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107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1455

To repeal section 658 of Public Law 104–208, commonly referred to as

the Lautenberg amendment.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 4, 2001

Mr. GOODE (for himself, Mr. RYUN of Kansas, Mr. COOKSEY, Mr. THUNE,

Mr. BARR of Georgia, Mr. BARCIA, Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. HALL of Texas,

and Mr. PAUL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To repeal section 658 of Public Law 104–208, commonly

referred to as the Lautenberg amendment.

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 ‘‘States’ Rights and Sec5 ond and Tenth Amendment Restoration Act of 2001’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

7 (a) Congressional findings:

8 (1) Domestic Violence remains a very serious

9 problem in the United States. It is a dangerous
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1 crime and should be punished as such, including,

2 where appropriate, as a felony.

3 (2) Many States have classified Domestic Vio4 lence crimes as misdemeanors, others as felonies.

5 States are the proper authority, rather than the

6 Federal Government, to classify Domestic Violence

7 offenses.

8 (3) Where appropriate, States should classify

9 Domestic Violence offenses as a felony.

10 (4) Section 658 of Public Law 104–208, com11 monly referred to as the Lautenberg amendment,

12 oversteps Federal authority, violating States’ rights,

13 because no nexus has been shown to exist between

14 Domestic Violence and interstate commerce.

15 (5) The Lautenberg amendment does not deal

16 with a subject delegated to Congress under article I,

17 section 8 of the Constitution of the United States

18 and is therefore unconstitutional under the tenth

19 amendment to the Constitution, as interpreted by

20 United States v. Lopez.

21 (6) The Lautenberg amendment oversteps

22 Congress’s power to regulate commerce as delineated

23 by the Commerce Clause of the United States Con24 stitution.
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1 (7) Some of the strictest gun control laws are

2 found in cities where the number of incidents of

3 guns being used in violent crimes is the highest.

4 Therefore, the Lautenberg amendment does not re5 duce incidents of domestic violence.

6 (8) State and Federal judges already have the

7 power to deny persons convicted of misdemeanors

8 the right to possess firearms as a condition of proba9 tion or parole.

10 (9) The Lautenberg amendment is an unfunded

11 Federal mandate because States are liable for the

12 costs of monitoring those citizens who have been

13 banned for life from owning a firearm. Many times

14 this lifetime ban is a result of a misdemeanor, not

15 a felony.

16 (10) Section 658 of the Treasury-Postal portion

17 of Public Law 104–208 violates all notions of con18 stitutional due process and constitutes an ex post

19 facto law because it imposes a criminal penalty on

20 crimes which were not subject to that penalty at the

21 time of the Act.

22 (11) Law-abiding citizens use guns to defend

23 themselves against criminals as many as 2.5 million

24 times every year. Of these self-defense cases, as
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1 many as 200,000 are by women defending them2 selves against sexual assault.

3 (12) Section 658 of the Treasury-Postal portion

4 of Public Law 104–208 will, if allowed to stand, re5 sult in the disarming of millions of citizens, includ6 ing women, on account of misdemeanor offenses

7 which, in many cases, were committed long before

8 the effective date of that Act.

9 (13) Section 658 of the Treasury-Postal portion

10 of Public Law 104–208 will, in many cases, disarm

11 battered women who need access to firearms in

12 order to protect themselves from their battering

13 spouses as well as from common criminals.

14 (14) Section 658 of the Treasury-Postal portion

15 of Public Law 104–208 will, if allowed to stand, im16 pose a lifetime gun ban on persons who committed

17 acts so minor that they were not even entitled to a

18 jury trial prior to conviction.

19 (15) Section 658 of the Treasury-Postal portion

20 of Public Law 104–208, will, if allowed to stand, re21 sult in the disarming and dismissal of a significant

22 number of law enforcement officers and American

23 servicemen, on account of misdemeanors, which in

24 many cases, were committed long before the effective

25 date of that Act.
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1 (16) Section 658 of the Treasury-Postal portion

2 of Public Law 104–208 ignores the real problem

3 surrounding domestic violence in that truly violent

4 offenders are allowed to plea-bargain down to mis5 demeanors.

6 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to re7 store States’ rights, the tenth amendment, and second

8 amendment freedoms.

9 SEC. 3. REPEALER.

10 Section 658 of the Treasury-Postal portion of Public

11 Law 104–208 is repealed and is null and void as if it had

12 not been enacted, and all provisions of law amended by

13 such section are restored as if section 658 had not been

14 enacted.

15 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

16 This Act shall take effect as if included in the Treas17 ury-Postal portion of Public Law 104–208. Any liability,

18 penalty, or forfeiture incurred by any person by reason

19 of the application of any amendment made by section 658

20 of the Treasury-Postal portion of Public Law 104–208 is

21 hereby extinguished, and any action or prosecution for the

22 enforcement of any such liability, penalty, or forfeiture

23 shall not be sustained.

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