I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1717

To permanently ban the possession of firearms by dangerous juvenile

offenders.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 6, 1999

Mr. BLAGOJEVICH (for himself and Mr. ROGAN) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To permanently ban the possession of firearms by dangerous

juvenile offenders.

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 ‘‘Violent Youth Account5 ability Act of 1999.’’

6 SEC. 2. PERMANENT PROHIBITION ON TRANSFERS OF

7 FIREARMS TO THOSE ADJUDICATED DAN8 GEROUS JUVENILE OFFENDERS.

9 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 921(a)(20) of title 18,

10 United States Code, is amended—
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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(20)’’;

2 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and

3 (B) as clauses (i) and (ii);

4 (3) by striking all that follows the 1st sentence

5 and inserting the following:

6 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subsections (d) and (g) of sec7 tion 922, the term ‘act of juvenile delinquency’ means an

8 adjudication of delinquency based upon a finding of the

9 commission of an act by a person prior to his or her eight10 eenth birthday that, if committed by an adult, would be

11 a serious drug offense (as defined in section

12 3559(c)(2)(H)) or serious violent felony (as defined in sec13 tion 3559(c)(2)(F)), on or after the date of the enactment

14 of this paragraph.

15 ‘‘(C) What constitutes a conviction of such a crime

16 or an adjudication of juvenile delinquency shall be deter17 mined in accordance with the law of the jurisdiction in

18 which the proceedings were held. Any State conviction or

19 adjudication of delinquency which has been expunged or

20 set aside or for which a person has been pardoned or has

21 had civil rights restored by the jurisdiction in which the

22 conviction or adjudication of delinquency occurred shall

23 nevertheless be considered a conviction or adjudication of

24 delinquency unless (i) the expungement, set-aside, pardon,

25 or restoration of civil rights is directed to a specific per-
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1 son, (ii) the State authority granting the expungement,

2 set-aside, pardon, or restoration of civil rights has ex3 pressly determined that the circumstances regarding the

4 conviction and the person’s record and reputation are such

5 that the person will not act in a manner dangerous to pub6 lic safety, and (iii) the expungement, set-aside, pardon, or

7 restoration of civil rights expressly authorizes the person

8 to ship, transport, receive, or possess firearms. The re9 quirement of this subparagraph for an individualized res10 toration of rights shall apply whether or not, under State

11 law, the person’s civil rights were taken away by virtue

12 of the conviction or adjudication.’’.

13 (b) PROHIBITIONS.—Section 922 of such title is

14 amended—

15 (1) in subsection (d)—

16 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of para17 graph (8);

18 (B) by striking the period at the end of

19 paragraph (9) and inserting ‘‘; or;’’; and

20 (C) by inserting after paragraph (9) the

21 following:

22 ‘‘(10) who has committed an act of juvenile de23 linquency.’’; and

24 (2) in subsection (g)—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of para2 graph (8);

3 (B) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end of para4 graph (9); and

5 (C) by inserting after paragraph (9) the

6 following:

7 ‘‘(10) who has committed an act of juvenile de8 linquency,’’.

Æ