I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4818 

To combat illegal gun trafficking, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 18, 2007 

Mr. KING of New York (for himself and Mr. RANGEL) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To combat illegal gun trafficking, 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 ‘‘Detectives Nemorin 

5 and Andrews Anti-Gun Trafficking Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ILLEGAL GUN TRAFFICKING. 

7 Section 924 of title 18, United States Code, is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(q) Whoever, in or affecting interstate or foreign 

10 commerce in violation of subsection (a)(1)(A), (a)(3), 

11 (a)(6), (b)(2), (b)(3), (b)(5), (d), (g), (i), (j), (k), (m), or 

12 (n) of section 922 or subsection (c) or (h) of this section— 


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1 ‘‘(1) offers for sale, transfer, or barter 2 or 

2 more firearms, at least 2 of which are handguns, 

3 semiautomatic assault weapons, short-barreled shot4 guns, short-barreled rifles, or machineguns; and 

5 ‘‘(2) at least 1 of the firearms— 

6 ‘‘(A) is transported, received, or possessed 

7 by the person, and— 

8 ‘‘(i) is stolen; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) has had the importer’s or manu10 facturer’s serial number removed, obliter11 ated, or altered; or 

12 ‘‘(B) is offered by the person for sale, 

13 transfer, or barter to another person who— 

14 ‘‘(i) is prohibited from possessing a 

15 firearm under subsection (g) or (n) of sec16 tion 922; 

17 ‘‘(ii) is prohibited by State law from 

18 possessing a firearm; 

19 ‘‘(iii) has not attained 18 years of 

20 age, except as otherwise allowed under 

21 Federal or State law; 

22 ‘‘(iv) is in a school zone; or 

23 ‘‘(v) has travelled from any State into 

24 any other State, and acquires or attempts 


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1 to acquire the firearm otherwise in viola2 tion of Federal or State law, 

3 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 

4 20 years, or both.’’. 

5 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF PROJECT SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS. 

6 Section 104 of the 21st Century Department of Jus7 tice Appropriations Authorization Act (Public Law 107– 

8 273) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, illegal gun 

10 trafficking,’’ after ‘‘violence’’ ; and 

11 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘2002’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘2008’’. 

13 SEC. 4. REPORT TO THE CONGRESS. 

14 Beginning in calendar year 2008, the Attorney Gen15 eral shall submit biennially to the Congress a written re16 port, covering the preceding 2 years, which specifies— 

17 (1) the State of origin for each firearm, used in 

18 a crime, that was traced by the Bureau of Alcohol, 

19 Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the State in 

20 which the firearm was recovered; 

21 (2) the total number of firearms so traced, by 

22 manufacturer, model, and type of firearm; 

23 (3) the name of Federal firearms licensees who 

24 have had more than 5 firearms, used in a crime, 

25 traced back to them in a single year; and 


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1 (4) the number of prosecutions for each indi2 vidual offense under sections 922, 923, and 924 of 

3 title 18, United States Code. 

4 SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL PENALTY FOR POSSESSION OF A STO5 LEN FIREARM DURING THE COMMISSION OF 

6 A FELONY. 

7 Section 924 of title 18, United States Code, as 

8 amended by section 2 of this Act, is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(r) Whoever, during and in relation to the commis11 sion of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term 

12 exceeding 1 year, receives, possesses, conceals, barters, 

13 sells, or disposes of any stolen firearm or stolen ammuni14 tion, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, wheth15 er or not the person is aware that the firearm or ammuni16 tion is stolen, shall, in addition to the punishment pro17 vided for the crime so punishable, be sentenced to a term 

18 of imprisonment of not more than 5 years.’’. 

19 SEC. 6. NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION CENTER STOLEN 

20 GUN FILE. 

21 (a) AVAILABILITY.—The Federal Bureau of Inves22 tigation shall make available to the Bureau of Alcohol, To23 bacco, Firearms, and Explosives the National Crime Infor24 mation Center Gun File for the purpose of enabling the 


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1 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to 

2 access the file while completing a crime gun trace. 

3 (b) USE.—The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fire4 arms, and Explosives shall conduct a search of the Na5 tional Crime Information Center Stolen Gun File with re6 spect to each firearm submitted to the Bureau of Alcohol, 

7 Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives for tracing. 

