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Union Calendar No. 3 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 8 

[Report No. 116–11] 

To require a background check for every firearm sale. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2019 

Mr. THOMPSON of California (for himself, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. NADLER, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. MAST, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. UPTON, Mrs. MCBATH, and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

FEBRUARY 22, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Mr. PETERS, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Ms. 

BONAMICI, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. KEATING, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, 

Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. DEAN, Mr. LEVIN of 

California, Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, 

Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Ms. JOHNSON of 

Texas, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. ROUDA, Ms. SHALALA, Ms. WASSERMAN

SCHULTZ, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Ms. FRANKEL, 

Mr. SOTO, Ms. OMAR, Ms. WEXTON, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. 

CROW, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. 

LYNCH, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. 

GARCIA of Texas, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. 

BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. SHERRILL, Ms. 

SCHRIER, Mr. STANTON, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. 

VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. BEYER, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Miss RICE of 

New York, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. TITUS, Mr. 

LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. PERLMUTTER, 

Ms. LEE of California, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, 

Mr. SERRANO, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. 

ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. HIMES, 

Ms. SCANLON, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. HIGGINS of New 

York, Mr. SIRES, Ms. WILD, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Ms. MOORE, 


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Mr. CONNOLLY, Mrs. LOWEY, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. 

HILL of California, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. 

MOULTON, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. MENG, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. RUSH, Mr. LEVIN

of Michigan, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. COHEN, Ms. 

DELAURO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. WELCH, Mr. COOPER, Ms. 

MCCOLLUM, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. VELA, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. 

EVANS, Mr. RYAN, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mrs. 

NAPOLITANO, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. RICHMOND, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. CORREA, 

Mr. ROSE of New York, Mrs. MURPHY, Mr. PAPPAS, Ms. GABBARD, Mr. 

TONKO, Mr. TRONE, Ms. PORTER, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. 

CRIST, Mr. MCEACHIN, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. KILMER, Ms. MATSUI, 

Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. HOYER, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, 

Ms. ESHOO, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. CASTEN of 

Illinois, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. LUJA ́N, 

Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. KIM, Mr. PRICE

of North Carolina, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. 

KENNEDY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. MCGOVERN, 

Mrs. LURIA, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. WATERS, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. 

ALLRED, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. AGUILAR, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. 

BERA, Mr. VAN DREW, Ms. PLASKETT, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. HARDER of 

California, Ms. FUDGE, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. DANNY

K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. SPANBERGER, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. LAMB, 

Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD, Mrs. CRAIG, Mr. NEAL, Mr. HECK, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Mr. COSTA, Ms. 

BARRAGA ́N, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. COX of California, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. 

GREEN of Texas, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. GOMEZ, Ms. 

JAYAPAL, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. LOEBSACK, 

Mr. DELGADO, Mr. CASE, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. BASS, Ms. 

DAVIDS of Kansas, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mrs. AXNE, Mrs. FLETCHER, 

Mr. SABLAN, Ms. SLOTKIN, Ms. FINKENAUER, Mr. SCHRADER, and Mr. 

CUNNINGHAM

FEBRUARY 22, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 8, 2019] 

A BILL 

To require a background check for every firearm sale. 


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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 ‘‘Bipartisan Background 

5 Checks Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to utilize the current back8 ground checks process in the United States to ensure indi9 viduals prohibited from gun possession are not able to ob10 tain firearms. 

11 SEC. 3. FIREARMS TRANSFERS. 

12 Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amend13 ed— 

14 (1) by striking subsection (s); 

15 (2) by redesignating subsection (t) as subsection 

16 (s); and 

17 (3) by inserting after subsection (s), as redesig18 nated, the following: 

19 ‘‘(t)(1)(A) It shall be unlawful for any person who is 

20 not a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed 

21 dealer to transfer a firearm to any other person who is not 

22 so licensed, unless a licensed importer, licensed manufac23 turer, or licensed dealer has first taken possession of the 

24 firearm for the purpose of complying with subsection (s). 


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1 ‘‘(B) Upon taking possession of a firearm under sub2 paragraph (A), a licensee shall comply with all require3 ments of this chapter as if the licensee were transferring 

4 the firearm from the inventory of the licensee to the unli5 censed transferee. 

