I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1726

To allow States to develop or expand instant gun checking capabilities, to

allow a tax credit for the purchase of safe storage devices for firearms,

to promote the fitting of handguns with child safety locks, and to prevent

children from injuring themselves and others with firearms.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 6, 1999

Mr. DEFAZIO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and

Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To allow States to develop or expand instant gun checking

capabilities, to allow a tax credit for the purchase of

safe storage devices for firearms, to promote the fitting

of handguns with child safety locks, and to prevent children from injuring themselves and others with 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 ‘‘Youth Violence Preven5 tion Act of 1999’’.
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1 TITLE I—EXPANSION OF IN2 STANT GUN CHECK CAPABILI3 TIES

4 SEC. 101. EXPANSION OF BYRNE PURPOSES.

5 Section 501(b) of the Omnibus Crime Control and

6 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3751(b)) is

7 amended—

8 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (16) through

9 (26) as (17) through (27), respectively; and

10 (2) by inserting after paragraph (15) the fol11 lowing:

12 ‘‘(16) developing or expanding a State instant

13 criminal background check system that includes al14 lowing only limited access of the system, regarding

15 the eligibility status of a proposed firearm purchaser

16 (after receiving the purchaser’s express authoriza17 tion), to a person who sells a firearm and is not a

18 licensed dealer;’’.

19 SEC. 102. IMPROVEMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE RECORDS.

20 Section 509 of Omnibus Crime Control and Safe

21 Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3759) is amended by—

22 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘5 percent’’

23 and insert ‘‘6 percent’’; and

24 (2) in subsection (b)—
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1 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’

2 after the semicolon;

3 (B) in the first paragraph (4), by striking

4 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’;

5 (C) by redesignating the second paragraph

6 (4) that ends with ‘‘1993.’’as paragraph (6);

7 and

8 (B) by inserting after the first paragraph

9 (4) the following:

10 ‘‘(5) developing or expanding a State instant

11 criminal background check system that includes al12 lowing only limited access of the system, regarding

13 the eligibility status of a proposed firearm purchaser

14 (after receiving the purchaser’s express authoriza15 tion), to a person who sells a firearm and is not a

16 licensed dealer; and’’.

17 TITLE II—NONREFUNDABLE

18 CREDIT FOR PURCHASE OF

19 SAFE STORAGE DEVICES FOR

20 FIREARMS

21 SEC. 201. NONREFUNDABLE CREDIT FOR PURCHASE OF

22 SAFE STORAGE DEVICES FOR FIREARMS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub24 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of

25 1986 (relating to nonrefundable personal credits) is
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1 amended by inserting after section 25A the following new

2 section:

3 ‘‘SEC. 25B. PURCHASE OF SAFE STORAGE DEVICES FOR

4 FIREARMS.

5 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—There shall be al6 lowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter

7 for a taxable year an amount equal to the qualified firearm

8 safe storage device expenses for the taxable year.

9 ‘‘(b) LIFETIME DOLLAR LIMITATION.—The aggre10 gate amount of expenses paid by an individual which may

11 be treated as qualified firearm safe storeage device ex12 penses for any taxable year shall not exceed the excess

13 (if any) of—

14 ‘‘(1) $250, over

15 ‘‘(2) the aggregate amounts treated as qualified

16 firearm safe storeage device expenses with respect to

17 such individual for all prior taxable years.

18 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED FIREARM SAFE STORAGE DEVICE

19 EXPENSE.—For purposes of this section—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified firearm

21 safe storage device expense’ means amounts paid for

22 a trigger lock, secure locked cabinet, or other safety

23 device used solely for the storeage of a firearm.
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1 ‘‘(2) FIREARM.—The term ‘firearm’ has the

2 meaning given such term by section 921(a)(3) of

3 title 18, United States Code.’’.

4 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

5 for subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1

6 of such Code is amended by inserting after the item relat7 ing to section 25A the following new item:

‘‘Sec. 25B. Purchase of safe storage devices for firearms.’’.

8 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

9 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after

10 December 31, 1998.

11 TITLE III—HANDGUN CHILD

12 SAFETY LOCKS

13 SEC. 301. PROHIBITION AGAINST MANUFACTURE OF A

14 HANDGUN WITHOUT CHILD SAFETY LOCKS.

15 (a) PROHIBITION AGAINST MANUFACTURE OF

16 HANDGUN WITHOUT CHILD SAFETY LOCK ATTACHED.—

17 (1) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for any

18 person, in or affecting commerce, to manufacture a

19 handgun in the United States, unless a child safety

20 lock which meets the requirement of subsection (b)

21 is attached to, or is an integral part of, the firearm.

