I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 33 

To increase public safety by punishing and deterring firearms trafficking. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 3, 2019 

Mr. RUSH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To increase public safety by punishing and deterring firearms 

trafficking. 

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 Trafficking Prohi5 bition Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Anti-straw purchasing and firearms trafficking amendments. 

Sec. 4. Amendments to section 922(d). 

Sec. 5. Amendments to section 924(a). 

Sec. 6. Amendments to section 924(h). 

Sec. 7. Amendments to section 924(k). 


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1 SEC. 3. ANTI-STRAW PURCHASING AND FIREARMS TRAF2 FICKING AMENDMENTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 44 of title 18, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘§ 932. Straw purchasing of firearms 

7 ‘‘(a) For purposes of this section— 

8 ‘‘(1) the term ‘crime of violence’ has the mean9 ing given that term in section 924(c)(3); 

10 ‘‘(2) the term ‘drug trafficking crime’ has the 

11 meaning given that term in section 924(c)(2); and 

12 ‘‘(3) the term ‘purchases’ includes the receipt of 

13 any firearm by a person who does not own the fire14 arm— 

15 ‘‘(A) by way of pledge or pawn as security 

16 for the payment or repayment of money; or 

17 ‘‘(B) on consignment. 

18 ‘‘(b) It shall be unlawful for any person (other than 

19 a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed col20 lector, or licensed dealer) to knowingly purchase, or at21 tempt or conspire to purchase, any firearm in or otherwise 

22 affecting interstate or foreign commerce— 

23 ‘‘(1) from a licensed importer, licensed manu24 facturer, licensed collector, or licensed dealer for, on 

25 behalf of, or at the request or demand of any other 

26 person, known or unknown; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) from any person who is not a licensed im2 porter, licensed manufacturer, licensed collector, or 

3 licensed dealer for, on behalf of, or at the request or 

4 demand of any other person, known or unknown, 

5 knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that 

6 such other person— 

7 ‘‘(A) is under indictment for, or has been 

8 convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by 

9 imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year; 

10 ‘‘(B) is a fugitive from justice; 

11 ‘‘(C) is an unlawful user of or addicted to 

12 any controlled substance (as defined in section 

13 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 

14 U.S.C. 802)); 

15 ‘‘(D) has been adjudicated as a mental de16 fective or has been committed to any mental in17 stitution; 

18 ‘‘(E) is an alien who— 

19 ‘‘(i) is illegally or unlawfully in the 

20 United States; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) except as provided in section 

22 922(y)(2), has been admitted to the United 

23 States under a nonimmigrant visa (as that 

24 term is defined in section 101(a)(26) of 


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1 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

2 U.S.C. 1101(a)(26))); 

3 ‘‘(F) has been discharged from the Armed 

4 Forces under dishonorable conditions; 

5 ‘‘(G) having been a citizen of the United 

6 States, has renounced his or her citizenship; 

7 ‘‘(H) is subject to a court order that re8 strains such person from harassing, stalking, or 

9 threatening an intimate partner of such person 

10 or child of such intimate partner or person, or 

11 engaging in other conduct that would place an 

12 intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily in13 jury to the partner or child, except that this 

14 subparagraph shall only apply to a court order 

15 that— 

16 ‘‘(i) was issued after a hearing of 

17 which such person received actual notice, 

18 and at which such person had the oppor19 tunity to participate; and 

20 ‘‘(ii)(I) includes a finding that such 

21 person represents a credible threat to the 

22 physical safety of such intimate partner or 

23 child; or 

24 ‘‘(II) by its terms explicitly prohibits 

25 the use, attempted use, or threatened use 


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1 of physical force against such intimate 

2 partner or child that would reasonably be 

3 expected to cause bodily injury; 

4 ‘‘(I) has been convicted in any court of a 

5 misdemeanor crime of domestic violence; 

6 ‘‘(J) intends to— 

7 ‘‘(i) use, carry, possess, or sell or oth8 erwise dispose of the firearm or ammuni9 tion in furtherance of a crime of violence 

10 or drug trafficking crime; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) export the firearm or ammuni12 tion in violation of law; 

13 ‘‘(K) who does not reside in any State; or 

14 ‘‘(L) intends to sell or otherwise dispose of 

15 the firearm or ammunition to a person de16 scribed in any of subparagraphs (A) through 

17 (K). 

18 ‘‘(c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), any per19 son who violates subsection (b) shall be fined under this 

20 title, imprisoned for not more than 15 years, or both. 

