II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1807

To require criminal background checks on all firearms transactions occurring 

at events that provide a venue for the sale, offer for sale, transfer, 

or exchange of firearms, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 31, 2003

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. REED, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. 

CHAFEE, Mr. LAUTENBERG, and Mr. SCHUMER) introduced the following 

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

A BILL

To require criminal background checks on all firearms transactions occurring at events that provide a venue for 

the sale, offer for sale, transfer, or exchange of firearms, 

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 ‘‘Gun Show Loophole 

5 Closing Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(36) SPECIAL FIREARMS EVENT.—The term 

2 ‘special firearms event’—

3 ‘‘(A) means any event at which 75 or more 

4 firearms are offered or exhibited for sale, ex5 change, or transfer, if 1 or more of the firearms 

6 has been shipped or transported in, or other7 wise affects, interstate or foreign commerce; 

8 ‘‘(B) does not include an offer or exhibit of 

9 firearms for sale, exchange, or transfer by an 

10 individual from the personal collection of that 

11 individual, at the private residence of that indi12 vidual, if the individual is not required to be li13 censed under section 923 or 932; and 

14 ‘‘(C) does not include an offer or exhibit of 

15 firearms for sale, exchange, or transfer at 

16 events conducted and attended by permanent or 

17 annual dues paying members, and their imme18 diate family, of private, not-for-profit organiza19 tions whose primary purpose is owning and 

20 maintaining real property for the purpose of 

21 hunting activities. 

22 ‘‘(37) SPECIAL FIREARMS EVENT LICENSEE.—

23 The term ‘special firearms event licensee’ means any 

24 person who has obtained and holds a valid license in 

25 compliance with section 932(d) and who is author-
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1 ized to contact the national instant criminal back2 ground check system on behalf of another individual, 

3 who is not licensed under this chapter, for the pur4 pose of conducting a background check for a poten5 tial firearms transfer at a special firearms event in 

6 accordance with section 932(c). 

7 ‘‘(38) SPECIAL FIREARMS EVENT VENDOR.—

8 The term ‘special firearms event vendor’ means any 

9 person who is not required to be licensed under sec10 tion 923 and who exhibits, sells, offers for sale, 

11 transfers, or exchanges 1 or more firearms at a spe12 cial firearms event, regardless of whether or not the 

13 person arranges with the special firearms event pro14 moter for a fixed location from which to exhibit, sell, 

15 offer for sale, transfer, or exchange 1 or more fire16 arms.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. REGULATION OF FIREARMS TRANSFERS AT SPE18 CIAL FIREARMS EVENTS. 

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

20 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘§ 932. Regulation of firearms transfers at special 

23 firearms events 

24 ‘‘(a) SPECIAL FIREARMS EVENTS OPERATORS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION TO ATTORNEY GENERAL OF

2 SPECIAL FIREARMS EVENT OPERATORS.—

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful 

4 for any person to operate a special firearms 

5 event unless that person notifies the Attorney 

6 General in accordance with regulations promul7 gated by the Attorney General. 

8 ‘‘(B) FEES.—The Attorney General shall 

9 be prohibited from imposing or collecting any 

10 fee from special firearms event operators in 

11 connection with the notification requirement in 

12 subparagraph (A). 

13 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES OF SPECIAL FIREARMS

14 EVENTS OPERATORS.—It shall be unlawful for a spe15 cial firearms events operator to organize, plan, pro16 mote, or operate a special firearms event unless that 

17 operator— 

18 ‘‘(A) not later than 30 days before the 

19 commencement of the special firearms event, 

20 notifies the Attorney General, in writing, of the 

21 date, time, duration, and location of the special 

22 firearms event, and the special firearms event 

23 vendors planning to participate; 

24 ‘‘(B) before the commencement of the spe25 cial firearms event, or in the case of a vendor 
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1 who arrives after the commencement of the 

2 event, upon the arrival of the vendor, verifies 

3 the identity of each special firearms event ven4 dor participating in the special firearms event 