22 (2) PENALTIES.—The Secretary shall impose a

23 civil fine of $5,000 on any person who violates para24 graph (1).
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1 (b) CHILD SAFETY LOCK REQUIREMENTS.—A lock

2 meets the requirements of this subsection if the lock, while

3 activated or attached to the firearm, prevents the firearm

4 from being discharged.

5 (c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Not later than 60 days after

6 an individual receives notice from the Secretary of a deci7 sion to impose a fine on the individual under this section,

8 the individual may bring an action against the Secretary

9 in any United States district court for de novo review of

10 the decision.

11 (d) INAPPLICABILITY TO GOVERNMENTAL ENTI12 TIES.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to conduct of, or au13 thorized by, the United States or any department or agen14 cy thereof, or any State or any department, agency, or

15 political subdivision thereof.

16 (e) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the terms

17 ‘‘State’’, ‘‘handgun’’, and ‘‘Secretary’’ shall have the

18 meanings given such terms in section 921(a) of title 18,

19 United States Code.

20 TITLE IV—CHILD FIREARM

21 ACCESS PREVENTION

22 SEC. 401. CHILDREN AND FIREARMS SAFETY.

23 (a) SECURE GUN STORAGE OR SAFETY DEVICE.—

24 Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended

25 by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(35) The term ‘secure gun storage or safety device’

2 means—

3 ‘‘(A) a device that, when installed on a firearm,

4 prevents the firearm from being operated without

5 first deactivating or removing the device;

6 ‘‘(B) a device incorporated into the design of

7 the firearm that prevents the operation of the fire8 arm by anyone not having authorized access to the

9 device; or

10 ‘‘(C) a safe, gun safe, gun case, lock box, or

11 other device that is designed to be or can be used

12 to store a firearm and that can be unlocked only by

13 means of a key, a combination, or other similar

14 means.’’.

15 (b) PROHIBITION AND PENALTIES.—Section 922 of

16 title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after

17 subsection (y) the following:

18 ‘‘(z) PROHIBITION AGAINST GIVING JUVENILES AC19 CESS TO CERTAIN FIREARMS.—

20 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF JUVENILE.—In this sub21 section, the term ‘juvenile’ means an individual who

22 has not attained the age of 18 years.

23 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in

24 paragraph (3), any person that—
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1 ‘‘(A) keeps a loaded firearm, or an un2 loaded firearm and ammunition for the firearm,

3 any of which has been shipped or transported

4 in interstate or foreign commerce or otherwise

5 substantially affects interstate or foreign com6 merce, within any premise that is under the

7 custody or control of that person; and

8 ‘‘(B) knows, or reasonably should know,

9 that a juvenile is capable of gaining access to

10 the firearm without the permission of the par11 ent or legal guardian of the juvenile,

12 shall, if a juvenile obtains access to the firearm and

13 thereby causes death or bodily injury to the juvenile

14 or to any other person, or exhibits the firearm either

15 in a public place, or in violation of subsection (q),

16 be imprisoned not more than 1 year, fined not more

17 than $10,000, or both.

18 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (2) does not

19 apply if—

20 ‘‘(A) the person uses a secure gun storage

21 or safety device for the firearm;

22 ‘‘(B) the person is a peace officer, a mem23 ber of the Armed Forces, or a member of the

24 National Guard, and the juvenile obtains the

25 firearm during, or incidental to, the perform-
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1 ance of the official duties of the person in that

2 capacity;

3 ‘‘(C) the juvenile obtains, or obtains and

4 discharges, the firearm in a lawful act of self5 defense or defense of 1 or more other persons;

6 ‘‘(D) the person has no reasonable expecta7 tion, based on objective facts and cir8 cumstances, that a juvenile is likely to be

9 present on the premises on which the firearm is

10 kept; or

11 ‘‘(E) the juvenile obtains the firearm as a

12 result of unlawful entry by the juvenile.’’.

13 (c) ROLE OF LICENSED FIREARMS DEALERS.—Sec14 tion 926 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by

15 adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(d) The Secretary shall ensure that a copy of section

17 922(z) appears on the form required to be obtained by

18 a licensed dealer from a prospective transferee of a fire19 arm.’’.

20 (d) NO EFFECT ON STATE LAW.—Nothing in this

21 section or the amendments made by this section shall be

22 construed to preempt any provision of the law of any

23 State, the purpose of which is to prevent children from

24 injuring themselves or others with firearms.

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