I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 165 

To improve the safety of firearms. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2005 

Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To improve the safety of firearms. 

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 ‘‘Child Safety Lock Act 

5 of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that— 

8 (1) according to statistics from the Centers for 

9 Disease Control, more than 5,000 innocent children 

10 have lost their lives due to unintentional deaths re11 lated to firearms; 
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1 (2) between 1983 and 1994, 5,523 males rang2 ing in ages from 1 to 19, were killed by the uninten3 tional discharge of a firearm; 

4 (3) a Federal study found that ignorance and 

5 carelessness are the major causes of firearms acci6 dents; 

7 (4) 84 percent of firearms accidents involved 

8 people who did not follow basic safety rules; and 

9 (5) to help reduce the number of firearms acci10 dents, it is critical to practice and enforce firearms 

11 safety rules. 

12 TITLE I—CRIMINAL PROVISIONS 

13 SEC. 101. HANDGUN SAFETY. 

14 (a) DEFINITION OF LOCKING DEVICE.—Section 

15 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by add16 ing at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(36) The term ‘locking device’ means— 

18 ‘‘(A) a device which, if installed on a firearm 

19 and secured by means of a key or a mechanically, 

20 electronically, or electromechanically operated com21 bination lock, prevents the firearm from being dis22 charged without first deactivating or removing the 

23 device by means of a key or mechanically, electroni24 cally, or electromechanically operated combination 

25 lock; or 
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1 ‘‘(B) a locking mechanism incorporated into the 

2 design of a firearm which prevents discharge of the 

3 firearm by any person who does not have access to 

4 the key or other device designed to unlock the mech5 anism and thereby allow discharge of the firearm.’’. 

6 (b) UNLAWFUL ACTS.—Section 922 of such title is 

7 amended by inserting after subsection (y) the following: 

8 ‘‘(z) LOCKING DEVICES AND WARNINGS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (2), beginning 90 days after the date of the 

11 enactment of this subsection, it shall be unlawful for 

12 any licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or li13 censed dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer a handgun 

14 to any person, unless— 

15 ‘‘(A) the transferee is provided with a lock16 ing device for that handgun; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the handgun is accompanied by the 

18 following warning, which shall appear in con19 spicuous and legible type in capital letters, and 

20 which shall be printed on a label affixed to the 

21 handgun and on a separate sheet of paper in22 cluded in the packaging enclosing the handgun: 

23 ‘THE USE OF A LOCKING DEVICE 

24 OR SAFETY LOCK IS ONLY ONE ASPECT 

25 OF RESPONSIBLE FIREARM STORAGE. 
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1 HANDGUNS SHOULD BE STORED UN2 LOADED AND LOCKED IN A LOCATION 

3 THAT IS BOTH SEPARATE FROM THEIR 

4 AMMUNITION AND INACCESSIBLE TO 

5 CHILDREN. 

6 ‘FAILURE TO PROPERLY LOCK AND 

7 STORE YOUR HANDGUN MAY RESULT 

8 IN CIVIL OR CRIMINAL LIABILITY 

9 UNDER STATE LAW. FEDERAL LAW 

10 PROHIBITS THE POSSESSION OF A 

11 HANDGUN BY A MINOR IN MOST CIR12 CUMSTANCES.’ 

13 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

14 apply to the sale, delivery, or transfer of a handgun 

15 to— 

16 ‘‘(A) the United States or a department or 

17 agency of the United States, or a State or a de18 partment, agency, or political subdivision of a 

19 State; 

20 ‘‘(B) a law enforcement officer (whether on 

21 or off-duty) who is employed by an entity re22 ferred to in subparagraph (A), for law enforce23 ment purposes; or 

24 ‘‘(C) a rail police officer (whether on or 

25 off-duty) who is employed by a rail carrier and 
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1 is certified or commissioned as a police officer 

2 under the laws of a State, for law enforcement 

3 purposes.’’. 

4 (c) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 924 of such title is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘this sub7 section, subsection (b), (c), or (f) of this section,’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘this section’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(p) PENALTIES RELATING TO LOCKING DEVICES

11 AND WARNINGS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

13 ‘‘(A) SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OFLI14 CENSE; CIVIL PENALTIES.—With respect to 

15 each violation of section 922(z)(1) by a licensee, 

16 the Attorney General may, after notice and op17 portunity for hearing— 

18 ‘‘(i) suspend or revoke any license 

19 issued to the licensee under this chapter; 

20 or 

21 ‘‘(ii) impose a civil penalty on the li22 censee in an amount that is not more than 

23 $10,000. 
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1 ‘‘(B) REVIEW.—An action of the Attorney 

2 General under this paragraph may be reviewed 

3 only as provided in section 923(f). 

4 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES.—The taking 

5 of an action under paragraph (1) with respect to 

6 conduct of a licensee shall not affect the availability 

7 of any other administrative authority with respect to 

8 the conduct.’’. 

9 TITLE II—REGULATORY 

10 PROVISIONS 

11 SEC. 201. REGULATION OF TRIGGER LOCK DEVICES. 

12 (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Attorney General 

13 shall prescribe such regulations governing the design, 

14 manufacture, and performance of trigger lock devices, as 

15 are necessary to reduce or prevent the unintentional dis16 charge of handguns. 

17 (b) MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARD.—The regulations 

18 required by subsection (a) shall, at a minimum, set forth 

19 a minimum safety standard that trigger lock devices must 

20 meet in order to be manufactured, sold, transferred, or 

21 delivered consistent with this title. In developing the 

22 standard, the Attorney General shall give appropriate con23 sideration to trigger lock devices that are not detachable, 

24 but are permanently installed and incorporated into the 

25 design of a handgun. The standard shall include provisions 
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1 to ensure that any trigger lock device that meets the 

2 standard is of adequate quality and construction to pre3 vent children who have not attained 18 years of age from 

4 operating a handgun, and to ensure that such a product 

5 cannot be removed from a handgun except through the 

6 use of a key, combination, or other method of access pro7 vided in the design specifications of the manufacturer of 

8 the device. 

9 (c) DEADLINE FOR ISSUANCE OF STANDARD.—With10 in 12 months after the date of the enactment of this title, 

11 the Attorney General shall issue in final form the standard 

12 required by subsection (b). 

13 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE OF STANDARD.—The standard 

14 issued under subsection (b) shall take effect 6 months 

15 after the date of issuance. 

16 SEC. 202. ORDERS; INSPECTIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may issue 

18 an order prohibiting the manufacture, sale, transfer, or 

19 delivery of a trigger lock device which the Attorney Gen20 eral finds has been designed, or has been or is intended 

21 to be manufactured, transferred, or distributed in violation 

22 of this title or a regulation prescribed under this title. 

23 (b) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE THE RECALL, REPAIR, 

24 OR REPLACEMENT OF, OR THE PROVISION OF RE25 FUNDS.—The Attorney General may issue an order re-
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1 quiring the manufacturer of, and any dealer in, a trigger 

2 lock device which the Attorney General finds has been de3 signed, manufactured, transferred, or delivered in viola4 tion of this title or a regulation prescribed under this title, 

5 to— 

6 (1) provide notice of the risks associated with 

7 the device, and of how to avoid or reduce the risks, 

8 to— 

9 (A) the public; 

10 (B) in the case of the manufacturer of the 

11 device, each dealer in the device; and 

12 (C) in the case of a dealer in the device, 

13 the manufacturer of the device and the other 

14 persons known to the dealer as dealers in the 

15 device; 

16 (2) bring the device into conformity with the 

17 regulations prescribed under this title; 

18 (3) repair the device; 

19 (4) replace the device with a like or equivalent 

20 device which is in compliance with such regulations; 

21 (5) refund the purchase price of the device, or, 

22 if the device is more than 1 year old, a lesser 

23 amount based on the value of the device after rea24 sonable use; 
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1 (6) recall the device from the stream of com2 merce; or 

3 (7) submit to the Attorney General a satisfac4 tory plan for implementation of any action required 

5 under this subsection. 

