I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 76

To prevent children’s access to firearms. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 7, 2003

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To prevent children’s access to firearms.

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 ‘‘Child Gun Safety and 

5 Gun Access Prevention Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INCREASING YOUTH GUN SAFETY BY RAISING THE 

7 AGE OF HANDGUN ELIGIBILITY AND PROHIB8 ITING YOUTH FROM POSSESSING SEMIAUTO9 MATIC ASSAULT WEAPONS. 

10 Section 922(x) of title 18, United States Code, is 

11 amended—

12 (1) in paragraph (1)—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘juvenile’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘person who is less than 21 years of age’’; 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara4 graph (A); 

5 (C) by striking the period at the end of 

6 subparagraph (B) and inserting a semicolon; 

7 and 

8 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(C) a semiautomatic assault weapon; or 

10 ‘‘(D) a large capacity ammunition feeding de11 vice.’’; 

12 (2) in paragraph (2)—

13 (A) by striking ‘‘a juvenile’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘less than 21 years of age’’; 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara16 graph (A); 

17 (C) by striking the period at the end of 

18 subparagraph (B) and inserting a semicolon; 

19 and 

20 (D) by inserting at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(C) a semiautomatic assault weapon; or 

22 ‘‘(D) a large capacity ammunition feeding 

23 device.’’; 

24 (3) in paragraph (3)(A), by inserting ‘‘tem25 porary’’ before ‘‘possession’’; 
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1 (4) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘juvenile’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘person who is less than 21 years of 

3 age’’; 

4 (5) in paragraph (3)(C), by striking ‘‘juvenile; 

5 or’’ and inserting ‘‘person who is less than 21 years 

6 of age;’’; 

7 (6) by striking subparagraph (D) of paragraph 

8 (3) and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(D) the possession of a handgun or ammuni10 tion by a person who is less than 21 years of age 

11 taken in defense of that person or other persons 

12 against an intruder into the residence of that person 

13 or a residence in which that person is an invited 

14 guest; or’’; 

15 (7) by adding at the end of paragraph (3) the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(E) a temporary transfer of a handgun or am18 munition to a person who is at least 18 years of age 

19 and less than 21 years of age, or the temporary use 

20 or possession of a handgun or ammunition by a per21 son who is at least 18 years of age and less than 21 

22 years of age, if the handgun and ammunition are 

23 possessed and used by the person—

24 ‘‘(i) in the course of employment, in the 

25 course of ranching or farming related to activi-
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1 ties at the residence of the person (or on prop2 erty used for ranching or farming at which the 

3 person, with the permission of the property 

4 owner or lessee, is performing activities related 

5 to the operation of the farm or ranch), target 

6 practice, hunting, or a course of instruction in 

7 the safe and lawful use of a handgun; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) in accordance with State and 

9 local law.’’; and 

10 (8) by amending paragraph (4) to strike ‘‘juve11 nile’’ wherever it appears and insert ‘‘person who is 

12 less than 21 years of age’’. 

13 SEC. 3. ENHANCED PENALTY FOR YOUTH POSSESSION OF 

14 HANDGUNS AND SEMIAUTOMATIC ASSAULT 

15 WEAPONS AND FOR THE TRANSFER OF SUCH 

16 WEAPONS TO YOUTH. 

17 Section 924(a)(6) of title 18, United States Code, is 

18 amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘(6)(A) A juvenile who violates section 922(x) shall 

20 be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than one 

21 year, or both, and for a second or subsequent violation, 

22 or for a first violation committed after an adjudication of 

23 delinquency or after a State or Federal conviction for an 

24 act that, if committed by an adult, would be a serious vio25 lent felony (as defined in section 3559(c) of this title), 
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1 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 

2 5 years, or both. 

3 ‘‘(B) A person other than a juvenile who knowingly 

4 violates section 922(x)—

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

6 not more than five years, or both; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) if the person sold, delivered, or otherwise 

8 transferred a handgun, ammunition, semiautomatic 

9 assault weapon, or large capacity ammunition feed10 ing device to a person who is less than 21 years of 

11 age knowing or having reasonable cause to know 

12 that such person intended to carry or otherwise pos13 sess or discharge or otherwise use the handgun, am14 munition, semiautomatic assault weapon, or large 

15 capacity ammunition feeding device in the commis16 sion of a crime of violence, shall be fined under this 

17 title, imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or 

18 both.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. GUN STORAGE AND SAFETY DEVICES FOR ALL 

20 FIREARMS. 

21 (a) SECURE GUN STORAGE OR SAFETY DEVICES BY

22 FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSEES.—Section 922 of title 

23 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following: 
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1 ‘‘(z) It shall be unlawful for any licensed importer, 

2 licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to sell, transfer, 

3 or deliver any firearm to any person (other than a licensed 

4 importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer) unless 

5 the transferee is provided with a secure gun storage or 

6 safety device.’’. 

7 (b) PENALTIES.—Section 924 of such title is amend8 ed—

9 (1) in subsection (a)(1) by inserting ‘‘, or (p)’’ 

10 before ‘‘of this section’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(p) The Attorney General may, after notice and op13 portunity for hearing, suspend or revoke any license issued 

14 under this chapter or may subject the licensee to a civil 

15 penalty of not more than $10,000 if the holder of such 

16 license has knowingly violated section 922(z) of this chap17 ter. The actions of the Attorney General under this sub18 section may be reviewed only as provided in section 

19 923(f).’’. 