5 by examining a valid identification document 

6 (as defined in section 1028(d)(2)) of the vendor 

7 containing a photograph of the vendor; 

8 ‘‘(C) before the commencement of the spe9 cial firearms event, or in the case of a vendor 

10 who arrives after the commencement of the 

11 event, upon the arrival of the vendor, requires 

12 each special firearms event vendor to sign— 

13 ‘‘(i) a ledger with identifying informa14 tion concerning the vendor; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) a notice advising the vendor of 

16 the obligations of the vendor under this 

17 chapter; 

18 ‘‘(D) notifies each person who attends the 

19 special firearms event of the requirements of 

20 this chapter, in accordance with such regula21 tions as the Attorney General shall prescribe; 

22 ‘‘(E) not later than 5 days after the last 

23 day of the special firearms event, submits to the 

24 Attorney General a copy of the ledger and no25 tice described in subparagraph (C)(i); and
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1 ‘‘(F) maintains a copy of the records de2 scribed in subparagraphs (B) and (C) at the 

3 permanent place of business of the operator for 

4 such period of time and in such form as the At5 torney General shall require by regulation. 

6 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRANSFERORS OTHER

7 THAN LICENSEES.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If any part of a firearm 

9 transaction takes place at a special firearms event, 

10 or on the curtilage of the event, it shall be unlawful 

11 for any person who is not licensed under this chap12 ter to transfer a firearm to another person who is 

13 not licensed under this chapter, unless the firearm 

14 is transferred through a licensed importer, licensed 

15 manufacturer, licensed dealer, or a special firearms 

16 event licensee in accordance with subsection (c). 

17 ‘‘(2) CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS.—A per18 son who is subject to the requirement of paragraph 

19 (1) shall not—

20 ‘‘(A) transfer the firearm to the transferee 

21 until the licensed importer, licensed manufac22 turer, licensed dealer, or a special firearms 

23 event licensee through which the transfer is 

24 made makes the notification described in sub25 section (c)(2)(A); or 
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1 ‘‘(B) transfer the firearm to the transferee 

2 if the person has been notified under subsection 

3 (c)(2)(B) that the transfer would violate section 

4 922 or State law. 

5 ‘‘(3) ABSENCE OF RECORDKEEPING REQUIRE6 MENTS.—Nothing in this section shall permit or au7 thorize the Attorney General to impose record8 keeping requirements on any nonlicensed special 

9 firearms event vendor. 

10 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF LICENSEES.—A licensed 

11 importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or special 

12 firearms event licensee who agrees to assist a person who 

13 is not licensed under this chapter in carrying out the re14 sponsibilities of that person under subsection (b) with re15 spect to the transfer of a firearm shall—

16 ‘‘(1) except as provided in paragraph (2), com17 ply with section 922(t) as if transferring the firearm 

18 from the inventory of the licensed importer, licensed 

19 manufacturer, or licensed dealer to the designated 

20 transferee (although a licensed importer, licensed 

21 manufacturer, or licensed dealer complying with this 

22 subsection shall not be required to comply again 

23 with the requirements of section 922(t) in delivering 

24 the firearm to the nonlicensed transferor); 
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1 ‘‘(2) not later than 3 business days (meaning 

2 days on which State offices are open) after the date 

3 of the agreement to purchase, or if the event is held 

4 in a State that has been certified by the Attorney 

5 General under section 4 of the Gun Show Loophole 

6 Closing Act of 2003, not later than 24 hours after 

7 such date (or 3 business days after such date if ad8 ditional information is required in order to verify 

9 disqualifying information from a State that has not 

10 been certified by the Attorney General), notify the 

11 nonlicensed transferor and the nonlicensed trans12 feree— 

13 ‘‘(A) of any response from the national 

14 criminal background check system, or if the li15 censee has had no response from the national 

16 criminal background check system within the 

17 applicable time period under this paragraph, 

18 notify the nonlicensed transferor that no re19 sponse has been received and that the transfer 