21 ‘‘(2) If a violation of subsection (b) is committed 

22 knowing or with reasonable cause to believe that any fire23 arm involved will be used to commit a crime of violence, 

24 the person shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment 

25 of not more than 25 years. 


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1 ‘‘(d) Subsection (b)(1) shall not apply to any firearm 

2 that is lawfully purchased by a person— 

3 ‘‘(1) to be given as a bona fide gift to a recipi4 ent who provided no service or tangible thing of 

5 value to acquire the firearm, unless the person 

6 knows or has reasonable cause to believe such recipi7 ent is prohibited by Federal law from possessing, re8 ceiving, selling, shipping, transporting, transferring, 

9 or otherwise disposing of the firearm; or 

10 ‘‘(2) to be given to a bona fide winner of an or11 ganized raffle, contest, or auction conducted in ac12 cordance with law and sponsored by a national, 

13 State, or local organization or association, unless the 

14 person knows or has reasonable cause to believe such 

15 recipient is prohibited by Federal law from pos16 sessing, purchasing, receiving, selling, shipping, 

17 transporting, transferring, or otherwise disposing of 

18 the firearm. 

19 ‘‘§ 933. Trafficking in firearms 

20 ‘‘(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to— 

21 ‘‘(1) ship, transport, transfer, cause to be 

22 transported, or otherwise dispose of 2 or more fire23 arms to another person in or otherwise affecting 

24 interstate or foreign commerce, if the transferor 

25 knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the 


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1 use, carrying, or possession of a firearm by the 

2 transferee would be in violation of, or would result 

3 in a violation of, any Federal law punishable by a 

4 term of imprisonment exceeding 1 year; 

5 ‘‘(2) receive from another person 2 or more 

6 firearms in or otherwise affecting interstate or for7 eign commerce, if the recipient knows or has reason8 able cause to believe that such receipt would be in 

9 violation of, or would result in a violation of, any 

10 Federal law punishable by a term of imprisonment 

11 exceeding 1 year; or 

12 ‘‘(3) attempt or conspire to commit the conduct 

13 described in paragraph (1) or (2). 

14 ‘‘(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), any per15 son who violates subsection (a) shall be fined under this 

16 title, imprisoned for not more than 15 years, or both. 

17 ‘‘(2) If a violation of subsection (a) is committed by 

18 a person in concert with 5 or more other persons with 

19 respect to whom such person occupies a position of orga20 nizer, leader, supervisor, or manager, the person shall be 

21 sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than 

22 25 years. 


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1 ‘‘§ 934. Forfeiture and fines 

2 ‘‘(a)(1) Any person convicted of a violation of section 

3 932 or 933 shall forfeit to the United States, irrespective 

4 of any provision of State law— 

5 ‘‘(A) any property constituting, or derived from, 

6 any proceeds the person obtained, directly or indi7 rectly, as the result of such violation; and 

8 ‘‘(B) any of the person’s property used, or in9 tended to be used, in any manner or part, to com10 mit, or to facilitate the commission of, such viola11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(2) The court, in imposing sentence on a person con13 victed of a violation of section 932 or 933, shall order, 

14 in addition to any other sentence imposed pursuant to sec15 tion 932 or 933, that the person forfeit to the United 

16 States all property described in paragraph (1). 

17 ‘‘(b) A defendant who derives profits or other pro18 ceeds from an offense under section 932 or 933 may be 

19 fined not more than the greater of— 

20 ‘‘(1) the fine otherwise authorized by this part; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(2) the amount equal to twice the gross profits 

23 or other proceeds of the offense under section 932 

24 or 933.’’. 


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1 (b) TITLE III AUTHORIZATION.—Section 2516(1)(n) 

2 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking 

3 ‘‘and 924’’ and inserting ‘‘, 924, 932, or 933’’. 

4 (c) RACKETEERING AMENDMENT.—Section 

5 1961(1)(B) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

6 by inserting ‘‘section 932 (relating to straw purchasing), 

7 section 933 (relating to trafficking in firearms),’’ before 

8 ‘‘section 1028’’. 

9 (d) MONEY LAUNDERING AMENDMENT.—Section 

10 1956(c)(7)(D) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

11 by striking ‘‘section 924(n)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

12 924(n), 932, or 933’’. 

