevention order, a State court or mag24 istrate (or other comparable judicial officer) 

25 shall, upon a finding of probable cause to beVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 12, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1977.IS S1977

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1 lieve that the named individual subject to the 

2 order has a firearm in his custody or control, 

3 issue a gun violence prevention warrant order4 ing the temporary seizure of all firearms speci5 fied in the warrant. 

6 (B) REQUIREMENT.—Subject to paragraph 

7 (6), a gun violence prevention warrant issued 

8 under subparagraph (A) shall require that any 

9 firearm described in the warrant be taken from 

10 any place, or from any individual in whose pos11 session, the firearm may be. 

12 (5) SERVICE OF GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION

13 ORDER.—When serving a gun violence prevention 

14 order, a law enforcement officer shall provide the in15 dividual with a form to request a hearing in accord16 ance with paragraph (6)(F). 

17 (6) TEMPORARY SEIZURE OF FIREARMS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—When a law enforce19 ment officer takes property under a gun vio20 lence prevention warrant, the law enforcement 

21 officer shall give a receipt for the property 

22 taken, specifying the property in detail, to the 

23 individual from whom it was taken. In the ab24 sence of a person, the law enforcement officer 


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1 shall leave the receipt in the place where the 

2 law enforcement officer found the property. 

3 (B) TEMPORARY CUSTODY OF SEIZED

4 FIREARMS.—All firearms seized pursuant to a 

5 gun violence prevention warrant shall be re6 tained by the law enforcement officer or the law 

7 enforcement agency in custody, subject to the 

8 order of the court that issued the warrant or to 

9 any other court in which an offense with re10 spect to the firearm is triable. 

11 (C) LIMITATION ON SEIZURE OF FIRE12 ARMS.—If the location to be searched during 

13 the execution of a gun violence prevention war14 rant is jointly occupied by multiple parties and 

15 a firearm is located during the execution of the 

16 seizure warrant, and it is determined that the 

17 firearm is owned by an individual other than 

18 the individual named in the gun violence pre19 vention warrant, the firearm may not be seized 

20 if— 

21 (i) the firearm is stored in a manner 

22 that the individual named in the gun vio23 lence prevention warrant does not have ac24 cess to or control of the firearm; and 


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1 (ii) there is no evidence of unlawful 

2 possession of the firearm by the owner. 

3 (D) GUN SAFE.—If the location to be 

4 searched during the execution of a gun violence 

5 prevention warrant is jointly occupied by mul6 tiple parties and a gun safe is located, and it 

7 is determined that the gun safe is owned by an 

8 individual other than the individual named in 

9 the gun violence prevention warrant, the con10 tents of the gun safe shall not be searched ex11 cept in the owner’s presence, or with the own12 er’s consent, or unless a valid search warrant 

13 has been obtained. 

14 (E) RETURN OF FIREARM TO RIGHTFUL

15 OWNER.—If any individual who is not a named 

16 individual in a gun violence prevention warrant 

17 claims title to a firearm seized pursuant to a 

18 gun violence prevention warrant, the firearm 

19 shall be returned to the lawful owner not later 

20 than 30 days after the date on which the title 

21 is claimed. 

22 (F) RIGHT TO REQUEST A HEARING.—A 

23 named individual may submit 1 written request 

24 at any time during the effective period of a gun 

25 violence prevention order issued against the inVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 12, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1977.IS S1977

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1 dividual for a hearing for an order allowing the 

2 individual to own, possess, purchase, or receive 

3 a firearm. 

4 (7) HEARING ON GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION

5 ORDER AND GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION WAR6 RANT.— 

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

8 subparagraph (E), not later than 14 days after 

9 the date on which a gun violence prevention 

10 order and, when applicable, a gun violence pre11 vention warrant, is issued, the court that issued 

12 the order and, when applicable, the warrant, or 

13 another court in that same jurisdiction, shall 

14 hold a hearing to determine whether the indi15 vidual who is the subject of the order may have 

16 under the custody or control of the individual, 

17 own, purchase, possess, or receive firearms and, 

18 when applicable, whether any seized firearms 

19 should be returned to the individual named in 

20 the warrant. 

21 (B) NOTICE.—The individual named in a 

22 gun violence prevention order requested to be 

23 renewed under subparagraph (A) shall be given 

24 written notice and an opportunity to be heard 

25 on the matter. 


