II
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1025
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
NOVEMBER 17 (legislative day, NOVEMBER 2), 1993
Received
NOVEMBER 20 (legislative day, NOVEMBER 2), 1993
Read the first time
AN ACT
To provide for a waiting period before the purchase of a
handgun, and for the establishment of a national instant
criminal background check system to be contacted by
firearms dealers before the transfer of any firearm.
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 ‘‘Brady Handgun Vio-
lence Prevention Act’’.
SEC. 2. FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSEE REQUIRED TO CON-
DUCT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK BE-
FORE 
TRANSFER 
OF 
FIREARM 
TO
NONLICENSEE.
(a) INTERIM PROVISION.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 922 of title 18,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘(s)(1) Beginning on the date that is 90 days after
the date of enactment of this subsection and ending on
the day before the date that is 60 months after such date
of enactment it shall be unlawful for any licensed im-
porter, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to sell,
deliver, or transfer a handgun to an individual who is not
licensed under section 923, unless—
‘‘(A) after the most recent proposal of such
transfer by the transferee—
‘‘(i) the transferor has—
‘‘(I) received from the transferee a
statement of the transferee containing the
information described in paragraph (3);
‘‘(II) verified the identity of the trans-
feree by examining the identification docu-
ment presented;
‘‘(III) within 1 day after the trans-
feree furnishes the statement, provided no-
tice of the contents of the statement to the
chief law enforcement officer of the place
of residence of the transferee; and
‘‘(IV) within 1 day after the trans-
feree furnishes the statement, transmitted
a copy of the statement to the chief law
enforcement officer of the place of resi-
dence of the transferee; and
‘‘(ii)(I) 5 business days (as defined by days
in which State offices are open) have elapsed
from the date the transferor furnished notice of
the contents of the statement to the chief law
enforcement officer, during which period the
transferor has not received information from
the chief law enforcement officer that receipt or
possession of the handgun by the transferee
would be in violation of Federal, State, or local
law; or
‘‘(II) the transferor has received notice
from the chief law enforcement officer that the
officer has no information indicating that re-
ceipt or possession of the handgun by the trans-
feree would violate Federal, State, or local law;
‘‘(B) the transferee has presented to the trans-
feror a written statement, issued by the chief law en-
forcement officer of the place of residence of the
transferee during the 10-day period ending on the
date of the most recent proposal of such transfer by
the transferee, stating that the transferee requires
access to a handgun because of a threat to the life
of the transferee or of any member of the household
of the transferee;
‘‘(C)(i) the transferee has presented to the
transferor a permit that—
‘‘(I) allows the transferee to possess a
handgun; and
‘‘(II) was issued not more than 5 years
earlier by the State in which the transfer is to
take place; and
‘‘(ii) the law of the State provides that such a
permit is to be issued only after an authorized gov-
ernment official has verified that the information
available to such official does not indicate that pos-
session of a handgun by the transferee would be in
violation of the law;
‘‘(D) the law of the State requires that, before
any licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or li-
censed dealer completes the transfer of a handgun to
an individual who is not licensed under section 923,
an authorized government official verify that the in-
formation available to such official does not indicate
that possession of a handgun by the transferee
would be in violation of law;
‘‘(E) the Secretary has approved the transfer
under section 5812 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986; or
‘‘(F) on application of the transferor, the Sec-
retary has certified that compliance with subpara-
graph (A)(i)(III) is impracticable because—
‘‘(i) the ratio of the number of law enforce-
ment officers of the State in which the transfer
is to occur to the number of square miles of
land area of the State does not exceed 0.0025;
‘‘(ii) the business premises of the trans-
feror at which the transfer is to occur are ex-
tremely remote in relation to the chief law en-
forcement officer; and
‘‘(iii) there is an absence of telecommuni-
cations facilities in the geographical area in
which the business premises are located.
