II 

Calendar No. 29 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 8 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 

Received; read the first time 

MARCH 4, 2019 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

To require a background check for every firearm sale. 

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 Back5 ground 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. 


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1 SEC. 3. FIREARMS TRANSFERS. 

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

3 amended— 

4 (1) by striking subsection (s); 

5 (2) by redesignating subsection (t) as sub6 section (s); and 

7 (3) by inserting after subsection (s), as redesig8 nated, the following: 

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

10 is not a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or li11 censed dealer to transfer a firearm to any other person 

12 who is not so licensed, unless a licensed importer, licensed 

13 manufacturer, or licensed dealer has first taken possession 

14 of the firearm for the purpose of complying with sub15 section (s). 

16 ‘‘(B) Upon taking possession of a firearm under sub17 paragraph (A), a licensee shall comply with all require18 ments of this chapter as if the licensee were transferring 

19 the firearm from the inventory of the licensee to the unli20 censed transferee. 

21 ‘‘(C) If a transfer of a firearm described in subpara22 graph (A) will not be completed for any reason after a 

23 licensee takes possession of the firearm (including because 

24 the transfer of the firearm to, or receipt of the firearm 

25 by, the transferee would violate this chapter), the return 

26 of the firearm to the transferor by the licensee shall not 


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1 constitute the transfer of a firearm for purposes of this 

2 chapter. 

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

4 ‘‘(A) a law enforcement agency or any law en5 forcement officer, armed private security profes6 sional, or member of the armed forces, to the extent 

7 the officer, professional, or member is acting within 

8 the course and scope of employment and official du9 ties; 

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

11 between spouses, between domestic partners, be12 tween parents and their children, including step-par13 ents and their step-children, between siblings, be14 tween aunts or uncles and their nieces or nephews, 

15 or between grandparents and their grandchildren, if 

16 the transferor has no reason to believe that the 

17 transferee will use or intends to use the firearm in 

18 a crime or is prohibited from possessing firearms 

19 under State or Federal law; 

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

21 trustee, or personal representative of an estate or a 

22 trust that occurs by operation of law upon the death 

23 of another person; 

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

25 prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:29 Mar 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8.PCS H8

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1 cluding harm to self, family, household members, or 

2 others, if the possession by the transferee lasts only 

3 as long as immediately necessary to prevent the im4 minent death or great bodily harm, including the 

5 harm of domestic violence, dating partner violence, 

6 sexual assault, stalking, and domestic abuse; 

7 ‘‘(E) a transfer that is approved by the Attor8 ney General under section 5812 of the Internal Rev9 enue Code of 1986; or 

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

11 no reason to believe that the transferee will use or 

12 intends to use the firearm in a crime or is prohibited 

13 from possessing firearms under State or Federal 

14 law, and the transfer takes place and the trans15 feree’s possession of the firearm is exclusively— 

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

17 gallery or other area designated for the purpose 

18 of target shooting; 

19 ‘‘(ii) while reasonably necessary for the 

20 purposes of hunting, trapping, or fishing, if the 

21 transferor— 

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

23 transferee intends to use the firearm in a 

24 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 trans6 feror. 

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

8 chapter, the Attorney General may implement this sub9 section with regulations. 

10 ‘‘(B) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 

11 may not include any provision requiring licensees to facili12 tate transfers in accordance with paragraph (1). 

13 ‘‘(C) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 

14 may not include any provision requiring persons not li15 censed under this chapter to keep records of background 

16 checks or firearms transfers. 

17 ‘‘(D) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 

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

19 licensees may charge to facilitate transfers in accordance 

20 with paragraph (1). 

21 ‘‘(E) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 

22 shall include, in the case of a background check conducted 

23 by the national instant criminal background check system 

24 in response to a contact from a licensed importer, licensed 

25 manufacturer, or licensed dealer, which background check 


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1 indicates that the receipt of a firearm by a person would 

2 violate subsection (g)(5), a requirement that the system 

3 notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

4 ‘‘(4) It shall be unlawful for a licensed importer, li5 censed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to transfer posses6 sion of, or title to, a firearm to another person who is 

7 not so licensed unless the importer, manufacturer, or deal8 er has provided such other person with a notice of the 

9 prohibition under paragraph (1), and such other person 

10 has certified that such other person has been provided 

11 with this notice on a form prescribed by the Attorney Gen12 eral.’’. 

13 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

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

15 United States Code, is amended in the matter preceding 

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

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

18 (b) CONSOLIDATED AND FURTHER CONTINUING AP19 PROPRIATIONS ACT, 2012.—Section 511 of title V of divi20 sion B of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appro21 priations Act, 2012 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is amended by 

22 striking ‘‘subsection 922(t)’’ each place it appears and in23 serting ‘‘subsection (s) or (t) of section 922’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

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

3 Act, shall be construed to— 

4 (1) authorize the establishment, directly or indi5 rectly, of a national firearms registry; or 

6 (2) interfere with the authority of a State, 

7 under section 927 of title 18, United States Code, 

8 to enact a law on the same subject matter as this 

9 Act. 

10 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

11 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 

12 210 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 27, 

2019. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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Calendar No. 29 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 8 

AN ACT 

To require a background check for every firearm 

sale. 

MARCH 4, 2019 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS