I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1705 

To prevent the purchase of ammunition by prohibited purchasers. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 13, 2019 

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (for herself, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARKE of New 

York, Mr. COHEN, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. 

KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. MOORE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SERRANO, Mrs. WATSON

COLEMAN, Ms. DEAN, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. 

ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. CUMMINGS, Miss RICE of 

New York, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. RUSH, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. FRANKEL, 

Mr. SOTO, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. 

ESPAILLAT, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. PASCRELL, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. HASTINGS, 

Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. TAKANO, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. BRENDAN F. 

BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. CRIST, Mr. 

CISNEROS, Mr. NADLER, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. 

PRESSLEY, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. 

QUIGLEY, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. VARGAS, 

and Mr. KENNEDY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To prevent the purchase of ammunition by prohibited 

purchasers. 

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 ‘‘Jaime’s Law’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this Act is to enhance the background 

3 check process in the United States to prevent the purchase 

4 of ammunition by individuals prohibited from doing so. 

5 SEC. 3. TRANSFERS OF FIREARMS OR AMMUNITION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 922 of title 18, United 

7 States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) by striking subsection (s) and redesignating 

9 subsection (t) as subsection (s); 

10 (2) in subsection (s) (as so redesignated)— 

11 (A) by inserting ‘‘or ammunition’’ after 

12 ‘‘firearm’’ each place it appears except in para13 graph (3); 

14 (B) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by inserting 

15 ‘‘in the case of a firearm,’’ before ‘‘3’’; 

16 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

17 (i) by striking all that precedes sub18 paragraph (B) and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a transfer be20 tween a licensee and another person if— 

21 ‘‘(A)(i) in the case of a firearm transfer— 

22 ‘‘(I) such other person has presented to 

23 the licensee a permit that— 

24 ‘‘(aa) allows such other person to pos25 sess or acquire a firearm; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) was issued not more than 5 

2 years earlier by the State in which the 

3 transfer is to take place; and 

4 ‘‘(II) the law of the State provides that 

5 such a permit is to be issued only after an au6 thorized government official has verified that 

7 the information available to such official does 

8 not indicate that possession of a firearm by 

9 such other person would be in violation of law; 

10 or 

11 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an ammunition transfer— 

12 ‘‘(I) such other person has presented to 

13 the licensee a permit that— 

14 ‘‘(aa) allows such other person to pos15 sess or acquire ammunition, or to possess 

16 or acquire a firearm; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) was issued not more than 5 

18 years earlier by the State in which the 

19 transfer is to take place; and 

20 ‘‘(II) the law of the State provides that 

21 such a permit is to be issued only after an au22 thorized government official has verified that 

23 the information available to such official does 

24 not indicate that possession of ammunition by 


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1 such other person would be in violation of 

2 law;’’; and 

3 (ii) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by strik4 ing ‘‘(as defined in subsection (s)(8))’’; and 

5 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(7) In this subsection, the term ‘chief law enforce7 ment officer’ means the chief of police, the sheriff, or an 

8 equivalent officer or the designee of any such individual.’’; 

9 and 

10 (3) by inserting after subsection (s) (as so re11 designated) the following: 

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

13 is not a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or li14 censed dealer to transfer ammunition to any other person 

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

16 manufacturer, or licensed dealer has first taken possession 

17 of the ammunition for the purpose of complying with sub18 section (s). 

19 ‘‘(B) Upon taking possession of ammunition under 

20 subparagraph (A), a licensee shall comply with all require21 ments of this chapter as if the licensee were transferring 

22 ammunition from the inventory of the licensee to the unli23 censed transferee. 

24 ‘‘(C) If a transfer of ammunition described in sub25 paragraph (A) will not be completed for any reason after 


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1 a licensee takes possession of the ammunition (including 

2 because the transfer of the ammunition to, or receipt of 

3 the ammunition by, the transferee would violate this chap4 ter), the return of the ammunition to the transferor by 

5 the licensee shall not constitute the transfer of ammuni6 tion for purposes of this chapter. 

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

8 ‘‘(A) a law enforcement agency or any law en9 forcement officer, armed private security profes10 sional, or member of the armed forces, to the extent 

11 the officer, professional, or member is acting within 

12 the course and scope of employment and official du13 ties; 

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

15 between spouses, between domestic partners, be16 tween parents and their children, between siblings, 

17 between aunts or uncles and their nieces or nephews, 

18 or between grandparents and their grandchildren; 

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

20 trustee, or personal representative of an estate or a 

21 trust that occurs by operation of law upon the death 

22 of another person; 

23 ‘‘(D) a transfer if the transfer is necessary to 

24 prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, if the 

25 possession by the transferee lasts only as long as imVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Mar 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1705.IH H1705

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1 mediately necessary to prevent the imminent death 

2 or great bodily harm; or 

3 ‘‘(E) a transfer, if the transferor has no reason 

4 to believe that the transferee will use or intends to 

5 use the ammunition in a crime or is prohibited from 

6 possessing ammunition under State or Federal law, 

7 and the transfer takes place and the transferee’s 

8 possession of the ammunition is exclusively— 

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

10 gallery or other area designated for the purpose 

11 of target shooting; 

12 ‘‘(ii) while reasonably necessary for the 

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

14 transferor— 

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

16 transferee intends to use the ammunition 

17 in a place where it is illegal; and 

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

19 transferee will comply with all licensing 

20 and permit requirements for such hunting, 

21 trapping, or fishing; or 

22 ‘‘(iii) while in the presence of the trans23 feror. 


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

2 chapter, the Attorney General may implement this sub3 section with regulations. 

4 ‘‘(B) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 

5 may not include any provision requiring licensees to facili6 tate transfers in accordance with paragraph (1). 

7 ‘‘(C) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 

8 may not include any provision requiring persons not li9 censed under this chapter to keep records of background 

10 checks of ammunition transfers. 

11 ‘‘(D) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 

12 may not include any provision limiting the amount of any 

13 fee a licensee may charge to facilitate transfers in accord14 ance with paragraph (1). 

15 ‘‘(4) It shall be unlawful for a licensed importer, li16 censed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to transfer posses17 sion of ammunition to another person who is not so li18 censed unless the importer, manufacturer, or dealer has 

19 provided such other person with a notice of the prohibition 

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

21 that such other person has been provided with this notice 

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

23 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

24 (1) SECTION 922.—Section 922(y)(2) of title 

25 18, United States Code, is amended, in the matter 


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1 preceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘, 

2 (g)(5)(B), and (s)(3)(B)(v)(II)’’ and inserting ‘‘and 

3 (g)(5)(B)’’. 

4 (2) CONSOLIDATED AND FURTHER CONTINUING

5 APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2012.—Section 511 of title V 

6 of division B of the Consolidated and Further Con7 tinuing Appropriations Act, 2012 (34 U.S.C. 40901 

8 note) is amended by striking ‘‘subsection 922(t)’’ 

9 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘subsection (s) 

10 or (t) of section 922’’. 

11 SEC. 4. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

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

13 Act, shall be construed to— 

14 (1) authorize the establishment, directly or indi15 rectly, of a national firearms or ammunition reg16 istry; or 

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

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

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

20 Act. 

21 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

22 This title and the amendments made by this title 

23 shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of 

24 this Act. 

Æ 


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