I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1147
To improve the safety of firearms. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 6, 2003
Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD (for herself, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. 
NORTON, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. OWENS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and 
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To improve the safety of firearms.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Safety Lock Act 
of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that—
(1) according to statistics from the Centers for 
Disease Control, more than 5,000 innocent children 
have lost their lives due to unintentional deaths re-
lated to firearms;
(2) between 1983 and 1994, 5,523 males rang-
ing in ages from 1 to 19, were killed by the uninten-
tional discharge of a firearm; 
(3) a Federal study found that ignorance and 
carelessness are the major causes of firearms acci-
dents; 
(4) 84 percent of firearms accidents involved 
people who did not follow basic safety rules; and 
(5) to help reduce the number of firearms acci-
dents, it is critical to practice and enforce firearms 
safety rules. 
TITLE I—CRIMINAL PROVISIONS 
SEC. 101. HANDGUN SAFETY. 
(a) DEFINITION
OF
LOCKING
DEVICE.—Section 
921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(35) The term ‘locking device’ means—
‘‘(A) a device which, if installed on a firearm 
and secured by means of a key or a mechanically, 
electronically, or electromechanically operated com-
bination lock, prevents the firearm from being dis-
charged without first deactivating or removing the 
device by means of a key or mechanically, electroni-
cally, or electromechanically operated combination 
lock; or
‘‘(B) a locking mechanism incorporated into the 
design of a firearm which prevents discharge of the 
firearm by any person who does not have access to 
the key or other device designed to unlock the mech-
anism and thereby allow discharge of the firearm.’’. 
(b) UNLAWFUL ACTS.—Section 922 of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after sub-
section (y) the following: 
‘‘(z) LOCKING DEVICES AND WARNINGS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), beginning 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this subsection, it shall be unlawful for 
any licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or li-
censed dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer a handgun 
to any person, unless—
‘‘(A) the transferee is provided with a lock-
ing device for that handgun; and 
‘‘(B) the handgun is accompanied by the 
following warning, which shall appear in con-
spicuous and legible type in capital letters, and 
which shall be printed on a label affixed to the 
handgun and on a separate sheet of paper in-
cluded in the packaging enclosing the handgun: 
‘‘ ‘THE USE OF A LOCKING DEVICE OR 
SAFETY LOCK IS ONLY ONE ASPECT OF
RESPONSIBLE 
FIREARM 
STORAGE. 
HANDGUNS SHOULD BE STORED UN-
LOADED AND LOCKED IN A LOCATION 
THAT IS BOTH SEPARATE FROM THEIR 
AMMUNITION AND INACCESSIBLE TO 
CHILDREN. 
‘FAILURE TO PROPERLY LOCK AND 
STORE YOUR HANDGUN MAY RESULT 
IN 
CIVIL 
OR 
CRIMINAL 
LIABILITY 
UNDER STATE LAW. FEDERAL LAW 
PROHIBITS THE POSSESSION OF A 
HANDGUN BY A MINOR IN MOST CIR-
CUMSTANCES.’. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not 
apply to the sale, delivery, or transfer of a handgun 
to—
‘‘(A) the United States or a department or 
agency of the United States, or a State or a de-
partment, agency, or political subdivision of a 
State; 
‘‘(B) a law enforcement officer (whether on 
or off-duty) who is employed by an entity re-
ferred to in subparagraph (A), for law enforce-
ment purposes; or
‘‘(C) a rail police officer (whether on or 
off-duty) who is employed by a rail carrier and 
is certified or commissioned as a police officer 
under the laws of a State, for law enforcement 
purposes.’’. 
(c) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 924 of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘this sub-
section, subsection (b) or (c) of this section,’’ and in-
serting ‘‘this section’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(p) PENALTIES RELATING TO LOCKING DEVICES 
AND WARNINGS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(A) SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF LI-
CENSE; CIVIL
PENALTIES.—With respect to 
each violation of section 922(z)(1) by a licensee, 
the Attorney General may, after notice and op-
portunity for hearing—
‘‘(i) suspend or revoke any license 
issued to the licensee under this chapter; 
or 
‘‘(ii) impose a civil penalty on the li-
censee in an amount that is not more than 
$10,000.
‘‘(B) REVIEW.—An action of the Attorney 
General under this paragraph may be reviewed 
only as provided in section 923(f). 
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES.—The taking 
of an action under paragraph (1) with respect to 
conduct of a licensee shall not affect the availability 
of any other administrative authority with respect to 
the conduct.’’. 
TITLE II—REGULATORY 
PROVISIONS 
SEC. 201. REGULATION OF TRIGGER LOCK DEVICES. 
(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Attorney General 
shall prescribe such regulations governing the design, 
manufacture, and performance of trigger lock devices, as 
are necessary to reduce or prevent the unintentional dis-
charge of handguns. 
(b) MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARD.—The regulations 
required by subsection (a) shall, at a minimum, set forth 
a minimum safety standard that trigger lock devices must 
meet in order to be manufactured, sold, transferred, or 
delivered consistent with this title. In developing the 
standard, the Attorney General shall give appropriate con-
sideration to trigger lock devices that are not detachable, 
but are permanently installed and incorporated into the 
design of a handgun. The standard shall include provisions