I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2281

To amend title 18, United States Code, to permanently prohibit the possession

of firearms by persons who have been convicted of a felony, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 18, 1999

Mr. ACKERMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend title 18, United States Code, to permanently prohibit the possession of firearms by persons who have

been convicted of a felony, and for other purposes.

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 ‘‘Stop Arming Felons

5 (SAFe) Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. DENIAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE RELIEF FROM CER2 TAIN FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES PROHIBI3 TIONS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Section 925(c) of title 18,

5 United States Code, is amended—

6 (A) in the first sentence by inserting ‘‘(other

7 than a natural person)’’ before ‘‘who is prohibited’’;

8 (B) in the fourth sentence—

9 (i) by inserting ‘‘person (other than a nat10 ural person) who is a’’ before ‘‘licensed im11 porter’’; and

12 (ii) by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the

13 person’s’’; and

14 (C) in the fifth sentence, by inserting ‘‘(i) the

15 name of the person, (ii) the disability with respect

16 to which the relief is granted, (iii) if the disability

17 was imposed by reason of a criminal conviction of

18 the person, the crime for which and the court in

19 which the person was convicted, and (iv)’’ before

20 ‘‘the reasons therefor’’.

21 (2) Section 845(b) of title 18, United States Code,

22 is amended—

23 (A) in the first sentence by inserting

24 ‘‘(other than a natural person)’’ before ‘‘may

25 make application to the Secretary’’; and
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1 (B) in the second sentence by inserting

2 ‘‘(other than a natural person)’’ before ‘‘who

3 makes application for relief’’.

4 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub5 section (a) shall apply to—

6 (1) applications for administrative relief and ac7 tions for judicial review that are pending on the date

8 of enactment of this Act; and

9 (2) applications for administrative relief filed,

10 and actions for judicial review brought, after the

11 date of enactment of this Act.

12 SEC. 3. PERMANENT FIREARM PROHIBITION FOR CON13 VICTED VIOLENT FELONS AND SERIOUS

14 DRUG OFFENDERS.

15 Section 921(a)(20) of title 18, United States Code,

16 is amended—

17 (1) in the first sentence—

18 (A) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(20)’’; and

19 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (A)

20 and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively;

21 (2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘What’’

22 and inserting the following:

23 ‘‘(B) What’’; and

24 (3) by striking the third sentence and inserting

25 the following new subparagraph:
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1 ‘‘(C) A conviction shall not be considered to be a con2 viction for purposes of this chapter if—

3 ‘‘(i) the conviction is reversed or set aside based

4 on a determination that the conviction is invalid;

5 ‘‘(ii) the person has been pardoned, unless the

6 authority that grants the pardon expressly states

7 that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or

8 receive firearms; or

9 ‘‘(iii) the person has had civil rights restored, or

10 the conviction is expunged, and—

11 ‘‘(I) the authority that grants the restora12 tion of civil rights or expungement expressly au13 thorizes the person to ship, transport, receive,

14 and possess firearms and expressly determines

15 that the circumstances regarding the conviction

16 and the person’s record and reputation are such

17 that the person is not likely to act in a manner

18 that is dangerous to public safety, and that the

19 granting of the relief is not contrary to the pub20 lic interest; and

21 ‘‘(II) the conviction was for an offense

22 other than a serious drug offense (as defined in

23 section 924(e)(2)(A)) or violent felony (as de24 fined in section 924(e)(2)(B)).’’.

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