Respect for the Second Amendment Act

Subjects: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 840 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 840

  To protect the rights of the people of the United States under the 
       Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 16, 2023

 Mr. Graham (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Lee, Mr. Cruz, 
 Mr. Hawley, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Tillis, and Mrs. Blackburn) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To protect the rights of the people of the United States under the 
       Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Respect for the Second Amendment 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
        States protects the individual right to keep and bear arms 
        independent of service in an organized militia.
            (2) The Supreme Court of the United States held in District 
        of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 595 (2008) that ``[t]here 
        seems to us no doubt, on the basis of both text and history, 
        that the Second Amendment conferred an individual right to keep 
        and bear arms.''.
            (3) The Supreme Court further held in New York State Rifle 
        & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 142 S. Ct. 2111, 2126 (2022) 
        that the Second Amendment requires the government to 
        demonstrate that a law regulating firearms ``is consistent with 
        this Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation''.
            (4) The right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental 
        individual right guaranteed by the Constitution and a 
        cornerstone of the liberties that every United States citizen 
        enjoys.
            (5) The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution grants 
        Congress the authority to enforce, by appropriate legislation, 
        that Amendment's command that ``[n]o State shall make or 
        enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or 
        immunities of citizens of the United States''.
            (6) Certain States have enacted or are seeking to enact gun 
        control laws that are inconsistent with the United States' 
        historical tradition of firearm regulation, including bans on 
        the carrying of firearms by residents of other States and bans 
        on large categories of firearms that are in common use for 
        lawful purposes.
            (7) It is therefore necessary for Congress to exercise its 
        authority under the Fourteenth Amendment to ensure that the 
        Second Amendment rights of all people of the United States are 
        protected from infringement by the States.
            (8) Congress has also exercised authority under the Taxing 
        Clause and Commerce Clause of section 8 of article I of the 
        Constitution to regulate the interstate market in firearms and 
        ammunition.

SEC. 3. LIMITATIONS ON REGULATION OF FIREARMS.

    (a) Definition of ``Firearm''.--In this section, the term 
``firearm''--
            (1) has the meaning given the term in section 921 of title 
        18, United States Code; and
            (2) includes--
                    (A) an antique firearm, as defined in section 921 
                of title 18, United States Code (notwithstanding 
                paragraph (1) of this subsection);
                    (B) an assembled or unassembled firearm; and
                    (C) any part of a firearm, including any integrated 
                or detachable magazine or ammunition feeding device.
    (b) No Enforcement or Implementation of Laws in Violation of Second 
Amendment Rights.--No person acting under color of any statute, 
ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of the Federal Government, of 
any State or territory, of any locality, or of the District of Columbia 
may enforce or implement any Federal, State, or local law, rule, 
ordinance, or regulation that prohibits, limits, places requirements or 
conditions upon, or otherwise regulates the right of an individual to 
lawfully manufacture for personal use, acquire, possess, own, carry, 
transport, ship, or use a privately owned firearm or privately owned 
ammunition unless the law, rule, ordinance, or regulation is consistent 
with the United States' historical tradition of firearm regulation.
    (c) Enforcement.--
            (1) Public right of action.--The Attorney General may bring 
        a civil action for declaratory or injunctive relief in an 
        appropriate district court of the United States against any 
        person who violates subsection (b).
            (2) Private right of action.--
                    (A) In general.--Any person who is harmed by a 
                violation of subsection (b), or any membership 
                organization that represents such a person, may bring a 
                civil action for declaratory or injunctive relief in an 
                appropriate district court of the United States against 
                the person who committed the violation.
                    (B) Costs and fees.--The court shall award costs 
                and reasonable attorney fees to any plaintiff who 
                prevails in an action brought under subparagraph (A), 
                including if the action is resolved by a negotiated 
                settlement or mooted by repeal or amendment of the 
                offending law, rule, regulation, prohibition, policy, 
                or practice.
    (d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to--
            (1) preempt any provision of State law that provides 
        greater protections to the individual right to keep and bear 
        arms than those provided under this section; or
            (2) limit any other remedy available under the laws of a 
        State or the United States for infringement of the right to 
        lawfully manufacture for personal use, acquire, possess, own, 
        carry, transport, ship, or use a privately owned firearm or 
        privately owned ammunition.

SEC. 4. REPEALER.

    Chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking section 927; and
            (2) in the table of sections, by striking the item relating 
        to section 927.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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