‘‘(2) A chief law enforcement officer to whom a trans-
feror has provided notice pursuant to paragraph
(1)(A)(i)(III) shall make a reasonable effort to ascertain
within 5 business days whether the transferee has a crimi-
nal record or whether there is any other legal impediment
to the transferee’s receiving a handgun, including research
in whatever State and local recordkeeping systems are
available and in a national system designated by the Attor-
ney General.
‘‘(3) The statement referred to in paragraph
(1)(A)(i)(I) shall contain only—
‘‘(A) the name, address, and date of birth ap-
pearing on a valid identification document (as de-
fined in section 1028(d)(1)) of the transferee con-
taining a photograph of the transferee and a de-
scription of the identification used;
‘‘(B) a statement that transferee—
‘‘(i) is not under indictment for, and has
not been convicted in any court of, a crime pun-
ishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding 1
year;
‘‘(ii) is not a fugitive from justice;
‘‘(iii) is not an unlawful user of or addicted
to any controlled substance (as defined in sec-
tion 102 of the Controlled Substances Act);
‘‘(iv) has not been adjudicated as a mental
defective or been committed to a mental institu-
tion;
‘‘(v) is not an alien who is illegally or un-
lawfully in the United States;
‘‘(vi) has not been discharged from the
Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions;
and
‘‘(vii) is not a person who, having been a
citizen of the United States, has renounced
such citizenship;
‘‘(C) the date the statement is made; and
‘‘(D) notice that the transferee intends to ob-
tain a handgun from the transferor.
‘‘(4) Any transferor of a handgun who, after such
transfer, receives a report from a chief law enforcement
officer containing information that receipt or possession
of the handgun by the transferee violates Federal, State,
or local law shall immediately communicate all information
the transferor has about the transfer and the transferee
to—
‘‘(A) the chief law enforcement officer of the
place of business of the transferor; and
‘‘(B) the chief law enforcement officer of the
place of residence of the transferee.
‘‘(5) Any transferor who receives information, not
otherwise available to the public, in a report under this
subsection shall not disclose such information except to
the transferee, to law enforcement authorities, or pursuant
to the direction of a court of law.
‘‘(6)(A) Any transferor who sells, delivers, or other-
wise transfers a handgun to a transferee shall retain the
copy of the statement of the transferee with respect to
the handgun transaction, and shall retain evidence that
the transferor has complied with subclauses (III) and (IV)
of paragraph (1)(A)(i) with respect to the statement.
‘‘(B) Unless the chief law enforcement officer to
whom a statement is transmitted under paragraph
(1)(A)(i)(IV) determines that a transaction would violate
Federal, State, or local law—
‘‘(i) the officer shall, within 20 business days
after the date the transferee made the statement on
the basis of which the notice was provided, destroy
the statement and any record containing information
derived from the statement;
‘‘(ii) the information contained in the statement
shall not be conveyed to any person except a person
who has a need to know in order to carry out this
subsection; and
‘‘(iii) the information contained in the state-
ment shall not be used for any purpose other than
to carry out this subsection.
‘‘(C) If a chief law enforcement officer determines
that an individual is ineligible to receive a handgun and
the individual requests the officer to provide the reasons
for the determination, the officer shall provide such rea-
sons to the individual within 20 business days after receipt
of the request.
‘‘(7) A chief law enforcement officer or other person
responsible for providing criminal history background in-
formation pursuant to this subsection shall not be liable
in an action at law for damages—
‘‘(A) for failure to prevent the sale or transfer
of a handgun to a person whose receipt or posses-
sion of the handgun is unlawful under this section;
or
‘‘(B) for preventing such a sale or transfer to
a person who may lawfully receive or possess a
handgun.
‘‘(8) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘chief
law enforcement officer’ means the chief of police, the
sheriff, or an equivalent officer or the designee of any such
individual.
‘‘(9) The Secretary shall take necessary actions to en-
sure that the provisions of this subsection are published
and disseminated to licensed dealers, law enforcement offi-
cials, and the public.’’.
(2) HANDGUN
DEFINED.—Section 921(a) of
such title is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(29) The term ‘handgun’ means—
‘‘(A) a firearm which has a short stock and is
designed to be held and fired by the use of a single
hand; and
‘‘(B) any combination of parts from which a
firearm described in subparagraph (A) can be as-
sembled.’’.
