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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1400

To amend title 18, United States Code, to permanently prohibit the possession

of firearms by persons who have been convicted of a violent felony,

and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 6 (legislative day, JUNE 30), 1993

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself and Mr. SIMON) introduced the following bill;

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

A BILL

To amend title 18, United States Code, to permanently prohibit the possession of firearms by persons who have

been convicted of a violent felony, and for other purposes.

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 ‘‘Stop Arming Felons

5 (SAFe) Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. PERMANENT FIREARM PROHIBITION FOR CON2 VICTED VIOLENT FELONS AND SERIOUS

3 DRUG OFFENDERS.

4 Section 921(a)(20) of title 18, United States Code,

5 is amended—

6 (1) in the first sentence—

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(20)’’; and

8 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (A)

9 and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively;

10 (2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘What’’

11 and inserting the following:

12 ‘‘(B) What’’; and

13 (3) by striking the third sentence and inserting

14 the following new subparagraph:

15 ‘‘(C)(i) A conviction that has been expunged or set

16 aside, or for which a person has been pardoned or has

17 had civil rights restored, shall not be considered to be a

18 conviction for purposes of this chapter if—

19 ‘‘(I) the expungement, setting aside, pardon, or

20 restoration of civil rights applies to a named person;

21 and

22 ‘‘(II) the authority that grants the

23 expungement, setting aside, pardon, or restoration of

24 civil rights expressly authorizes the person to ship,

25 transport, receive, and possess firearms and ex26 pressly determines that the circumstances regarding
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1 the conviction and the person’s record and reputa2 tion are such that—

3 ‘‘(aa) the person is not likely to act in a

4 manner that is dangerous to public safety; and

5 ‘‘(bb) the granting of the relief is not con6 trary to the public interest.

7 ‘‘(ii) Clause (i) shall not apply to a conviction of a

8 serious drug offense (as defined in section 924(e)(2)(A))

9 or violent felony (as defined in section 924(e)(2)(B)).’’.

10 SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATIVE RELIEF FROM CERTAIN FIRE11 ARMS PROHIBITIONS.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 925(c) of title 18, United

13 States Code, is amended—

14 (1) in the first sentence by inserting ‘‘(other

15 than a natural person)’’ before ‘‘who is prohibited’’;

16 (2) by striking the second and third sentences;

17 (3) in the fourth sentence—

18 (A) by inserting ‘‘person (other than a nat19 ural person) who is a’’ before ‘‘licensed im20 porter’’; and

21 (B) by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the

22 person’s’’; and

23 (4) in the fifth sentence, by inserting ‘‘(i) the

24 name of the person, (ii) the disability with respect

25 to which the relief is granted, and, if the disability
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1 was imposed by reason of a criminal conviction of

2 the person, the crime for which and the court in

3 which the person was convicted, and (iii)’’ before

4 ‘‘the reasons therefor’’.

5 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub6 section (a) shall apply to—

7 (1) applications for administrative relief and ac8 tions for judicial review that are pending on the date

9 of enactment of this Act; and

10 (2) applications for administrative relief filed

11 and actions for judicial review brought after the date

12 of enactment of this Act.

13 SEC. 4. INCREASE IN PENALTIES FOR UNLAWFUL POSSES14 SION OF A FIREARM BY A CONVICTED FELON

15 OR OTHER PROHIBITED PERSON.

16 Section 924(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code, is

17 amended—

18 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘Whoever’’;

19 (2) by striking ‘‘(g),’’; and

20 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub21 paragraph:

22 ‘‘(B) Whoever knowingly violates subsection (g) of

23 section 922 shall be fined not more than $20,000, impris24 oned not more than 10 years, or both.’’.

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