20 may proceed; and 

21 ‘‘(B) of any receipt by the licensed im22 porter, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer 

23 of a notification from the national instant 

24 criminal background check system that the 
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1 transfer would violate section 922 or would vio2 late State law; 

3 ‘‘(3) in the case of a transfer at one time or 

4 during any 5 consecutive business days, of 2 or more 

5 pistols or revolvers, or any combination of pistols 

6 and revolvers totaling 2 or more, to the same non7 licensed person, in addition to the record keeping re8 quirements described in paragraph (4), prepare a re9 port of the multiple transfers, which report shall 

10 be—

11 ‘‘(A) on a form specified by the Attorney 

12 General; and 

13 ‘‘(B) not later than the close of business 

14 on the date on which the multiple transfer oc15 curs, forwarded to—

16 ‘‘(i) the office specified on the form 

17 described in subparagraph (A); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the appropriate State law en19 forcement agency of the jurisdiction in 

20 which the transfer occurs; and 

21 ‘‘(4) comply with all record keeping require22 ments under this chapter. 

23 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL FIREARMS EVENT LICENSE.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 

25 issue a special firearms event license to a person 
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1 who submits an application for a special firearms 

2 event license in accordance with this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—The application required 

4 by paragraph (1) shall be approved if—

5 ‘‘(A) the applicant is 21 years of age or 

6 over; 

7 ‘‘(B) the application includes a photograph 

8 and the fingerprints of the applicant; 

9 ‘‘(C) the applicant (including, in the case 

10 of a corporation, partnership, or association, 

11 any individual possessing, directly or indirectly, 

12 the power to direct or cause the direction of the 

13 management and policies of the corporation, 

14 partnership, or association) is not prohibited 

15 from transporting, shipping, or receiving fire16 arms or ammunition in interstate or foreign 

17 commerce under subsection (g) or (n) of section 

18 922; 

19 ‘‘(D) the applicant has not willfully vio20 lated any of the provisions of this chapter or 

21 regulations issued thereunder; 

22 ‘‘(E) the applicant has not willfully failed 

23 to disclose any material information required, 

24 or has not made any false statement as to any
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1 material fact, in connection with the applica2 tion; and 

3 ‘‘(F) the applicant certifies that—

4 ‘‘(i) the applicant meets the require5 ments of subparagraphs (A) through (D) 

6 of section 923(d)(1); 

7 ‘‘(ii) the business to be conducted 

8 under the license is not prohibited by State 

9 or local law in the place where the licensed 

10 premises is located; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) the business will not be con12 ducted under the license until the require13 ments of State and local law applicable to 

14 the business have been met. 

15 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION AND APPROVAL.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon the approval of 

17 an application under this subsection and pay18 ment by the applicant of a fee of $200 for 3 

19 years, and upon renewal of a valid registration 

20 and payment of a fee of $90 for 3 years, the 

21 Attorney General shall issue to the applicant an 

22 instant check registration, and advise the Attor23 ney General of that registration. 

24 ‘‘(B) NICS.—A special firearms event li25 censee may contact the national instant crimi-
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1 nal background check system established under 

2 section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence 

3 Prevention Act (18 U.S.C. 922 note) for infor4 mation about any individual desiring to obtain 

5 a firearm at a special firearms event from any 

6 special firearms event vendor who has requested 

7 the assistance of the registrant in complying 

8 with subsection (c) with respect to the transfer 

9 of the firearm, during the 3-year period that 

10 begins on the date on which the registration is 

11 issued.

12 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements for a 

13 special firearms event licensee shall not exceed the 

14 requirements for a licensed dealer and the record 

15 keeping requirements shall be the same. 

16 ‘‘(5) RESTRICTIONS.—

17 ‘‘(A) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—A special 

18 firearms event licensee may have access to the 

19 national instant criminal background check sys20 tem to conduct a background check only at a 

21 special firearms event and only on behalf of an22 other person. 

