I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3088 

To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to ensure that all 

firearms are traceable, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 11, 2021 

Mr. CICILLINE (for himself, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. 

TRONE, Ms. TITUS, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. COOPER, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. MENG, Mr. 

BEYER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. 

AUCHINCLOSS, Mr. PETERS, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mrs. DEMINGS, 

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. PORTER, Mr. CARSON, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. 

SCHIFF, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. DEAN, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, 

Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. JONES, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, 

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. EVANS, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. SWALWELL, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. TORRES of 

New York, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. 

BROWN, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. JACOBS of California, Mr. 

LIEU, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. HIMES, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Mr. KILDEE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to 

ensure that all firearms are traceable, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Untraceable Firearms 

3 Act of 2021’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that— 

6 (1) without the enactment of this Act, the Bu7 reau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 

8 has the authority to regulate ghost guns (as defined 

9 in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, as 

10 amended by section 3 of this Act) and unfinished 

11 frames and receivers; and 

12 (2) the purpose of this Act is to clarify and 

13 strengthen such authority. 

14 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT THAT ALL FIREARMS BE TRACE15 ABLE. 

16 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 921(a) of title 18, United 

17 States Code, is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (10), by adding at the end the 

19 following: ‘‘The term ‘manufacturing firearms’ shall 

20 include assembling a functional firearm or molding, 

21 machining, or 3D printing a frame or receiver, and 

22 shall not include making or fitting special barrels, 

23 stocks, or trigger mechanisms to firearms.’’; 

24 (2) by inserting after paragraph (29) the fol25 lowing: 

26 ‘‘(30)(A) The term ‘frame or receiver’— 


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1 ‘‘(i) means a part of a weapon that provides or 

2 is intended to provide the housing or structure to 

3 hold or integrate 1 or more fire control components, 

4 even if pins or other attachments are required to 

5 connect those components to the housing or struc6 ture; 

7 ‘‘(ii) includes a frame or receiver, blank, cast8 ing, or machined body, that requires modification, 

9 including machining, drilling, filing or molding, to be 

10 used as part of a functional firearm, and which is 

11 designed and intended to be used in the assembly of 

12 a functional firearm, unless the piece of material has 

13 had— 

14 ‘‘(I) its size or external shape altered solely 

15 to facilitate transportation or storage; or 

16 ‘‘(II) solely its chemical composition al17 tered. 

18 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A)(i), if a weap19 on with more than 1 part that provides the housing or 

20 a structure designed to hold or integrate 1 or more fire 

21 control or essential components, each such part shall be 

22 considered a frame or receiver, unless the Attorney Gen23 eral has provided otherwise by regulation with respect to 

24 the specific make and model of weapon on or before Janu25 ary 1, 2022.’’; and 


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1 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(36) The term ‘ghost gun’— 

3 ‘‘(A) means a firearm, including a frame or re4 ceiver, that lacks a unique serial number engraved 

5 or cast on the frame or receiver by a licensed manu6 facturer or importer in accordance with this chapter; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) does not include— 

9 ‘‘(i) a firearm that has been rendered per10 manently inoperable; 

11 ‘‘(ii) a firearm identified by means of a 

12 unique serial number assigned by a State agen13 cy and engraved or cast on the receiver or 

14 frame of the weapon before the effective date of 

15 the Untraceable Firearms Act of 2021 in ac16 cordance with a State law; 

17 ‘‘(iii) a firearm manufactured or imported 

18 before December 16, 1968; or 

19 ‘‘(iv) a firearm identified as provided for 

20 under section 5842 of the Internal Revenue 

21 Code of 1986. 

22 ‘‘(37) The term ‘fire control component’— 

23 ‘‘(A) means a component necessary for the fire24 arm to initiate or complete the firing sequence; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) includes a hammer, bolt or breechblock, 

2 cylinder, trigger mechanism, firing pin, striker, and 

3 slide rails.’’. 

4 (b) PROHIBITION; REQUIREMENTS.—Section 922 of 

5 title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following: 

7 ‘‘(aa)(1) The Congress finds and declares the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(A) Firearms tracing is the systematic track10 ing of the movement of a firearm recovered by law 

11 enforcement officials from the first sale of a firearm 

12 by the manufacturer or importer through the dis13 tribution chain (including the wholesaler and re14 tailer) to the first retail purchaser. 

15 ‘‘(B) Law enforcement agencies across the 

16 country work with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 

17 Firearms and Explosives to trace firearms and 

18 thereby obtain investigative leads in the fight 

19 against violent crime and terrorism. 

