I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 257 

To prevent children’s access to firearms. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 7, 2009 

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 2009’’. 

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 activiVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:48 Jan 21, 2009 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H257.IH H257

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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 local 

9 law.’’; and 

10 (8) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘juvenile’’ 

11 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘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(z) of title 

23 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(z) It shall be unlawful for any licensed importer, 

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


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

2 importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer) unless 

3 the transferee is provided with a secure gun storage or 

4 safety device.’’. 

5 (b) PENALTIES.—Section 924(p) of such title is 

6 amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(p) The Attorney General may, after notice and op8 portunity for hearing, suspend or revoke any license issued 

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

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

11 license has knowingly violated section 922(z). The actions 

12 of the Attorney General under this subsection may be re13 viewed only as provided in section 923(f).’’. 

14 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

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

16 the enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 5. RESPONSIBILITY OF ADULTS FOR DEATH AND IN18 JURY CAUSED BY CHILD ACCESS TO FIRE19 ARMS. 

20 Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

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

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

25 who— 


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

2 firearm and ammunition for the firearm, any one of 

3 which has been shipped or transported in interstate 

4 or foreign commerce, within any premises that is 

5 under the custody or control of that person; 

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

7 that a child is capable of gaining access to the fire8 arm; and 

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

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

11 serious bodily injury (as defined in section 1365 of 

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

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

14 that possession of the firearm by the child is unlaw15 ful under Federal or State law, 

16 if the child uses the firearm to cause death or serious bod17 ily injury to the child or any other person, shall be impris18 oned not more than 3 years, fined under this title, or both. 

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

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

21 firearm was secured with a secure gun storage or 

22 safety device; 

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

24 the Armed Forces, or a member of the National 

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


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1 incidental to, the performance of the official duties 

2 of the person in that capacity; 

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

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

5 or 

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

7 based on objective facts and circumstances, that a 

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

9 the firearm is kept.’’. 

10 SEC. 6. REQUIREMENT THAT CHILD BE ACCOMPANIED BY 

11 AN ADULT DURING A GUN SHOW. 

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

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

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(bb)(1) The parent or legal guardian of a child shall 

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

17 child is accompanied by an adult. 

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

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

20 accompanied by an adult. 

21 ‘‘(3) In this subsection: 

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

23 has not attained 18 years of age. 

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

25 has attained 18 years of age.’’. 


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

2 amended by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(8) Whoever violates section 922(bb) in a State shall 

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

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

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

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

8 authorized to provide grants to units of local government 

9 to enable law enforcement agencies to develop and sponsor 

10 gun safety classes for parents and their children. 

11 (b) APPLICATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any unit of local govern13 ment that desires to receive a grant award under 

14 this section shall submit an application to the Attor15 ney General at such time, in such manner and con16 taining such information as the Attorney General 

17 may reasonably require. 

18 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application referred to 

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

20 (A) funds received under this section shall 

21 be used only to provide funds to law enforce22 ment agencies to provide gun safety classes; 

23 and 


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1 (B) gun safety classes will be offered at 

2 times convenient to parents, including evenings 

3 and weekends. 

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

5 any regulations necessary to carry out this section. 

6 SEC. 8. EDUCATION: NATIONWIDE FIREARMS SAFETY PRO7 GRAMS. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that— 

9 (1) each school district should provide or par10 ticipate in a firearms safety program for students in 

11 grades kindergarten through 12 and should consult 

12 with a certified firearms instructor before estab13 lishing the curriculum for the program; and 

14 (2) participation by students in a firearms safe15 ty program should not be mandatory if the district 

16 receives written notice from a parent of the student 

17 to exempt the student from the program. 

Æ 


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