20 (c) REPEAL OF INCONSISTENT PROVISIONS.—

21 (1) Section 923(d)(1) of such title is amend22 ed—

23 (A) in subparagraph (E) by adding at the 

24 end ‘‘and’’; 
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1 (B) in subparagraph (F) by striking ‘‘; 

2 and’’ and inserting a period; and 

3 (C) by striking subparagraph (G). 

4 (2) Section 923(e) of such title is amended by 

5 striking ‘‘or fails to have secure gun storage or safe6 ty devices available at any place in which firearms 

7 are sold under the license to persons who are not li8 censees (except that in any case in which a secure 

9 gun storage or safety device is temporarily unavail10 able because of theft, casualty loss, consumer sales, 

11 backorders from a manufacturer, or any other simi12 lar reason beyond the control of the licensee, shall 

13 not be considered to be in violation of the require14 ment to make available such a device)’’. 

15 (3) Section 119 of the Departments of Com16 merce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Re17 lated Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (as con18 tained in section 101(b) of division A of the Omni19 bus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Ap20 propriations Act, 1999; Public Law 105–277) is 

21 amended by striking subsection (d). 

22 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section shall be effective 180 days after the date of 

24 the enactment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 5. RESPONSIBILITY OF ADULTS FOR DEATH AND IN2 JURY CAUSED BY CHILD ACCESS TO FIRE3 ARMS. 

4 Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is further 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(aa)(1) In this subsection, the term ‘child’ means 

7 an individual who has not attained the age of 18 years. 

8 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), any person 

9 who—

10 ‘‘(A) keeps a loaded firearm, or an unloaded 

11 firearm and ammunition for the firearm, any one of 

12 which has been shipped or transported in interstate 

13 or foreign commerce, within any premises that is 

14 under the custody or control of that person; and 

15 ‘‘(B) knows, or recklessly disregards the risk, 

16 that a child is capable of gaining access to the fire17 arm; and 

18 ‘‘(C)(i) knows, or recklessly disregards the risk, 

19 that a child will use the firearm to cause death or 

20 serious bodily injury (as defined in section 1365 of 

21 this title) to the child or any other person; or

22 ‘‘(ii) knows, or recklessly disregards the risk, 

23 that possession of the firearm by the child is unlaw24 ful under Federal or State law, 
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1 if the child uses the firearm to cause death or serious bod2 ily injury to the child or any other person, shall be impris3 oned not more than 3 years, fined under this title, or both. 

4 ‘‘(3) Paragraph (2) shall not apply if—

5 ‘‘(A) at the time the child obtained access, the 

6 firearm was secured with a secure gun storage or 

7 safety device; 

8 ‘‘(B) the person is a peace officer, a member of 

9 the Armed Forces, or a member of the National 

10 Guard, and the child obtains the firearm during, or 

11 incidental to, the performance of the official duties 

12 of the person in that capacity; 

13 ‘‘(C) the child uses the firearm in a lawful act 

14 of self-defense or defense of 1 or more other persons; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(D) the person has no reasonable expectation, 

17 based on objective facts and circumstances, that a 

18 child is likely to be present on the premises on which 

19 the firearm is kept.’’. 

20 SEC. 6. REQUIREMENT THAT CHILD BE ACCOMPANIED BY 

21 AN ADULT DURING A GUN SHOW. 

22 (a) PROHIBITIONS.—Section 922 of title 18, United 

23 States Code, is further amended by adding at the end the 

24 following: 
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1 ‘‘(bb)(1) The parent or legal guardian of a child shall 

2 ensure that, while the child is attending a gun show, the 

3 child is accompanied by an adult. 

4 ‘‘(2) It shall be unlawful for a person to conduct a 

5 gun show to which there is admitted a child who is not 

6 accompanied by an adult. 

7 ‘‘(3) In this subsection: 

8 ‘‘(A) The term ‘child’ means an individual who 

9 has not attained 18 years of age. 

10 ‘‘(B) The term ‘adult’ means an individual who 

11 has attained 18 years of age.’’. 

12 (b) PENALTIES.—Section 924(a) of such title is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(7) Whoever violates section 922(bb) in a State shall 

15 be punished in accordance with the laws of the State that 

16 apply to persons convicted of child abandonment.’’. 

17 SEC. 7. GRANTS FOR GUN SAFETY EDUCATION PROGRAMS. 

18 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—The Attorney General is 

19 authorized to provide grants to units of local government 

20 to enable law enforcement agencies to develop and sponsor 

21 gun safety classes for parents and their children. 

22 (b) APPLICATION.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any unit of local govern24 ment that desires to receive a grant award under 

25 this section shall submit an application to the Attor-
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1 ney General at such time, in such manner and con2 taining such information as the Attorney General 

3 may reasonably require. 

4 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application referred to 

5 in paragraph (1) shall include an assurance that—

6 (A) funds received under this section shall 

7 be used only to provide funds to law enforce8 ment agencies to provide gun safety classes; 

9 and 

10 (B) gun safety classes will be offered at 

11 times convenient to parents, including evenings 

12 and weekends. 

13 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Attorney General shall issue 

14 any regulations necessary to carry out this section. 

15 SEC. 8. EDUCATION: NATIONWIDE FIREARMS SAFETY PRO16 GRAMS. 

17 It is the sense of Congress that—

18 (1) each school district should provide or par19 ticipate in a firearms safety program for students in 

20 grades kindergarten through 12 and should consult 

21 with a certified firearms instructor before estab22 lishing the curriculum for the program; and 

23 (2) participation by students in a firearms safe24 ty program should not be mandatory if the district 
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1 receives written notice from a parent of the student 

2 to exempt the student from the program.

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