8 (c) NOTIFICATION REGARDING STOLEN FIRE9 ARMS.—If a law enforcement agency requests the Bureau 

10 of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to trace a 

11 firearm, and the National Crime Information Center Sto12 len Gun File indicates that the firearm is stolen, then the 

13 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives 

14 shall notify the law enforcement agency of that informa15 tion and provide the law enforcement agency with any 

16 available information regarding the owner of the firearm. 

17 (d) RETURN OF STOLEN FIREARMS POSSESSED BY

18 BATFE.—If the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, 

19 and Explosives possesses a firearm which the National 

20 Crime Information Center Stolen Gun File indicates is 

21 stolen, the Bureau shall return the firearm to the person 

22 who reported the firearm stolen, when the Bureau deter23 mines that— 


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1 (1) the firearm is no longer needed for Federal, 

2 State, or local criminal investigation or evidentiary 

3 purposes; and 

4 (2) the person is entitled to possess the firearm. 

5 (e) NATIONAL INSTANT STOLEN GUN CHECK SYS6 TEM.— 

7 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Within 2 years after the 

8 date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney Gen9 eral shall establish a national instant stolen gun 

10 check system that any licensee may contact, by tele11 phone or other electronic means, for information to 

12 be supplied immediately on whether a firearm to be 

13 received by the licensee is stolen. 

14 (2) INSTANT CHECK OF STATUS OF FIREARMS

15 TO BE TRANSFERRED TO CERTAIN FEDERAL FIRE16 ARMS LICENSEES BY NON-LICENSEES.—If the na17 tional instant stolen gun check system is contacted 

18 by a licensee for information on whether a firearm 

19 to be received by the licensee is stolen, the system 

20 shall, as soon as is practicable— 

21 (A) conduct a search of the National 

22 Crime Information Center Stolen Gun File for 

23 information about the firearm; and 


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1 (B) inform the licensee whether the infor2 mation available to the system indicates that 

3 the firearm is stolen. 

4 (3) NOTIFICATION OF LICENSEES.—On estab5 lishment of the national instant stolen gun check 

6 system under this subsection, the Attorney General 

7 shall notify each licensee and the chief law 

8 enforement officer of each State of the existence and 

9 purpose of the system and the means to be used to 

10 contact the system. 

11 (4) PERMANENT RETENTION OF RECORDS.— 

12 The national instant stolen gun check system shall 

13 create and maintain permanently a record of each 

14 contact of the system, and all information provided 

15 to or by the system during the contact. 

16 (5) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 (A) LICENSEE.—The term ‘‘licensee’’ 

18 means a licensed dealer (as defined in section 

19 921(a)(11) of title 18, United States Code), li20 censed importer (as defined in section 921(a)(9) 

21 of such title), or licensed manufacturer (as de22 fined in section 921(a)(10) of such title). 

23 (B) FIREARM.—The term ‘‘firearm’’ has 

24 the meaning given in section 921(a)(3) of title 

25 18, United States Code. 


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1 (f) FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSEE REQUIRED TO

2 CONTACT NATIONAL INSTANT STOLEN GUN CHECK SYS3 TEM BEFORE RECEIVING FIREARM FROM NON-LI4 CENSEE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 922(s) of title 18, 

6 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(s)(1) Beginning on the date that is 30 days after 

8 the Attorney General notifies licensees under section 

9 6(e)(3) of the Detectives Nemorin and Andrews Anti-Gun 

10 Trafficking Act of 2008 that the national instant stolen 

11 gun check system is established, a licensed importer, li12 censed manufacturer, or licensed dealer shall not receive 

13 a firearm from any person who is not licensed under this 

14 chapter, unless— 

15 ‘‘(A) the licensee has verified the identity of the 

16 person by examining a valid identification document 

17 (as defined in section 1028(d) of this title) of the 

18 person that satisfies the requirements of section 202 

19 of the REAL ID Act of 2005; 

20 ‘‘(B) the licensee has contacted the national in21 stant stolen gun check system established under sub22 section (e) of such section 6, and provided the sys23 tem with— 

24 ‘‘(i) the name and address of the person; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a description of the identification doc2 ument referred to in subparagraph (A) of this 

3 paragraph, including the number appearing on 

4 the document; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) the name of the manufacturer, and 

6 the caliber and serial number, of the firearm; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(C)(i) the system has provided the licensee 

9 with a unique identification number; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) 3 business days (meaning a day on which 

11 State offices are open) have elapsed since the li12 censee contacted the system, and the system has not 

13 notified the licensee that the firearm is stolen. 