6 (c) INSPECTIONS.—In order to ascertain compliance 

7 with this title and the regulations and orders issued under 

8 this title, the Attorney General may, at reasonable times— 

9 (1) enter any place in which trigger lock devices 

10 are manufactured, stored, or held, for distribution in 

11 commerce, and inspect those areas where the devices 

12 are manufactured, stored, or held; and 

13 (2) enter and inspect any conveyance being 

14 used to transport for commercial purposes a trigger 

15 lock device. 

16 SEC. 203. ENFORCEMENT. 

17 (a) CIVIL PENALTIES.—The Attorney General may 

18 assess a civil money penalty not to exceed $10,000 for 

19 each violation of this title. 

20 (b) REVOCATION OF FEDERAL FIREARMS LI21 CENSE.—Section 923(e) of title 18, United States Code, 

22 is amended by inserting after the 2nd sentence the fol23 lowing: ‘‘The Attorney General may, after notice and op24 portunity for hearing, revoke any license issued under this 

25 section if the holder of the license violates any provision 
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1 of title II of the Child Safety Lock Act of 2005 or any 

2 rule or regulation prescribed under such title.’’. 

3 (c) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Any person who has re4 ceived from the Attorney General a notice that the person 

5 has violated a provision of this title or of a regulation pre6 scribed under this title with respect to a trigger lock de7 vice, and who subsequently knowingly violates such provi8 sion with respect to the device shall be fined under title 

9 18, United States Code, imprisoned not more than 2 

10 years, or both. 

11 SEC. 204. NO EFFECT ON STATE LAW. 

12 This title does not annul, alter, impair, or affect, or 

13 exempt any person subject to the provisions of this title 

14 from complying with, any provision of the law of any State 

15 or any political subdivision thereof, except to the extent 

16 that such provisions of State law are inconsistent with any 

17 provision of this title, and then only to the extent of the 

18 inconsistency. A provision of State law is not inconsistent 

19 with this title if such provision affords greater protection 

20 in respect of trigger lock devices than is afforded by this 

21 title. 

22 SEC. 205. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this title: 

24 (1) The term ‘‘trigger lock device’’ means any 

25 device that is designed, manufactured, or rep-
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1 resented in commerce, as a means of preventing the 

2 unintentional discharge of a handgun. 

3 (2) The terms ‘‘licensed importer’’, ‘‘licensed 

4 manufacturer’’, ‘‘licensed dealer’’, ‘‘Attorney Gen5 eral’’, and ‘‘handgun’’ have the meanings given in 

6 paragraphs (9), (10), (11), (18), and (29), respec7 tively, of section 921(a) of title 18, United States 

8 Code. 

9 TITLE III—EDUCATION 

10 PROVISIONS 

11 SEC. 301. PORTION OF FIREARMS TAX REVENUE TO BE 

12 USED FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION ON SAFE 

13 STORAGE OF FIREARMS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi15 sion of law, an amount equal to 2 percent of the net reve16 nues received in the Treasury from the tax imposed by 

17 section 4181 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relat18 ing to firearms) for each of the first 5 fiscal years begin19 ning after the date of the enactment of this Act shall be 

20 available, as provided in appropriation Acts, to the Sec21 retary of the Treasury to carry out public education pro22 grams on the safe storage and use of firearms. Amounts 

23 otherwise transferred or made available for any other pur24 pose by reason of such tax shall be reduced by the 
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1 amounts made available to such Secretary under the pre2 ceding sentence. 

3 (b) NET REVENUES.—For purposes of subsection 

4 (a), the term ‘‘net revenues’’ means, with respect to the 

5 tax imposed by such section 4181, the amount estimated 

6 by the Secretary of the Treasury based on the excess of— 

7 (1) the taxes received in the Treasury under 

8 such section, over 

9 (2) the decrease in the tax imposed by chapter 

10 1 of such Code resulting from such tax. 

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