20 ‘‘(C) The ability of law enforcement agencies to 

21 trace a firearm is dependent on the serial number or 

22 other marks on the firearm that identify the manu23 facturer or importer who manufactured or imported 

24 the firearm and that are unique to the firearm. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Interstate gun trafficking interferes with 

2 lawful commerce in firearms and significantly con3 tributes to gun crime. Of the 254,700 firearms 

4 traced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms 

5 and Explosives in 2018, 71,910 of those firearms 

6 were originally sold by a licensed firearms dealer in 

7 a State other than the State where the firearms 

8 were recovered. These guns made up 28.2 percent of 

9 all firearm recoveries in 2018. 

10 ‘‘(E) Even before the sale of a firearm, the gun, 

11 its component parts, and the raw materials from 

12 which they are made have considerably moved in 

13 interstate commerce. 

14 ‘‘(F) If unserialized and untraceable firearms 

15 may be constructed and transported freely from 

16 State to State, ordinary citizens and foreign visitors 

17 may fear to travel to or through certain parts of the 

18 country due to concern about violent crime and gun 

19 violence, and law enforcement agencies may be un20 able to address it. 

21 ‘‘(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), it 

22 shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture, sell, offer 

23 to sell, transfer, purchase, or receive a ghost gun in or 

24 affecting interstate or foreign commerce. 

25 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the manufacture of a firearm by a licensed 

2 manufacturer if the licensed manufacturer complies 

3 with section 923(i) before selling or transferring the 

4 firearm to another person; 

5 ‘‘(ii) the offer to sell, sale, or transfer of a fire6 arm to, or purchase or receipt of a firearm by, a li7 censed manufacturer or importer before the date 

8 that is 30 months after the date of enactment of the 

9 Untraceable Firearms Act of 2021; or 

10 ‘‘(iii) transactions between licensed manufactur11 ers and importers on any date. 

12 ‘‘(3) It shall be unlawful for a person other than a 

13 licensed manufacturer or importer to engrave or cast a 

14 serial number on a firearm in or affecting interstate or 

15 foreign commerce unless specifically authorized by the At16 torney General. 

17 ‘‘(4) Beginning on the date that is 30 months after 

18 the date of enactment of the Untraceable Firearms Act 

19 of 2021, it shall be unlawful for any person other than 

20 a licensed manufacturer or importer to knowingly possess 

21 a ghost gun in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce. 

22 ‘‘(5) Beginning on the date that is 30 months after 

23 the date of enactment of the Untraceable Firearms Act 

24 of 2021, it shall be unlawful for any person other than 

25 a licensed manufacturer or importer to possess a ghost 


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1 gun in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce with 

2 the intent to sell or transfer the ghost gun with or without 

3 further manufacturing or to manufacture a firearm with 

4 the ghost gun. 

5 ‘‘(6)(A) It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, 

6 offer to sell, or transfer, in or affecting interstate or for7 eign commerce, to any person other than a licensed manu8 facturer a machine that has the sole or primary function 

9 of manufacturing firearms. 

10 ‘‘(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (A), begin11 ning on the date that is 180 days after the date of enact12 ment of the Untraceable Firearms Act of 2021, it shall 

13 be unlawful for any person other than a licensed manufac14 turer to possess, purchase, or receive, in or affecting inter15 state or foreign commerce, a machine that has the sole 

16 or primary function of manufacturing firearms. 

17 ‘‘(C) Subparagraph (B) shall not apply to a person 

18 who is engaged in the business of selling manufacturing 

19 equipment to a licensed manufacturer who possesses a ma20 chine with the intent to sell or transfer the machine to 

21 a licensed manufacturer.’’. 

22 (c) REQUIREMENTS.— 

23 (1) REMOVAL OF SERIAL NUMBERS.—Section 

24 922(k) of title 18, United States Code, is amend25 ed— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘importer’s or manufactur2 er’s’’ each place it appears; and 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘authorized by this chap4 ter or under State law’’ before ‘‘removed’’. 

5 (2) LICENSED IMPORTERS AND MANUFACTUR6 ERS.—Section 923(i) of title 18, United States 

7 Code, is amended— 

8 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Licensed’’; 

9 and 

10 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘The serial number shall be engraved or cast 

12 on the frame or receiver in a manner sufficient 

13 to identify the firearm and the manufacturer or 

14 importer that put the serial number on the fire15 arm. 