14 ‘‘(2) If the system determines that the information 

15 available to the system does not indicate that the firearm 

16 is stolen, the system shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) assign a unique identification number to 

18 the transaction; and 

19 ‘‘(B) provide the licensee with the number. 

20 ‘‘(3) If the system notifies the licensee that the infor21 mation available to the system indicates that the firearm 

22 is stolen, the licensee shall contact the Bureau of Alcohol, 

23 Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives or another law enforce24 ment agency having jurisdiction over possession of stolen 

25 firearms in the dealer’s location and shall comply with the 


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1 instructions of any such agency concerning the disposition 

2 of the firearm, the gathering of information relating to 

3 the offeror of the firearm, and other assistance in the re4 moval of the firearm from the stream of commerce. 

5 ‘‘(4) If the licensee knowingly receives the firearm 

6 from the person and knowingly fails to comply with para7 graph (1) with respect to the receipt and, at the time of 

8 the receipt, the system was operating and information was 

9 available to the system indicating that the firearm was sto10 len, the Attorney General may, after notice and oppor11 tunity for a hearing, suspend for not more than 6 months 

12 or revoke any license issued to the licensee under section 

13 923, and may impose on the licensee a civil fine of not 

14 more than $5,000. 

15 ‘‘(5)(A) This subsection shall not be interpreted to 

16 limit any exercise of authority under subsection (d)(1)(C) 

17 or (e) of section 923. 

18 ‘‘(B) In the event of a conflict between the provisions 

19 of this subsection and a rule or regulation issued under 

20 section 923(j), the provisions of this subsection shall con21 trol.’’. 

22 (2) RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENT.—Section 

23 923(g)(1)(A) of such title is amended by inserting 

24 after the 1st sentence the following: ‘‘In the case of 

25 the receipt of a firearm pursuant to section 922(s), 


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1 in addition to the requirements of such regulations, 

2 the importer, manufacturer, or dealer shall retain a 

3 record of the information described in section 

4 922(s)(1)(B), a copy of the identification document 

5 referred to in section 922(s)(1)(A), and a record of 

6 the unique identification number provided to the li7 censee pursuant to section 922(s)(1)(C), with re8 spect to the transaction.’’. 

9 SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL PENALTY FOR POSSESSION OF A FIRE10 ARM WITH AN OBLITERATED SERIAL NUM11 BER DURING THE COMMISSION OF A FELONY. 

12 Section 924 of title 18, United States Code, as 

13 amended by sections 2 and 5 of this Act, is amended by 

14 adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(s) Whoever, during and in relation to the commis16 sion of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term 

17 exceeding 1 year, transports, possesses, or receives, in or 

18 affecting interstate or foreign commerce, a firearm which 

19 has had the importer’s or manufacturer’s serial number 

20 removed, obliterated, or altered, regardless of whether or 

21 not the person is aware of the removal, obliteration, or 

22 alteration, shall, in addition to the punishment provided 

23 for the crime so punishable, be sentenced to a term of 

24 imprisonment of not more than 5 years.’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR THE USE OF A STOLEN 

2 FIREARM OR A FIREARM WITH AN OBLITER3 ATED SERIAL NUMBER DURING THE COMMIS4 SION OF A CRIME OF VIOLENCE OR DRUG 

5 TRAFFICKING CRIME. 

6 Section 924(c)(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code, 

7 is amended— 

8 (1) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘, or if the fire9 arm was stolen or had the manufacturer’s serial 

10 number removed, obliterated, or altered, not less 

11 than 7 years’’ after ‘‘years’’; 

12 (2) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘, or if the fire13 arm was stolen or had the manufacturer’s serial 

14 number removed, obliterated, or altered, not less 

15 than 9 years’’ after ‘‘years’’; and 

16 (3) in clause (iii), by inserting ‘‘, or if the fire17 arm was stolen or had the manufacturer’s serial 

18 number removed, obliterated, or altered, not less 

19 than 12 years’’ after ‘‘years’’. 

Æ 


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