(b) PERMANENT PROVISION.—Section 922 of title
18, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a)(1)
of this section, is amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing:
‘‘(t)(1) Beginning on the date that is 30 days after
the Attorney General notifies licencees under section 3(e)
of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act that the
national instant criminal background check system is es-
tablished, a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or
licensed dealer shall not transfer a firearm to any other
person who is not such a licensee, unless—
‘‘(A) before the completion of the transfer, the
licensee contacts the national instant criminal back-
ground check system established under section 3 of
such Act;
‘‘(B)(i) the system provides the licensee with a
unique identification number; or
‘‘(ii) 1 business day (as defined in subsection
(s)(8)(B)) has elapsed since the end of the business
day on which the licensee contacted the system, and
the system has not notified the licensee that the re-
ceipt of the handgun by such other person would vio-
late subsection (g) or (n) of this section or any State
or local law; and
‘‘(C) the transferor has verified the identity of
the transferee by examining a valid identification
document (as defined in section 1028(d)(1) of this
title) of the transferee containing a photograph of
the transferee.
‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a firearm
transfer between a licensee and another person if—
‘‘(A)(i) such other person has presented to the
licensee a permit that—
‘‘(I) allows such other person to possess a
firearm; and
‘‘(II) was issued not more than 5 years
earlier by the State in which the transfer is to
take place; and
‘‘(ii) the law of the State provides that such a
permit is to be issued only after an authorized gov-
ernment official has verified that the information
available to such official does not indicate that pos-
session of a firearm by such other person would be
in violation of law;
‘‘(B) the Secretary has approved the transfer
under section 5812 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986; or
‘‘(C) on application of the transferor, the Sec-
retary has certified that compliance with paragraph
(1)(A) is impracticable because—
‘‘(i) the ratio of the number of law enforce-
ment officers of the State in which the transfer
is to occur to the number of square miles of
land area of the State does not exceed 0.0025;
‘‘(ii) the business premises of the licensee
at which the transfer is to occur are extremely
remote in relation to the chief law enforcement
officer (as defined in subsection (s)(8)); and
‘‘(iii) there is an absence of telecommuni-
cations facilities in the geographical area in
which the business premises are located.
‘‘(3) If the national instant criminal background
check system notifies the licensee that the information
available to the system does not demonstrate that the re-
ceipt of a firearm by such other person would violate sub-
section (g) or (n), and the licensee transfers a firearm to
such other person, the licensee shall include in the record
of the transfer the unique identification number provided
by the system with respect to the transfer.
‘‘(4) In addition to the authority provided under sec-
tion 923(e), if the licensee knowingly transfers a firearm
to such other person and knowingly fails to comply with
paragraph (1) of this subsection with respect to the trans-
fer and, at the time such other person most recently pro-
posed the transfer, the national instant criminal back-
ground check system was operating and information was
available to the system demonstrating that receipt of a
firearm by such other person would violate subsection (g)
or (n) of this section, the Secretary may, after notice and
opportunity for a hearing, suspend for not more than 6
months or revoke any license issued to the licensee under
section 923, and may impose on the licensee a civil fine
of not more than $5,000.
‘‘(5) Neither a local government nor an employee of
the Federal Government or of any State or local govern-
ment, responsible for providing information to the national
instant criminal background check system shall be liable
in an action at law for damages—
‘‘(A) for failure to prevent the sale or transfer
of a handgun to a person whose receipt or posses-
sion of the handgun is unlawful under this section;
or
‘‘(B) for preventing such a sale or transfer to
a person who may lawfully receive or possess a
handgun.’’.
(c) PENALTY.—Section 924(a) of title 18, United
States Code, is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘paragraph
(2) or (3) of’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(5) Whoever knowingly violates subsection (s) or (t)
of section 922 shall be fined not more than $1,000, impris-
oned for not more than 1 year, or both.’’.
SEC. 
3. 