16 ‘‘(2)(A) Not later than 180 days after the date of 

17 enactment of the Untraceable Firearms Act of 2021, the 

18 Attorney General shall prescribe regulations for engraving 

19 a unique serial number onto a ghost gun. 

20 ‘‘(B) The regulations prescribed under subparagraph 

21 (A) shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) allow an owner of a firearm described in 

23 subparagraph (A) to have a unique serial number 

24 engraved on the firearm by a licensed manufacturer 

25 or importer; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) require that a serial number be engraved 

2 on the frame or receiver in a manner sufficient to 

3 identify the firearm and the manufacturer or im4 porter that put the serial number on the firearm. 

5 ‘‘(C) The regulations authorized under this para6 graph shall expire on the date that is 30 months after 

7 the date of enactment of the Untraceable Firearms Act 

8 of 2021.’’. 

9 (d) PENALTIES.—Section 924 of title 18, United 

10 States Code, is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘or (q)’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘(q), (aa)(2), (aa)(3), (aa)(5), or 

13 (aa)(6)’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (c) 

15 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

16 (i) in subparagraph (A), in the matter 

17 preceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘func18 tional’’ before ‘‘firearm’’ each place it ap19 pears; 

20 (ii) in subparagraph (B), in the mat21 ter preceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘func22 tional’’ before ‘‘firearm’’; and 

23 (iii) in subparagraph (D)(ii), by in24 serting ‘‘functional’’ before ‘‘firearm’’; and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘all or 

2 part of the firearm’’ and all that follows 

3 through ‘‘person.’’ and inserting the following: 

4 ‘‘all or part of the functional firearm, or other5 wise make the presence of the functional fire6 arm known to another person, in order to in7 timidate that person, regardless of whether the 

8 functional firearm is directly visible to that per9 son.’’; 

10 (3) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘or (k)’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘(k), (aa)(2), (aa)(3), (aa)(5), or 

12 (aa)(6)’’; 

13 (4) in subsection (e)(1), by inserting ‘‘through 

14 the possession of a functional firearm’’ before ‘‘and 

15 has three’’; and 

16 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(q) A person who violates section 922(aa)(4) shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) in the case of the first violation by the per19 son, be fined under this title, imprisoned not more 

20 than 1 year, or both; or 

21 ‘‘(2) in the case of any subsequent violation by 

22 the person, be fined under this title, imprisoned not 

23 more than 5 years, or both.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. MODERNIZATION OF THE PROHIBITION ON UNDE2 TECTABLE FIREARMS. 

3 Section 922(p) of title 18, United States Code, is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

7 (A), by striking ‘‘any firearm’’; 

8 (B) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

9 as follows: 

10 ‘‘(A) an undetectable firearm; or’’; and 

11 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘any 

12 major component of which, when subjected to 

13 inspection by the types of x-ray machines com14 monly used at airports, does not generate’’ and 

15 inserting the following: ‘‘a major component of 

16 a firearm which, if subjected to inspection by 

17 the types of detection devices commonly used at 

18 airports for security screening, would not gen19 erate’’; 

20 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

21 (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

22 as follows: 

23 ‘‘(A) the term ‘undetectable firearm’ means a 

24 firearm, as defined in section 921(a)(3)(A), of which 

25 no major component is wholly made of detectable 

26 material;’’; 


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1 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in2 serting the following: 

3 ‘‘(B) the term ‘major component’, with respect 

4 to a firearm— 

5 ‘‘(i) means the slide or cylinder or the 

6 frame or receiver of the firearm; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a rifle or shotgun, in8 cludes the barrel of the firearm; and’’; and 

9 (C) by striking subparagraph (C) and all 

10 that follows through the end of the undesig11 nated matter following subparagraph (C) and 

12 inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(C) the term ‘detectable material’ means any 

14 material that creates a magnetic field equivalent to 

15 or more than 3.7 ounces of 17–4 pH stainless 

16 steel.’’; 

17 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

18 (A) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘, in19 cluding a prototype,’’ after ‘‘of a firearm’’; and 

20 (B) by striking the second sentence; and 

21 (4) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘shall not 

22 apply to any firearm which’’ and all that follows and 

23 inserting the following: ‘‘shall not apply to— 

24 ‘‘(A) any firearm received by, in the possession 

25 of, or under the control of the United States; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) the manufacture, importation, possession, 

2 transfer, receipt, shipment, or delivery of a firearm 

3 by a licensed manufacturer or licensed importer pur4 suant to a contract with the United States.’’. 

Æ 


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