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1 (C) BURDEN OF PROOF.— 

2 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

3 in clause (ii), at any hearing conducted 

4 under subparagraph (A), the State or peti5 tioner shall have the burden of establishing 

6 probable cause that the individual poses a 

7 significant risk of personal injury to the in8 dividual or others by owning or possessing 

9 the firearm. 

10 (ii) HIGHER BURDEN OF PROOF.—A 

11 State may establish a burden of proof for 

12 hearings conducted under subparagraph 

13 (A) that is higher than the burden of proof 

14 required under clause (i). 

15 (D) REQUIREMENTS UPON FINDING OF

16 SIGNIFICANT RISK.—If the named individual is 

17 found at the hearing to pose a significant risk 

18 of personal injury to the named individual or 

19 others by owning or possessing a firearm, the 

20 following shall apply: 

21 (i) The firearm or firearms seized 

22 pursuant to the warrant shall be retained 

23 by the law enforcement agency for a period 

24 not to exceed 1 year. 


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1 (ii) The named individual shall be 

2 prohibited from owning or possessing, pur3 chasing or receiving, or attempting to pur4 chase or receive a firearm for a period not 

5 to exceed 1 year, a violation of which shall 

6 be considered a misdemeanor offense. 

7 (iii) The court shall notify the Depart8 ment of Justice and comparable State 

9 agency of the gun violence prevention order 

10 not later than 2 court days after issuing 

11 the order. The court shall also notify the 

12 Department of Justice and comparable 

13 State agency of any order restoring the 

14 ability of the individual to own or possess 

15 firearms not later than 2 court days after 

16 issuing the order to restore the individual’s 

17 right to own or possess any type of firearm 

18 that may be lawfully owned and possessed. 

19 Such notice shall be submitted in an elec20 tronic format, in a manner prescribed by 

21 the Department of Justice and the com22 parable State agency. 

23 (iv) As soon as practicable after re24 ceiving a notification under clause (iii), the 

25 Department of Justice and comparable 


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1 State agency shall update the background 

2 check databases of the Department and 

3 agency, respectively, to reflect— 

4 (I) the prohibitions articulated in 

5 the gun violence prevention order; or 

6 (II) an order issued to restore an 

7 individual’s right to own or possess a 

8 firearm. 

9 (E) RETURN OF FIREARMS.—If the court 

10 finds that the State has not met the required 

11 standard of proof, any firearm seized pursuant 

12 to the warrant shall be returned to the named 

13 individual not later than 30 days after the hear14 ing. 

15 (F) LIMITATION ON HEARING REQUIRE16 MENT.—If an individual named in a gun vio17 lence prevention warrant is prohibited from 

18 owning or possessing a firearm for a period of 

19 1 year or more by another provision of State or 

20 Federal law, a hearing pursuant to subpara21 graph (A) is not required and the court shall 

22 issue an order to hold the firearm until either 

23 the individual is no longer prohibited from own24 ing a firearm or the individual sells or transfers 


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1 ownership of the firearm to a licensed firearm 

2 dealer. 

3 (8) RENEWING GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION

4 ORDER AND GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION WAR5 RANT.— 

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

7 subparagraph (E), if a law enforcement agency 

8 has probable cause to believe that an individual 

9 who is subject to a gun violence prevention 

10 order continues to pose a significant risk of per11 sonal injury to the named individual or others 

12 by possessing a firearm, the agency may initiate 

13 a request for a renewal of the order, on a form 

14 designed by the court, describing the facts and 

15 circumstances necessitating the request. 

16 (B) NOTICE.—The individual named in the 

17 gun violence prevention order requested to be 

18 renewed under subparagraph (A) shall be given 

19 written notice and an opportunity to be heard 

20 on the matter. 

21 (C) HEARING.—After notice is given under 

22 subparagraph (B), a hearing shall be held to 

23 determine if a request for renewal of the order 

24 shall be issued. 


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1 (D) ISSUANCE OF RENEWAL.—Except as 

2 provided in subparagraph (E), a State court 

3 may issue a renewal of a gun violence preven4 tion order if there is probable cause to believe 

5 that the individual who is subject to the order 

6 continues to pose a significant risk of personal 

7 injury to the named individual or others by pos8 sessing a firearm. 

9 (E) HIGHER BURDEN OF PROOF.—A State 

10 may establish a burden of proof for initiating a 

11 request for or issuing a renewal of a gun vio12 lence prevention order that is higher than the 

13 burden of proof required under subparagraph 

14 (A) or (D). 