13 (e) DIRECTIVE TO SENTENCING COMMISSION.—Pur14 suant to its authority under section 994 of title 28, United 

15 States Code, and in accordance with this section, the 

16 United States Sentencing Commission shall review and 

17 amend its guidelines and policy statements to ensure that 

18 persons convicted of an offense under section 932 or 933 

19 of title 18, United States Code, and other offenses applica20 ble to the straw purchases and firearms trafficking of fire21 arms are subject to increased penalties in comparison to 

22 those currently provided by the guidelines and policy state23 ments for such straw purchasing and firearms trafficking 

24 offenses. The Commission shall also review and amend its 

25 guidelines and policy statements to reflect the intent of 


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1 Congress that a person convicted of an offense under sec2 tion 932 or 933 of title 18, United States Code, who is 

3 affiliated with a gang, cartel, organized crime ring, or 

4 other such enterprise should be subject to higher penalties 

5 than an otherwise unaffiliated individual. 

6 (f) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

7 The table of sections of chapter 44 of title 18, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

‘‘932. Straw purchasing of firearms. 

‘‘933. Trafficking in firearms. 

‘‘934. Forfeiture and fines.’’. 

10 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 922(d). 

11 Section 922(d) of title 18, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

14 end; 

15 (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at 

16 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

17 (3) by striking the matter following paragraph 

18 (9) and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(10) intends to sell or otherwise dispose of the 

20 firearm or ammunition to a person described in any 

21 of paragraphs (1) through (9); or 

22 ‘‘(11) intends to sell or otherwise dispose of the 

23 firearm or ammunition in furtherance of a crime of 


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1 violence or drug trafficking offense or to export the 

2 firearm or ammunition in violation of law. 

3 This subsection shall not apply with respect to the sale 

4 or disposition of a firearm or ammunition to a licensed 

5 importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or li6 censed collector who pursuant to subsection (b) of section 

7 925 is not precluded from dealing in firearms or ammuni8 tion, or to a person who has been granted relief from dis9 abilities pursuant to subsection (c) of section 925.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 924(a). 

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

12 amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘(d), (g),’’; 

14 and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(8) Whoever knowingly violates subsection (d) or (g) 

17 of section 922 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned 

18 not more than 15 years, or both.’’. 

19 SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 924(h). 

20 Section 924 of title 18, United States Code, is 

21 amended by striking subsection (h) and inserting the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(h)(1) Whoever knowingly receives or transfers a 

24 firearm or ammunition, or attempts or conspires to do so, 

25 knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that such 


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1 firearm or ammunition will be used to commit a crime of 

2 violence (as defined in subsection (c)(3)), a drug traf3 ficking crime (as defined in subsection (c)(2)), or a crime 

4 under the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et 

5 seq.), the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 

6 (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin 

7 Designation Act (21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), or section 

8 212(a)(2)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

9 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(C)) shall be imprisoned not more than 

10 25 years, fined in accordance with this title, or both. 

11 ‘‘(2) No term of imprisonment imposed on a person 

12 under this subsection shall run concurrently with any term 

13 of imprisonment imposed on the person under section 

14 932.’’. 

15 SEC. 7. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 924(k). 

16 Section 924 of title 18, United States Code, is 

17 amended by striking subsection (k) and inserting the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(k)(1) A person who, with intent to engage in or 

20 to promote conduct that— 

21 ‘‘(A) is punishable under the Controlled Sub22 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), the Controlled 

23 Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 951 

24 et seq.), or chapter 705 of title 46; 


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1 ‘‘(B) violates any law of a State relating to any 

2 controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of 

3 the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 802); or 

4 ‘‘(C) constitutes a crime of violence (as defined 

5 in subsection (c)(3)), 

6 smuggles or knowingly brings into the United States, a 

7 firearm or ammunition, or attempts or conspires to do so, 

8 shall be imprisoned not more than 15 years, fined under 

9 this title, or both. 

10 ‘‘(2) A person who, with intent to engage in or to 

11 promote conduct that— 

12 ‘‘(A) would be punishable under the Controlled 

13 Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), the Con14 trolled Substances Import and Export Act (21 

15 U.S.C. 951 et seq.), or chapter 705 of title 46, if the 

16 conduct had occurred within the United States; or 

17 ‘‘(B) would constitute a crime of violence (as 

18 defined in subsection (c)(3)) for which the person 

19 may be prosecuted in a court of the United States, 

20 if the conduct had occurred within the United 

21 States, 

22 smuggles or knowingly takes out of the United States, a 

23 firearm or ammunition, or attempts or conspires to do so, 


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1 shall be imprisoned not more than 15 years, fined under 

2 this title, or both.’’. 

Æ 


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