23 ‘‘(B) TRANSFER OF FIREARMS.—A special 

24 firearms event licensee shall not transfer a fire25 arm at a special firearms event. 
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1 ‘‘(e) FIREARM TRANSACTION DEFINED.—In this sec2 tion, the term ‘firearm transaction’— 

3 ‘‘(1) includes the sale, offer for sale, transfer, 

4 or exchange of a firearm; and 

5 ‘‘(2) does not include—

6 ‘‘(A) the mere exhibition of a firearm; or 

7 ‘‘(B) the sale, transfer, or exchange of fire8 arms between immediate family members, in9 cluding parents, children, siblings, grand10 parents, and grandchildren.’’. 

11 (b) PENALTIES.—Section 924(a) of title 18, United 

12 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(8)(A) Whoever knowingly violates section 932(a)(1) 

15 or 932(b)—

16 ‘‘(i) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned 

17 not more than 2 years, or both; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a second or subsequent con19 viction, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned 

20 not more than 5 years, or both. 

21 ‘‘(B) Whoever knowingly violates section 932(a)(2) or 

22 932(c) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more 

23 than 5 years, or both. 
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1 ‘‘(C) Whoever knowingly violates section 932(a)(3) 

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

3 2 years, or both. 

4 ‘‘(D) In addition to any other penalties imposed 

5 under this paragraph, the Attorney General may, with re6 spect to any person who violates any provision of section 

7 932— 

8 ‘‘(i) if the person is registered pursuant to sec9 tion 932(a), after notice and opportunity for a hear10 ing, suspend for not more than 6 months or revoke 

11 the registration of that person under section 932(a); 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(ii) impose a civil fine in an amount equal to 

14 not more than $10,000.’’. 

15 (c) UNLAWFUL ACTS.—Section 922(b) of title 18, 

16 United States Code, is amended in the matter preceding 

17 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or licensed collector’’ and in18 serting ‘‘licensed collector, or special firearms event li19 censee’’. 

20 (d) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

21 Chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

22 in the chapter analysis, by adding at the end the following:

‘‘932. Regulation of firearms transfers at special firearms events.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. STATE OPTION FOR 24-HOUR BACKGROUND 

2 CHECKS AT SPECIAL FIREARMS EVENTS FOR 

3 STATES WITH COMPUTERIZED DISQUALI4 FYING RECORDS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective 3 years after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act, a State may apply to the Attor7 ney General for certification of the 24-hour verification 

8 authority of that State. 

9 (b) CERTIFICATION.—The Attorney General shall 

10 certify a State for 24-hour verification authority only upon 

11 a clear showing by the State, and certification by the Bu12 reau of Justice Statistics, that—

13 (1) not less than 95 percent of all records con14 taining information that would disqualify an indi15 vidual under subsections (g) and (n) of section 922 

16 of title 18, United States Code, or under State law, 

17 is available on computer records in the State, and is 

18 searchable under the national instant criminal back19 ground check system established under section 103 

20 of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (18 

21 U.S.C. 922 note); 

22 (2) not less than 95 percent of all records con23 taining information that would disqualify an indi24 vidual under paragraphs (8) and (9) of subsection 

25 922(g) of title 18, United States Code, or under 

26 State law, is available on computer records in the
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1 State, and is searchable under the national instant 

2 criminal background check system established under 

3 section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Protec4 tion Act (18 U.S.C. 922 note); and 

5 (3) the chief judicial officer of the State re6 quires the courts of the State to use the toll-free 

7 telephone number described in subsection (d)(1) to 

8 immediately notify the National Instant Criminal 

9 Background Check System each time a restraining 

10 order (as described in section 922(g)(8) of title 18, 

11 United States Code) is issued, lifted, or otherwise 

12 removed by order of the court. 

13 (c) CLARIFICATIONS.—

14 (1) DISQUALIFYING INFORMATION.—Disquali15 fying information for each State under subsection 

16 (b) shall include the disqualifying records for that 

17 State generated during the 30 years preceding the 

18 date of application to the Attorney General for cer19 tification. 