15 (F) NOTIFICATION.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—The court shall no17 tify the Department of Justice and com18 parable State agency of a renewal of the 

19 gun violence prevention order not later 

20 than 2 court days after renewing the order. 

21 The court shall also notify the Department 

22 of Justice and comparable State agency of 

23 any order restoring the ability of the indi24 vidual to own or possess firearms not later 

25 than 2 court days after issuing the order 


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1 to restore the individual’s right to own or 

2 possess any type of firearm that may be 

3 lawfully owned and possessed. Such notice 

4 shall be submitted in an electronic format, 

5 in a manner prescribed by the Department 

6 of Justice and the comparable State agen7 cy. 

8 (ii) UPDATE OF DATABASES.—As 

9 soon as practicable after receiving a notifi10 cation under clause (i), the Department of 

11 Justice and comparable State agency shall 

12 update the background check databases of 

13 the Department and agency, respectively, 

14 to reflect— 

15 (I) the prohibitions articulated in 

16 the renewal of the gun violence pre17 vention order; or 

18 (II) an order issued to restore an 

19 individual’s right to own or possess a 

20 firearm. 

21 (c) LAW ENFORCEMENT CHECK OF STATE FIREARM

22 DATABASE.—Each law enforcement agency of the State 

23 shall establish a procedure that requires a law enforcement 

24 officer to, in conjunction with performing a wellness check 

25 on an individual, check whether the individual is listed on 


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1 any of the firearm and ammunition databases of the State 

2 or jurisdiction in which the individual resides. 

3 (d) CONFIDENTIALITY PROTECTIONS.—All informa4 tion provided to the Department of Justice and com5 parable State agency pursuant to legislation required 

6 under subsection (a) shall be kept confidential, separate, 

7 and apart from all other records maintained by the De8 partment of Justice and comparable State agency. 

9 SEC. 4. GUN VIOLENCE INTERVENTION GRANT PROGRAM. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

11 Community Oriented Policing Services of the Department 

12 of Justice may make grants to an eligible State to assist 

13 the State in carrying out the provisions of the State legis14 lation described in section 3. 

15 (b) ELIGIBLE STATE.—A State shall be eligible to re16 ceive grants under this section on and after the date on 

17 which— 

18 (1) the State enacts legislation described in sec19 tion 3; and 

20 (2) the Attorney General determines that the 

21 legislation of the State described in paragraph (1) 

22 complies with the requirements of section 3. 

23 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds awarded under this sec24 tion may be used by a State to assist law enforcement 


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1 agencies or the courts of the State in carrying out the 

2 provisions of the State legislation described in section 3. 

3 (d) APPLICATION.—An eligible State desiring a grant 

4 under this section shall submit to the Director of the Of5 fice of Community Oriented Policing Services an applica6 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing or ac7 companied by such information, as the Director may rea8 sonably require. 

9 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec11 essary to carry out this section. 

12 SEC. 5. FEDERAL FIREARMS PROHIBITION. 

13 Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (d)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (8)(B)(ii), by striking 

17 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

18 (B) in paragraph (9), by striking the pe19 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

20 (C) by inserting after paragraph (9) the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(10) is subject to a court order that prohibits 

23 such person from having under the custody or con24 trol of the person, owning, purchasing, possessing, 

25 or receiving any firearms.’’; and 


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1 (2) in subsection (g)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (8)(C)(ii), by striking 

3 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

4 (B) in paragraph (9), by striking the 

5 comma at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

6 (C) by inserting after paragraph (9) the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(10) who is subject to a court order that pro9 hibits such person from having under the custody or 

10 control of the person, owning, purchasing, pos11 sessing, or receiving any firearms,’’. 

12 SEC. 6. FULL FAITH AND CREDIT. 

13 Any gun violence prevention order issued under a 

14 State law enacted in accordance with this Act shall have 

15 the same full faith and credit in every court within the 

16 United States as they have by law or usage in the courts 

17 of such State from which they are issued. 

18 SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY. 

19 If any provision of this Act, or an amendment made 

20 by this Act, or the application of such provision to any 

21 person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remain22 der of this Act, or an amendment made by this Act, or 

23 the application of such provision to other persons or cir24 cumstances, shall not be affected. 

Æ 


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