I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3740 

To provide for the mandatory licensing and registration of handguns, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 4, 2021 

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN (for herself, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. SIRES, Mr. 

ESPAILLAT, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. NORTON, Ms. ADAMS, 

and Mr. CARSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for the mandatory licensing and registration of 

handguns, 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 ‘‘Handgun Licensing 

5 and Registration Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FEDERAL HANDGUN LICENSING AND REGISTRA2 TION SYSTEM TO APPLY IN ANY STATE THAT 

3 DOES NOT HAVE A HANDGUN LICENSING AND 

4 REGISTRATION SYSTEM THAT MEETS CER5 TAIN REQUIREMENTS. 

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

7 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘§ 932. Licensing and registration of handguns 

10 ‘‘(a)(1) The Attorney General of the United States 

11 shall establish a Federal system for the licensing and reg12 istration of all handguns owned, possessed, or controlled 

13 in the United States— 

14 ‘‘(A) under which— 

15 ‘‘(i) a person shall not be eligible to receive 

16 such a license if the person— 

17 ‘‘(I) has not attained 21 years of age; 

18 ‘‘(II) is not a citizen, national, or law19 ful permanent resident of the United 

20 States; 

21 ‘‘(III) has not completed training in 

22 firearms safety; 

23 ‘‘(IV) as part of the process for apply24 ing for such a license— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) has not submitted to a 

2 background investigation and criminal 

3 history check of the person; or 

4 ‘‘(bb) has not submitted the fin5 gerprints of the person and a recent 

6 photograph that clearly shows the face 

7 of the person; or 

8 ‘‘(V) is prohibited by Federal law 

9 from possessing a firearm; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) such a license shall expire not more 

11 than 5 years after issuance; and 

12 ‘‘(B) which shall include a method for easily re13 trieving information sufficient to identify— 

14 ‘‘(i) each resident of a State to which this 

15 subsection applies who owns, possesses, or con16 trols a handgun; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the handgun. 

18 ‘‘(2) It shall be unlawful for a person to own, possess, 

19 or control a handgun in a State to which this subsection 

20 applies unless the person— 

21 ‘‘(A) is licensed to do so by the system estab22 lished pursuant to paragraph (1); and 

23 ‘‘(B) has registered the handgun with a Fed24 eral, State, or local law enforcement agency. 


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1 ‘‘(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply in a State if there 

2 is in effect a certification by the Attorney General of the 

3 United States that the State has in effect a system for 

4 the licensing and registration of handguns owned, pos5 sessed, or controlled in the State that— 

6 ‘‘(1) meets the requirements of subsection 

7 (a)(1)(A); 

8 ‘‘(2) includes a method for easily retrieving in9 formation sufficient to identify— 

10 ‘‘(A) each resident of the State who owns, 

11 possesses, or controls a handgun in the State; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) the handgun; and 

14 ‘‘(3) at a minimum, imposes criminal penalties 

15 on any person who— 

16 ‘‘(A) owns, possesses, or controls a hand17 gun in the State, and— 

18 ‘‘(i) is not licensed by the State to 

19 possess a handgun; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) has not registered the handgun 

21 with a Federal, State, or local law enforce22 ment agency; or 

23 ‘‘(B) transfers or receives handgun ammu24 nition, unless the recipient— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is a licensed importer, licensed 

2 manufacturer, or licensed dealer; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) before the receipt, has presented 

4 to the transferor— 

5 ‘‘(I) a valid firearms purchaser 

6 identification card issued by the State 

7 to the recipient; 

8 ‘‘(II) a valid copy of a handgun 

9 purchase permit issued by the State 

10 to the recipient; or 

11 ‘‘(III) a valid permit to carry a 

12 handgun issued by the State to the re13 cipient. 

14 ‘‘(c) A certification under subsection (b) with respect 

15 to a State shall have no force or effect on or after the 

16 date the Attorney General finds, after an opportunity for 

17 a hearing on the record, that the State does not have in 

18 effect the system described in subsection (b). 

19 ‘‘(d) The Attorney General shall prescribe such regu20 lations as may be necessary to carry out this section.’’. 

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

22 amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(8) Whoever knowingly violates section 932(a)(2) 

24 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned, or both. The 


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1 court shall not suspend a sentence of imprisonment im2 posed under this paragraph.’’. 

3 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

4 for such chapter is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

‘‘932. Licensing and registration of handguns.’’. 

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

7 this section shall apply to conduct engaged in after the 

8 2-year period that begins with the date of the enactment 

9 of this Act. 

10 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR STATE IMPLEMENTATION OF PRO11 GRAMS TO LICENSE AND REGISTER HAND12 GUNS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General is author14 ized to award grants to States, units of local government, 

15 and Indian tribes to comply with the requirements under 

16 subsection (a) of section 932 of title 18, United States 

17 Code, or to implement a system described in subsection 

18 (b) of that section. 

19 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From the amounts ap20 propriated to carry out this section, and not later than 

21 90 days after such amounts are appropriated, the Attor22 ney General shall award grants, on a competitive basis, 

23 to eligible applicants whose applications are approved 

24 under subsection (c) to assist such applicants in carrying 

25 out the activities described in subsection (a). 


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1 (c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

2 under this Act, a State, unit of local government, or In3 dian tribe shall submit to the Attorney General an applica4 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

5 information as the Attorney General may require, includ6 ing— 

7 (1) whether the applicant will use the grant 

8 to— 

9 (A) comply with the requirements under 

10 subsection (a) of section 932 of title 18, United 

11 States Code; or 

12 (B) implement a system described in sub13 section (b) of that section, including a descrip14 tion of the law that the applicant has enacted 

15 to require a license for any purchase of a hand16 gun including a description of any other exemp17 tions to such law; and 

18 (2) a description of the specific activities for 

19 which the applicant will use the grant. 

20 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—A grantee under this Act shall 

21 use such grant to carry out the activities described in sub22 section (a). 

23 (e) AUDITS.—The Attorney General shall conduct an 

24 audit every 2 years of each applicant receiving a grant 


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1 under this section, and may conduct such additional audits 

2 as the Attorney General determines necessary. 

3 (f) REPORT.—The Attorney General shall submit an 

4 annual report to Congress on the grant program under 

5 this section, which shall include information on the 

6 progress made in establishing the Federal system de7 scribed in subsection (a) of section 932 of title 18, United 

8 States Code, and the progress made by States in estab9 lishing a system described in subsection (b) of such sec10 tion. 

11 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

12 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec13 essary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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