20 (2) TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER.—Upon a 

21 showing by the State that a court of the State has 

22 developed computer systems which permit the court 

23 to immediately electronically notify the National In24 stant Criminal Background Check System with re25 spect to the issuance or lifting of restraining orders, 
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1 the use of the toll-free telephone number described 

2 in subsection (d)(1) shall no longer be required 

3 under subsection (b)(3). 

4 (d) NOTIFICATION INFRASTRUCTURE.—Before certi5 fying any State under subsection (b), the Attorney Gen6 eral shall—

7 (1) create a toll-free telephone number through 

8 which State and local courts may immediately notify 

9 the National Instant Background Check System 

10 whenever a restraining order (as described in section 

11 922(g)(8) of title 18, United States Code) is issued, 

12 lifted, or otherwise removed by order of the court; 

13 and 

14 (2) encourage States to develop computer sys15 tems that permit courts to immediately electronically 

16 notify the National Instant Criminal Background 

17 Check System whenever a restraining order (as de18 scribed in section 922(g)(8) of title 18, United 

19 States Code) has been issued, lifted, or otherwise re20 moved by order of the court. 

21 (e) 24-HOUR PROVISION.—Upon certification by the 

22 Attorney General, the 24-hour provision in section 

23 932(c)(2) of title 18, United States Code, shall apply to 

24 the verification process (for transfers between unlicensed 

25 persons) in that State unless additional information is re-
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1 quired in order to verify disqualifying information from 

2 a State that has not been certified by the Attorney Gen3 eral, in which case the 3 business day limit shall apply. 

4 (f) ANNUAL REVIEW.—The Director of the Bureau 

5 of Justice Statistics shall annually review the certifications 

6 under this section. 

7 (g) REVOCATION.—The Attorney General shall re8 voke the certification required under this section for any 

9 State that is not in compliance with subsection (b). 

10 SEC. 5. INSPECTION AUTHORITY. 

11 Section 923(g)(1)(B), of title 18, United States Code, 

12 is amended by striking ‘‘or licensed dealer’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘licensed dealer, or special firearms event operator’’. 

14 SEC. 6. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR SERIOUS RECORD15 KEEPING VIOLATIONS BY LICENSEES. 

16 Section 924(a)(3) of title 18, United States Code, is 

17 amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph 

19 (B), any licensed dealer, licensed importer, licensed 

20 manufacturer, licensed collector, or special firearms 

21 event licensee who knowingly makes any false state22 ment or representation with respect to the informa23 tion required by this chapter to be kept in the 

24 records of a person licensed under this chapter, or 
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1 violates section 922(m) shall be fined under this 

2 title, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both. 

3 ‘‘(B) If the violation described in subparagraph 

4 (A) is in relation to an offense— 

5 ‘‘(i) under paragraph (1) or (3) of section 

6 922(b), such person shall be fined under this 

7 title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or 

8 both; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) under subsection (a)(6) or (d) of sec10 tion 922, such person shall be fined under this 

11 title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or 

12 both.’’. 

13 SEC. 7. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF CRIMI14 NAL BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIREMENTS. 

15 Section 924(a) of title 18, United States Code, as 

16 amended by section 3(b), is further amended—

17 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘subsection 

18 (s) or (t) of section 922’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

19 922(s)’’; and 

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

21 ‘‘(9) Whoever knowingly violates section 922(t) 

22 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more 

23 than 5 years, or both.’’. 
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1 SEC. 8. RULE OF INTERPRETATION. 

2 A provision of State law is not inconsistent with this 

3 Act or an amendment made by this Act if the provision 

4 imposes a regulation or prohibition of greater scope or a 

5 penalty of greater severity than any prohibition or penalty 

6 imposed by this Act or an amendment made by this Act.

7 SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

8 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

9 take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

10 Act.

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