NATIONAL 
INSTANT 
CRIMINAL 
BACKGROUND
CHECK SYSTEM.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF SYSTEM.—Not later than 60
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Attorney General of the United States shall establish a
national instant criminal background check system that
any licensee may contact for information on whether re-
ceipt of a firearm by a prospective transferee thereof
would violate subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title
18, United States Code, or any State or local law.
(b) EXPEDITED ACTION BY THE ATTORNEY GEN-
ERAL.—The Attorney General shall expedite—
(1) the upgrading and indexing of State crimi-
nal history records in the Federal criminal records
system maintained by the Federal Bureau of Inves-
tigation;
(2) the development of hardware and software
systems to link State criminal history check systems
into the national instant criminal background check
system established by the Attorney General pursuant
to this section; and
(3) the current revitalization initiatives by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation for technologically
advanced fingerprint and criminal records identifica-
tion.
(c) PROVISION OF STATE CRIMINAL RECORDS TO
THE NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK
SYSTEM.—Not later than 6 months after the date of en-
actment of this Act, the Attorney General shall—
(1) determine the type of computer hardware
and software that will be used to operate the na-
tional instant criminal background check system and
the means by which State criminal records systems
will communicate with the national system, which
shall be based upon the Interstate Identification
Index (‘‘III’’) unless the Attorney General finds that
the III will not provide a satisfactory basis for the
national instant criminal background check system;
(2) investigate the criminal records system of
each State and determine for each State a timetable
by which the State should be able to provide crimi-
nal records on an on line capacity basis to the na-
tional system; and
(3) notify each State of the determinations
made pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2).
(d) OPERATION OF THE SYSTEM.—
(1) GENERAL RULE.—If a licensee contacts the
national instant criminal background check system
with respect to a firearm transfer, the system shall,
during the contact or by return contact without
delay—
(A) 
review 
available 
criminal 
history
records to determine whether receipt of a fire-
arm by the prospective transferee would violate
subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18,
United States Code, or any State or local law;
and
(B)(i) if the receipt would not be such a
violation—
(I) assign a unique identification
number to the transfer;
(II) provide the licensee with the iden-
tification number; and
(III) immediately destroy all records
of the system with respect to the contact
(other than the identification number and
the date the number was assigned) and all
records of the system relating to the trans-
feree or the transfer or derived therefrom;
or
(ii) if the receipt would be such a viola-
tion—
(I) notify the licensee that the receipt
would be such a violation; and
(II) maintain the records created by
the system with respect to the proposed
transfer.
(2) SPECIAL RULE.—If a licensee contacts the
national instant criminal background check system
with respect to a firearms transfer and the system
is unable to comply with paragraph (1) during the
contact or by return contact without delay, then the
system shall comply with paragraph (1) not later
than the end of the next business day.
(e) NOTIFICATION
OF LICENSEES.—On establish-
ment of the system under this section, the Attorney Gen-
eral shall notify each licensee and the chief law enforce-
ment officer of each State of the existence and purpose
of the system and the means to be used to contact the
system.
(f) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—
(1) AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN OFFICIAL INFORMA-
TION.—Notwithstanding any other law, the Attorney
General may secure directly from any department or
agency of the United States such information on
persons for whom receipt of a firearm would violate
subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18,
United States Code, or any State or local law, as is
necessary to enable the system to operate in accord-
ance with this section. On request of the Attorney
General, the head of such department or agency
shall furnish such information to the system.
(2) OTHER AUTHORITY.—The Attorney General
shall develop such computer software, design and ob-
tain such telecommunications and computer hard-
ware, and employ such personnel, as are necessary
to establish and operate the system in accordance
with this section.