6 ‘‘(C) If a transfer of a firearm described in subpara7 graph (A) will not be completed for any reason after a li8 censee takes possession of the firearm (including because the 

9 transfer of the firearm to, or receipt of the firearm by, the 

10 transferee would violate this chapter), the return of the fire11 arm to the transferor by the licensee shall not constitute 

12 the transfer of a firearm for purposes of this chapter. 

13 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to— 

14 ‘‘(A) a law enforcement agency or any law en15 forcement officer, armed private security professional, 

16 or member of the armed forces, to the extent the offi17 cer, professional, or member is acting within the 

18 course and scope of employment and official duties; 

19 ‘‘(B) a transfer that is a loan or bona fide gift 

20 between spouses, between domestic partners, between 

21 parents and their children, between siblings, between 

22 aunts or uncles and their nieces or nephews, or be23 tween grandparents and their grandchildren; 

24 ‘‘(C) a transfer to an executor, administrator, 

25 trustee, or personal representative of an estate or a 


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1 trust that occurs by operation of law upon the death 

2 of another person; 

3 ‘‘(D) a temporary transfer that is necessary to 

4 prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, if the 

5 possession by the transferee lasts only as long as im6 mediately necessary to prevent the imminent death or 

7 great bodily harm; 

8 ‘‘(E) a transfer that is approved by the Attorney 

9 General under section 5812 of the Internal Revenue 

10 Code of 1986; or 

11 ‘‘(F) a temporary transfer if the transferor has 

12 no reason to believe that the transferee will use or in13 tends to use the firearm in a crime or is prohibited 

14 from possessing firearms under State or Federal law, 

15 and the transfer takes place and the transferee’s pos16 session of the firearm is exclusively— 

17 ‘‘(i) at a shooting range or in a shooting 

18 gallery or other area designated for the purpose 

19 of target shooting; 

20 ‘‘(ii) while reasonably necessary for the pur21 poses of hunting, trapping, or fishing, if the 

22 transferor— 

23 ‘‘(I) has no reason to believe that the 

24 transferee intends to use the firearm in a 

25 place where it is illegal; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) has reason to believe that the 

2 transferee will comply with all licensing 

3 and permit requirements for such hunting, 

4 trapping, or fishing; or 

5 ‘‘(iii) while in the presence of the transferor. 

6 ‘‘(3)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

7 chapter, the Attorney General may implement this sub8 section with regulations. 

9 ‘‘(B) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 

10 may not include any provision requiring licensees to facili11 tate transfers in accordance with paragraph (1). 

12 ‘‘(C) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 

13 may not include any provision requiring persons not li14 censed under this chapter to keep records of background 

15 checks or firearms transfers. 

16 ‘‘(D) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 

17 may not include any provision placing a cap on the fee 

18 licensees may charge to facilitate transfers in accordance 

19 with paragraph (1). 

20 ‘‘(4) It shall be unlawful for a licensed importer, li21 censed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to transfer posses22 sion of, or title to, a firearm to another person who is not 

23 so licensed unless the importer, manufacturer, or dealer has 

24 provided such other person with a notice of the prohibition 

25 under paragraph (1), and such other person has certified 


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1 that such other person has been provided with this notice 

2 on a form prescribed by the Attorney General.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

4 (a) SECTION 922.—Section 922(y)(2) of title 18, 

5 United States Code, is amended in the matter preceding 

6 subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘, (g)(5)(B), and 

7 (s)(3)(B)(v)(II)’’ and inserting ‘‘and (g)(5)(B)’’. 

8 (b) CONSOLIDATED AND FURTHER CONTINUING AP9 PROPRIATIONS ACT, 2012.—Section 511 of title V of divi10 sion B of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appro11 priations Act, 2012 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is amended by 

12 striking ‘‘subsection 922(t)’’ each place it appears and in13 serting ‘‘subsection (s) or (t) of section 922’’. 

14 SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

15 Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by this 

16 Act, shall be construed to— 

17 (1) authorize the establishment, directly or indi18 rectly, of a national firearms registry; or 

19 (2) interfere with the authority of a State, under 

20 section 927 of title 18, United States Code, to enact 

21 a law on the same subject matter as this Act. 

22 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

23 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 210 

24 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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Union Calendar No. 3 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 8 

[Report No. 116–11] 

A BILL 

To require a background check for every firearm 

sale. 

FEBRUARY 22, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS