II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 443 

To increase public safety by punishing and deterring firearms trafficking. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 4, 2013 

Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. 

KIRK, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. KING) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To increase public safety by punishing and deterring firearms 

trafficking. 

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 Illegal Trafficking 

5 in Firearms Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard anti-straw purchasing and 

firearms trafficking amendments. 

Sec. 4. Amendments to section 922(d). 

Sec. 5. Amendments to section 924(a). 


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Sec. 6. Amendments to section 924(h). 

Sec. 7. Amendments to section 924(k). 

1 SEC. 3. HADIYA PENDLETON AND NYASIA PRYEAR-YARD 

2 ANTI-STRAW PURCHASING AND FIREARMS 

3 TRAFFICKING AMENDMENTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 44 of title 18, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘§ 932. Straw purchasing of firearms 

8 ‘‘(a) For purposes of this section— 

9 ‘‘(1) the term ‘crime of violence’ has the mean10 ing given that term in section 924(c)(3); 

11 ‘‘(2) the term ‘drug trafficking crime’ has the 

12 meaning given that term in section 924(c)(2); and 

13 ‘‘(3) the term ‘purchases’ includes the receipt of 

14 any firearm by a person who does not own the fire15 arm— 

16 ‘‘(A) by way of pledge or pawn as security 

17 for the payment or repayment of money; or 

18 ‘‘(B) on consignment. 

19 ‘‘(b) It shall be unlawful for any person (other than 

20 a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed col21 lector, or licensed dealer) to knowingly purchase, or at22 tempt or conspire to purchase, any firearm in or otherwise 

23 affecting interstate or foreign commerce— 


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1 ‘‘(1) from a licensed importer, licensed manu2 facturer, licensed collector, or licensed dealer for, on 

3 behalf of, or at the request or demand of any other 

4 person, known or unknown; or 

5 ‘‘(2) from any person who is not a licensed im6 porter, licensed manufacturer, licensed collector, or 

7 licensed dealer for, on behalf of, or at the request or 

8 demand of any other person, known or unknown, 

9 knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that 

10 such other person— 

11 ‘‘(A) is under indictment for, or has been 

12 convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by 

13 imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year; 

14 ‘‘(B) is a fugitive from justice; 

15 ‘‘(C) is an unlawful user of or addicted to 

16 any controlled substance (as defined in section 

17 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 

18 U.S.C. 802)); 

19 ‘‘(D) has been adjudicated as a mental de20 fective or has been committed to any mental in21 stitution; 

22 ‘‘(E) is an alien who— 

23 ‘‘(i) is illegally or unlawfully in the 

24 United States; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) except as provided in section 

2 922(y)(2), has been admitted to the United 

3 States under a nonimmigrant visa (as that 

4 term is defined in section 101(a)(26) of 

5 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

6 U.S.C. 1101(a)(26)); 

7 ‘‘(F) has been discharged from the Armed 

8 Forces under dishonorable conditions; 

9 ‘‘(G) having been a citizen of the United 

10 States, has renounced his or her citizenship; 

11 ‘‘(H) is subject to a court order that re12 strains such person from harassing, stalking, or 

13 threatening an intimate partner of such person 

14 or child of such intimate partner or person, or 

15 engaging in other conduct that would place an 

16 intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily in17 jury to the partner or child, except that this 

18 subparagraph shall only apply to a court order 

19 that— 

20 ‘‘(i) was issued after a hearing of 

21 which such person received actual notice, 

22 and at which such person had the oppor23 tunity to participate; and 

24 ‘‘(ii)(I) includes a finding that such 

25 person represents a credible threat to the 


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1 physical safety of such intimate partner or 

2 child; or 

3 ‘‘(II) by its terms explicitly prohibits 

4 the use, attempted use, or threatened use 

5 of physical force against such intimate 

6 partner or child that would reasonably be 

7 expected to cause bodily injury; 

8 ‘‘(I) has been convicted in any court of a 

9 misdemeanor crime of domestic violence; 

10 ‘‘(J) intends to— 

11 ‘‘(i) use, carry, possess, or sell or oth12 erwise dispose of the firearm or ammuni13 tion in furtherance of a crime of violence 

14 or drug trafficking crime; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) export the firearm or ammuni16 tion in violation of law; 

17 ‘‘(K) who does not reside in any State; or 

18 ‘‘(L) intends to sell or otherwise dispose of 

19 the firearm or ammunition to a person de20 scribed in any of subparagraphs (A) through 

21 (K). 

22 ‘‘(c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), any per23 son who violates subsection (b) shall be fined under this 

24 title, imprisoned for not more than 15 years, or both. 


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1 ‘‘(2) If a violation of subsection (b) is committed 

2 knowing or with reasonable cause to believe that any fire3 arm involved will be used to commit a crime of violence, 

4 the person shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment 

5 of not more than 25 years. 

6 ‘‘(d) Subsection (b)(1) shall not apply to any firearm 

7 that is lawfully purchased by a person— 

8 ‘‘(1) to be given as a bona fide gift to a recipi9 ent who provided no service or tangible thing of 

10 value to acquire the firearm, unless the person 

11 knows or has reasonable cause to believe such recipi12 ent is prohibited by Federal law from possessing, re13 ceiving, selling, shipping, transporting, transferring, 

14 or otherwise disposing of the firearm; or 

15 ‘‘(2) to be given to a bona fide winner of an or16 ganized raffle, contest, or auction conducted in ac17 cordance with law and sponsored by a national, 

18 State, or local organization or association, unless the 

19 person knows or has reasonable cause to believe such 

20 recipient is prohibited by Federal law from pos21 sessing, purchasing, receiving, selling, shipping, 

22 transporting, transferring, or otherwise disposing of 

23 the firearm. 

24 ‘‘§ 933. Trafficking in firearms 

25 ‘‘(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ship, transport, transfer, cause to be 

2 transported, or otherwise dispose of 2 or more fire3 arms to another person in or otherwise affecting 

4 interstate or foreign commerce, if the transferor 

5 knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the 

6 use, carrying, or possession of a firearm by the 

7 transferee would be in violation of, or would result 

8 in a violation of, any Federal law punishable by a 

9 term of imprisonment exceeding 1 year; 

10 ‘‘(2) receive from another person 2 or more 

11 firearms in or otherwise affecting interstate or for12 eign commerce, if the recipient knows or has reason13 able cause to believe that such receipt would be in 

14 violation of, or would result in a violation of, any 

15 Federal law punishable by a term of imprisonment 

16 exceeding 1 year; or 

17 ‘‘(3) attempt or conspire to commit the conduct 

18 described in paragraph (1) or (2). 

19 ‘‘(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), any per20 son who violates subsection (a) shall be fined under this 

21 title, imprisoned for not more than 15 years, or both. 

22 ‘‘(2) If a violation of subsection (a) is committed by 

23 a person in concert with 5 or more other persons with 

24 respect to whom such person occupies a position of orga25 nizer, leader, supervisor, or manager, the person shall be 


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1 sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than 

2 25 years. 

3 ‘‘§ 934. Forfeiture and fines 

4 ‘‘(a)(1) Any person convicted of a violation of section 

5 932 or 933 shall forfeit to the United States, irrespective 

6 of any provision of State law— 

7 ‘‘(A) any property constituting, or derived from, 

8 any proceeds the person obtained, directly or indi9 rectly, as the result of such violation; and 

10 ‘‘(B) any of the person’s property used, or in11 tended to be used, in any manner or part, to com12 mit, or to facilitate the commission of, such viola13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(2) The court, in imposing sentence on a person con15 victed of a violation of section 932 or 933, shall order, 

16 in addition to any other sentence imposed pursuant to sec17 tion 932 or 933, that the person forfeit to the United 

18 States all property described in paragraph (1). 

19 ‘‘(b) A defendant who derives profits or other pro20 ceeds from an offense under section 932 or 933 may be 

21 fined not more than the greater of— 

22 ‘‘(1) the fine otherwise authorized by this part; 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(2) the amount equal to twice the gross profits 

2 or other proceeds of the offense under section 932 

3 or 933.’’. 

4 (b) TITLE III AUTHORIZATION.—Section 2516(1)(n) 

5 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘and 924(n)’’ and inserting ‘‘, 924, 932, or 933’’. 

7 (c) RACKETEERING AMENDMENT.—Section 

8 1961(1)(B) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

9 by inserting ‘‘section 932 (relating to straw purchasing), 

10 section 933 (relating to trafficking in firearms),’’ before 

11 ‘‘section 1028’’. 

12 (d) MONEY LAUNDERING AMENDMENT.—Section 

13 1956(c)(7)(D) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

14 by striking ‘‘section 924(n)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

15 924(n), 932, or 933’’. 

16 (e) DIRECTIVE TO SENTENCING COMMISSION.—Pur17 suant to its authority under section 994 of title 28, United 

18 States Code, and in accordance with this section, the 

19 United States Sentencing Commission shall review and 

20 amend its guidelines and policy statements to ensure that 

21 persons convicted of an offense under section 932 or 933 

22 of title 18, United States Code and other offenses applica23 ble to the straw purchases and firearms trafficking of fire24 arms are subject to increased penalties in comparison to 

25 those currently provided by the guidelines and policy stateVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:37 Mar 04, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S443.IS S443

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1 ments for such straw purchasing and firearms trafficking 

2 offenses. The Commission shall also review and amend its 

3 guidelines and policy statements to reflect the intent of 

4 Congress that a person convicted of an offense under sec5 tion 932 or 933 of title 18, United States Code, who is 

6 affiliated with a gang, cartel, organized crime ring, or 

7 other such enterprise should be subject to higher penalties 

8 than an otherwise unaffiliated individual. 

9 (f) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

10 The table of sections of chapter 44 of title 18, United 

11 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

‘‘932. Straw purchasing of firearms. 

‘‘933. Trafficking in firearms. 

‘‘934. Forfeiture and fines.’’. 

13 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 922(d). 

14 Section 922(d) of title 18, United States Code, is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

17 end; 

18 (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at 

19 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

20 (3) by striking the matter following paragraph 

21 (9) and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(10) intends to sell or otherwise dispose of the 

23 firearm or ammunition to a person described in any 

24 of paragraphs (1) through (9); or 


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1 ‘‘(11) intends to sell or otherwise dispose of the 

2 firearm or ammunition in furtherance of a crime of 

3 violence or drug trafficking offense or to export the 

4 firearm or ammunition in violation of law. 

5 This subsection shall not apply with respect to the sale 

6 or disposition of a firearm or ammunition to a licensed 

7 importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or li8 censed collector who pursuant to subsection (b) of section 

9 925 is not precluded from dealing in firearms or ammuni10 tion, or to a person who has been granted relief from dis11 abilities pursuant to subsection (c) of section 925.’’. 

12 SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 924(a). 

13 Section 924(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘(d), (g),’’; 

16 and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(8) Whoever knowingly violates subsection (d) or (g) 

19 of section 922 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned 

20 not more than 15 years, or both.’’. 

21 SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 924(h). 

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

23 amended by striking subsection (h) and inserting the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(h)(1) Whoever knowingly receives or transfers a 

2 firearm or ammunition, or attempts or conspires to do so, 

3 knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that such 

4 firearm or ammunition will be used to commit a crime of 

5 violence (as defined in subsection (c)(3)), a drug traf6 ficking crime (as defined in subsection (c)(2)), or a crime 

7 under the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et 

8 seq.), the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 

9 (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin 

10 Designation Act (21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), or section 

11 212(a)(2)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

12 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(C)) shall be imprisoned not more than 

13 25 years, fined in accordance with this title, or both. 

14 ‘‘(2) No term of imprisonment imposed on a person 

15 under this subsection shall run concurrently with any term 

16 of imprisonment imposed on the person under section 

17 932.’’. 

18 SEC. 7. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 924(k). 

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

20 amended by striking subsection (k) and inserting the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(k)(1) A person who, with intent to engage in or 

23 to promote conduct that— 

24 ‘‘(A) is punishable under the Controlled Sub25 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), the Controlled 


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1 Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 951 

2 et seq.), or chapter 705 of title 46; 

3 ‘‘(B) violates any law of a State relating to any 

4 controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of 

5 the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 802); or 

6 ‘‘(C) constitutes a crime of violence (as defined 

7 in subsection (c)(3)), 

8 smuggles or knowingly brings into the United States, a 

9 firearm or ammunition, or attempts or conspires to do so, 

10 shall be imprisoned not more than 15 years, fined under 

11 this title, or both. 

12 ‘‘(2) A person who, with intent to engage in or to 

13 promote conduct that— 

14 ‘‘(A) would be punishable under the Controlled 

15 Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), the Con16 trolled Substances Import and Export Act (21 

17 U.S.C. 951 et seq.), or chapter 705 of title 46, if the 

18 conduct had occurred within the United States; or 

19 ‘‘(B) would constitute a crime of violence (as 

20 defined in subsection (c)(3)) for which the person 

21 may be prosecuted in a court of the United States, 

22 if the conduct had occurred within the United 

23 States, 

24 smuggles or knowingly takes out of the United States, a 

25 firearm or ammunition, or attempts or conspires to do so, 


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1 shall be imprisoned not more than 15 years, fined under 

2 this title, or both.’’. 

Æ 


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