II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1844 

To provide for a grant program for handgun licensing programs, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 13, 2019 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. MURPHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for a grant program for handgun licensing 

programs, 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 ‘‘Handgun Purchaser 

5 Licensing Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) In 2017, 91 percent of firearm homicides in 

9 the United States, in which a firearm type was spec10 ified, were committed with a handgun. 


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1 (2) Research by top national experts show 

2 that— 

3 (A) adoption of handgun purchaser licens4 ing laws are associated with significant reduc5 tions in firearm-related homicides; and 

6 (B) repeal of handgun purchaser licensing 

7 laws are associated with significant increases in 

8 firearm-related homicides. 

9 (3) Research on the effects of the adoption of 

10 a handgun purchaser licensing law in Connecticut in 

11 1995 showed— 

12 (A) a 40-percent reduction in the rate of 

13 firearm homicide; and 

14 (B) a 15-percent reduction in firearm sui15 cide rates during the first 10 years the law was 

16 in place. 

17 (4) Published research has shown that the re18 peal of a handgun purchaser licensing law in Mis19 souri in 2007 was associated with— 

20 (A) a 27-percent increase in the rate of 

21 firearm homicide; and 

22 (B) a 16-percent increase in firearm sui23 cide rates. 

24 (5) In States that have had effective handgun 

25 purchaser licensing laws for decades, such as ConVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:32 Jun 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1844.IS S1844

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1 necticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, 

2 the vast majority of firearms traced to crimes origi3 nated in States that do not have handgun purchaser 

4 licensing laws, which supports the need for handgun 

5 purchaser licensing laws in every State. 

6 (6) Research has shown that States with hand7 gun purchaser licensing laws export far fewer fire8 arms for criminal use in other States than States 

9 that lack handgun purchaser licensing laws. 

10 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED FOR HANDGUN LI11 CENSING. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Omnibus Crime 

13 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 

14 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘PART OO—HANDGUN LICENSING GRANT 

16 PROGRAM 

17 ‘‘SEC. 3051. DEFINITION. 

18 ‘‘In this part, the term ‘handgun’ has the meaning 

19 given the term in section 921(a) of title 18, United States 

20 Code. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 3052. GRANT PROGRAM. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may 

23 award grants to States, units of local government, and In24 dian tribes for the development, implementation, and eval25 uation of handgun purchaser licensing requirements. 


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1 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From the amounts 

2 appropriated to carry out this part, and not later than 

3 90 days after such amounts are appropriated, the Attor4 ney General shall award grants, on a competitive basis, 

5 to eligible applicants whose applications are approved 

6 under subsection (c) to assist such applicants in imple7 menting and improving handgun purchaser licensing pro8 grams. 

9 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

10 under this part, a State, unit of local government, or In11 dian tribe shall submit to the Attorney General an applica12 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

13 information as the Attorney General may require, includ14 ing— 

15 ‘‘(1) a description of the law that the applicant 

16 has enacted to require a license for any purchase of 

17 a handgun including a description of any other ex18 emptions to such law; and 

19 ‘‘(2) a description of how the applicant will use 

20 the grant to carry out or improve its handgun pur21 chaser licensing program. 

22 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible 

23 for a grant under this part, an applicant shall have in ef24 fect a handgun purchaser licensing law that includes, with 


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1 respect to an individual applying for a handgun license 

2 or permit, the following requirements: 

3 ‘‘(1) The individual shall be— 

4 ‘‘(A) not less than 21 years old; and 

5 ‘‘(B) a citizen or national of the United 

6 States or an alien lawfully admitted for perma7 nent residence (as those terms are defined in 

8 section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nation9 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a))). 

10 ‘‘(2) The individual shall apply for the handgun 

11 purchaser license or permit at a law enforcement 

12 agency in the State in which the individual resides. 

13 ‘‘(3) The individual shall reapply for the hand14 gun purchaser license or permit after a period not 

15 longer than 5 years. 

16 ‘‘(4) The individual shall, in connection with the 

17 application for the handgun purchaser license or 

18 permit— 

19 ‘‘(A) submit to a background investigation 

20 and a criminal history check, as established by 

21 the State, which shall ensure, at a minimum, 

22 that the individual is not prohibited from pos23 sessing a firearm under section 922(g) of title 

24 18, United States Code; and 

25 ‘‘(B) submit fingerprints and photographs. 


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1 ‘‘(5) An individual who is prohibited from pos2 sessing a firearm under section 922(g) of title 18, 

3 United States Code, may not be issued a handgun 

4 purchasing license or permit. 

5 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.—Grant funds awarded under 

6 this part shall be used to improve the handgun purchaser 

7 licensing program of that grant recipient.’’. 

8 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

9 1001(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

10 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10261(a)) is amended by 

11 adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(29) There are authorized to be appropriated such 

13 sums as may be necessary to carry out part OO.’’. 

Æ 


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