Protecting Gun Rights and Due Process Act

Subjects: Crime and Law Enforcement


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1258 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1258

To provide adequate protections for gun owners, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 28, 2023

  Mr. Perry introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
   Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on 
   Appropriations, Veterans' Affairs, Ways and Means, and Energy and 
Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide adequate protections for gun owners, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Protecting Gun Rights and Due 
Process Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH.

    (a) Title 18 Definitions.--Chapter 44 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) in section 921(a), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(38)(A) The term `has been adjudicated mentally 
        incompetent or has been committed to a psychiatric hospital', 
        with respect to a person--
                    ``(i) means the person is the subject of an order 
                or finding by a Federal, State, or local judicial 
                officer or court--
                            ``(I) that was issued after a hearing--
                                    ``(aa) of which the person received 
                                actual notice; and
                                    ``(bb) at which the person had an 
                                opportunity to participate with 
                                counsel; and
                            ``(II) that found that the person, as a 
                        result of marked subnormal intelligence, mental 
                        impairment, mental illness, mental 
                        incompetency, mental condition, or mental 
                        disease--
                                    ``(aa) was guilty but mentally ill 
                                in a criminal case, in a jurisdiction 
                                that provides for such a verdict;
                                    ``(bb) was not guilty in a criminal 
                                case by reason of insanity or mental 
                                disease or defect;
                                    ``(cc) was incompetent to stand 
                                trial in a criminal case; or
                                    ``(dd) was not guilty by reason of 
                                lack of mental responsibility under 
                                section 850a of title 10 (article 50a 
                                of the Uniform Code of Military 
                                Justice); and
                    ``(ii) does not mean--
                            ``(I) an admission to a psychiatric 
                        hospital for observation; or
                            ``(II) a voluntary admission to a 
                        psychiatric hospital.
            ``(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, the term `order 
        or finding' does not include--
                    ``(i) an order or finding that has expired, been 
                dismissed, or expunged;
                    ``(ii) an order or finding that is no longer 
                applicable because a judicial officer or court has 
                found that the person who is the subject of the order 
                or finding--
                            ``(I) does not present a danger to himself 
                        or herself or to others;
                            ``(II) has been restored to sanity or cured 
                        of mental disease or defect;
                            ``(III) has been restored to competency; or
                            ``(IV) no longer requires involuntary 
                        inpatient or outpatient treatment by a 
                        psychiatric hospital; or
                    ``(iii) an order or finding with respect to which 
                the person who is subject to the order or finding has 
                been granted relief from disabilities under section 
                925(c) of this title, under a program described in 
                section 101(c)(2)(A) or 105 of the NICS Improvement 
                Amendments Act of 2007 (34 U.S.C. 40911(c)(2)(A); 34 
                U.S.C. 40915), or under any other State-authorized 
                relief from disabilities program of the State in which 
                the original commitment or adjudication occurred.
            ``(C) For the purposes of this paragraph, the term `actual 
        notice' means notice that was served to the individually 
        personally and does not mean notice by publication or other 
        general means.
            ``(39) The term `psychiatric hospital' includes a mental 
        health facility, a mental hospital, a sanitarium, or a 
        psychiatric facility, including a psychiatric ward in a general 
        hospital.''; and
            (2) in section 922--
                    (A) in subsection (d)(4)--
                            (i) by striking ``as a mental defective'' 
                        and inserting ``mentally incompetent''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``any mental institution'' 
                        and inserting ``a psychiatric hospital''; and
                    (B) in subsection (g)(4)--
                            (i) by striking ``as a mental defective or 
                        who has'' and inserting ``mentally incompetent 
                        or has''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``mental institution'' and 
                        inserting ``psychiatric hospital''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--The NICS Improvement 
Amendments Act of 2007 (34 U.S.C. 40902 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``as a mental defective'' each place that 
        term appears and inserting ``mentally incompetent'';
            (2) by striking ``mental institution'' each place that term 
        appears and inserting ``psychiatric hospital'';
            (3) in section 101(c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 
                subparagraph (A), by striking ``to the mental health of 
                a person'' and inserting ``to whether a person is 
                mentally incompetent''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 
                        ``to the mental health of a person'' and 
                        inserting ``to whether a person is mentally 
                        incompetent''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``to 
                        the mental health of a person'' and inserting 
                        ``to whether a person is mentally 
                        incompetent''; and
            (4) in section 102(c)(3)--
                    (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking ``as a 
                mental defective or committed to a mental institution'' 
                and inserting ``as mentally incompetent or committed to 
                a mental institution''; and
                    (B) by striking ``mental institutions'' and 
                inserting ``psychiatric hospitals''.