(g) CORRECTION OF ERRONEOUS SYSTEM INFORMA-
TION.—If the system established under this section in-
forms an individual contacting the system that receipt of
a firearm by a prospective transferee would violate sub-
section (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United States
Code, or any State or local law, the prospective transferee
may request the Attorney General to provide the prospec-
tive transferee with the reasons therefor. Upon receipt of
such a request, the Attorney General shall immediately
comply with the request. The prospective transferee may
submit to the Attorney General information to correct,
clarify, or supplement records of the system with respect
to the prospective transferee. After receipt of such infor-
mation, the Attorney General shall immediately consider
the information, investigate the matter further, and cor-
rect all erroneous Federal records relating to the prospec-
tive transferee and give notice of the error to any Federal
department or agency or any State that was the source
of such erroneous records.
(h) REGULATIONS.—After 90 days notice to the pub-
lic and an opportunity for hearing by interested parties,
the Attorney General shall prescribe regulations to ensure
the privacy and security of the information of the system
established under this section.
(i) PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO ESTABLISHMENT OF
REGISTRATION
SYSTEMS
WITH
RESPECT
TO
FIRE-
ARMS.—No department, agency, officer, or employee of
the United States may—
(1) require that any record or portion thereof
maintained by the system established under this sec-
tion be recorded at or transferred to a facility
owned, managed, or controlled by the United States
or any State or political subdivision thereof; or
(2) use the system established under this sec-
tion to establish any system for the registration of
firearms, firearm owners, or firearm transactions or
dispositions, except with respect to persons prohib-
ited by section 922 (g) or (n) of title 18, United
States Code, from receiving a firearm.
(j) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
(1) LICENSEE.—The term ‘‘licensee’’ means a
licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed
dealer under section 923 of title 18, United States
Code.
(2) OTHER TERMS.—The terms ‘‘firearm’’, ‘‘li-
censed importer’’, ‘‘licensed manufacturer’’, and ‘‘li-
censed dealer’’ have the meanings stated in section
921(a) (3), (9), (10), and (11), respectively, of title
18, United States Code.
SEC. 4. REMEDY FOR ERRONEOUS DENIAL OF HANDGUN.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 44 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 925 the
following:
‘‘§ 925A. Remedy for erroneous denial of handgun
‘‘Any person who is denied a handgun pursuant to
section 922(s) of this title due to the provision of erro-
neous information relating to the person by any State or
political subdivision thereof, or by the national instant
criminal background check system established under sec-
tion 3(a) of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act,
and who has exhausted the administrative remedies avail-
able for the correction of such erroneous information, may
bring an action against any official of the State or political
subdivision responsible for providing the erroneous infor-
mation, or against the United States, as the case may be,
for an order directing that the erroneous information be
corrected. In any action under this section, the court, in
its discretion, may allow the prevailing party a reasonable
attorney’s fee as part of the costs.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
for such chapter is amended by inserting after the item
relating to section 925 the following:
‘‘925A. Remedy for erroneous denial of handgun.’’.
SEC. 
5. 
FUNDING 
FOR 
IMPROVEMENT 
OF 
CRIMINAL
RECORDS.
(a) USE OF FORMULA GRANTS.—Section 509(b) of
title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act
of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3759(b)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ after
the semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (3) by striking the period and
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(4) the improvement of State record systems
and the sharing with the Attorney General of all of
the records described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3)
of this subsection and the records required by the
Attorney General under section 3 of the Brady
Handgun Violence Prevention Act, for the purpose
of implementing such Act.’’.
(b) ADDITIONAL FUNDING.—
(1) GRANTS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF CRIMI-
NAL RECORDS.—The Attorney General, through the
Bureau of Justice Statistics, shall, subject to appro-
priations and with preference to States that as of
the date of enactment of this Act have the lowest
percent currency of case dispositions in computer-
ized criminal history files, make a grant to each
State to be used—
(A) for the creation of a computerized
criminal history record system or improvement
of an existing system;
(B) to improve accessibility to the national
instant criminal background system; and
(C) upon establishment of the national sys-
tem, to assist the State in the transmittal of
criminal records to the national system.
(2) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—
There are authorized to be appropriated for grants
under paragraph (1) a total of $100,000,000 for fis-
cal year 1992 and all fiscal years thereafter.
Passed the House of Representatives November 10,
1993.
Attest:
DONNALD K. ANDERSON,
Clerk.