SEC. 3. PROTECTING THE SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS OF VETERANS.

    (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``covered veteran'' 
means a person who, on the day before the date of enactment of this 
Act, is considered to have been adjudicated as mentally incompetent or 
committed to a psychiatric hospital under subsection (d)(4) or (g)(4) 
of section 922 of title 18, United States Code, as a result of having 
been found by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to be mentally 
incompetent.
    (b) Review and Certification.--
            (1) Review.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall not 
        later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
        conduct a review relating to each covered veteran to determine 
        whether the proceedings for the adjudication or commitment of 
        the covered veteran were conducted in accordance with, and 
        resulted in an order or finding described in, section 
        921(a)(38) of title 18, United States Code (as added by this 
        Act).
            (2) Certification.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
        certify that the proceedings under paragraph (1) were conducted 
        in accordance with, and resulted in an order or finding 
        described in, section 921(a)(38) of title 18, United States 
        Code (as added by this Act), ensure that the records of the 
        covered veteran used for purposes of any determination of 
        whether the covered veteran is disqualified from possessing or 
        receiving a firearm under subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 
        of title 18, United States Code, are modified to indicate that 
        the covered veteran has not been adjudicated mentally 
        incompetent or committed to a psychiatric hospital.
    (c) Enforcement.--
            (1) Identification of inaccurate records.--Not later than 
        January 1 of each year, the Attorney General shall--
                    (A) review the record of each person who is 
                considered to have been adjudicated mentally 
                incompetent or committed to a psychiatric hospital by 
                the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under subsection 
                (d)(4) or (g)(4) of section 922 of title 18, United 
                States Code, as a result of having been found by the 
                Secretary of Veterans Affairs to be mentally 
                incompetent;
                    (B) identify each record reviewed under 
                subparagraph (A) that does not include documentation 
                indicating that the proceedings for the adjudication or 
                commitment were conducted in accordance with, and 
                resulted in an order or finding described in section 
                921(a)(38) of title 18, United States Code, as added by 
                this Act; and
                    (C) submit to the Secretary of the Treasury and the 
                Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 
                Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and 
                the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 
                Veterans' Affairs of the Senate a report providing the 
                number of records identified under subparagraph (B) in 
                the previous year.
            (2) Rescission.--Effective on the date on which the 
        Attorney General submits a report under paragraph (1)(C), there 
        is rescinded from the unobligated balances in the 
        appropriations account appropriated under the heading ``general 
        administration'' under the heading ``Departmental 
        Administration'' under the heading ``DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
        AFFAIRS'' the amount equal to the product of--
                    (A) the number of records that the report states 
                were identified by the Attorney General under paragraph 
                (1)(B); and
                    (B) $10,000.
    (d) Appointment of Fiduciaries.--
            (1) In general.--Chapter 55 of title 38, United States 
        Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 5511. Use of determinations.
    ``No determination by the Secretary that benefits under this title 
to which an individual is entitled shall be paid to a fiduciary shall 
be considered to be a determination that the individual has been 
adjudicated mentally incompetent for purposes of subsections (d)(4) and 
(g)(4) of section 922 of title 18.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 
        55 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
        end the following:

``5511. Use of determinations.''.

SEC. 4. USE OF DETERMINATIONS MADE BY THE COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL 
              SECURITY.

    (a) Title II.--Section 205(j) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
405(j)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(11) No determination by the Commissioner of Social Security with 
respect to an individual, including a determination that benefits under 
this title to which such individual is entitled shall be paid to a 
representative payee, shall be considered to be a determination that 
the individual has been adjudicated mentally incompetent for purposes 
of subsection (d)(4) or (g)(4) of section 922 of title 18, United 
States Code.''.
    (b) Title XVI.--Section 1631(a)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
1383(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(J) No determination by the Commissioner of Social Security with 
respect to an individual, including a determination that benefits under 
this title to which such individual is entitled shall be paid to a 
representative payee, shall be considered to be a determination that 
the individual has been adjudicated mentally incompetent for purposes 
of subsection (d)(4) or (g)(4) of section 922 of title 18, United 
States Code.''.
    (c) Enforcement.--
            (1) Identification of inaccurate records.--Not later than 
        January 1 of each year, the Attorney General shall--
                    (A) review the record of each person who is 
                considered to have been adjudicated mentally 
                incompetent or committed to a psychiatric hospital 
                under subsection (d)(4) or (g)(4) of section 922 of 
                title 18, United States Code, as a result of a 
                determination by the Commissioner of Social Security 
                Administration;
                    (B) identify each such record that does not include 
                documentation indicating that the proceedings for the 
                adjudication or commitment were conducted in accordance 
                with, and resulted in an order or finding described in, 
                section 921(a)(38) of title 18, United States Code, as 
                added by this Act; and
                    (C) submit to the Secretary of the Treasury and 
                Congress a report providing the number of records 
                identified under subparagraph (B).
            (2) Rescission.--
                    (A) In general.--Effective on the date on which the 
                Attorney General submits a report under paragraph 
                (1)(C), there is rescinded from the unobligated 
                balances in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance 
                Trust Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance Trust 
                Fund, the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, and 
                the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund, 
                on a pro rata basis, the amount equal to the product 
                of--
                            (i) the number of records that the report 
                        states were identified by the Attorney General 
                        under paragraph (1)(B); and
                            (ii) $10,000.
                    (B) Treatment of amounts.--Amounts rescinded under 
                subparagraph (A) shall be deemed to have been expended 
                for costs described in section 201(g)(1) of the Social 
                Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401(g)(1)).

SEC. 5. STATE HEALTH REPORTS.

     Section 102(c)(3) of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 
(18 U.S.C. 922 note) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``A 
report made available by a State indicating that a person has been 
adjudicated as mentally incompetent or committed to a mental 
institution shall not be used for purposes of any determination of 
whether a person is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm 
under subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United States 
Code, unless the Attorney General determines that the proceedings for 
the adjudication or commitment were conducted in accordance with, and 
resulted in an order or finding described in, section 921(a)(38) of 
title 18, United States Code, and that the State has provided clear and 
convincing evidence that the person poses an imminent and significant 
danger.''.

SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY OF AMENDMENTS.

    With respect to any record of a person prohibited from possessing 
or receiving a firearm under subsection (d)(4) or (g)(4) of section 922 
of title 18, United States Code, before the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Attorney General shall remove such a record from the National 
Instant Criminal Background Check System--
            (1) upon being made aware that the person is no longer 
        considered as adjudicated mentally incompetent or committed to 
        a psychiatric hospital according to the criteria under 
        paragraph (38)(A)(i)(II) of section 921(a) of title 18, United 
        States Code (as added by this Act), and is therefore no longer 
        prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm;
            (2) upon being made aware that any order or finding that 
        the record is based on is an order or finding described in 
        paragraph (38)(B) of section 921(a) of title 18, United States 
        Code (as added by this Act); or
            (3) upon being made aware that the person has been found 
        competent to possess a firearm after an administrative or 
        judicial review under section 5511 of title 38, United States 
        Code (as added by this Act).
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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