I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3018
To prohibit the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer, receipt,
or transportation of handguns in any manner affecting interstate or
foreign commerce, except for or by members of the Armed Forces,
law enforcement officials, and, as authorized by the Secretary of the
Treasury, licensed importers, manufacturers, and dealers, and pistol
clubs.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 5, 1996
Mr. YATES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary
A BILL
To prohibit the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase,
transfer, receipt, or transportation of handguns in any
manner affecting interstate or foreign commerce, except
for or by members of the Armed Forces, law enforcement
officials, and, as authorized by the Secretary of the
Treasury, licensed importers, manufacturers, and dealers,
and pistol clubs.
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 ‘‘Handgun Control Act
of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.
The Congress hereby finds and declares—
(1) that the estimated total number of hand-
guns in private hands has reached seventy-six mil-
lion;
(2) that handguns play a major role, and a role
disproportionate to their number in comparison with
long guns, in the commission of homicide, aggra-
vated assault, and armed robbery, and that the per-
centage of violent crimes in which handguns are
used is increasing;
(3) that more than one-half of all handguns are
acquired secondhand and that licensing and restric-
tions on sale of new handguns will not significantly
reduce handgun crime and handgun violence;
(4) that with few exceptions handguns are not
used for sporting or recreational purposes and that
such purposes do not require keeping of handguns in
private homes;
(5) that handguns in the home are of less value
than is commonly thought in defending against in-
truders and that such defensive purposes can be
adequately accomplished by other means;
(6) that violent crimes perpetrated with hand-
guns constitute a burden upon and interfere with
interstate and foreign commerce and threaten the
internal security and domestic tranquillity of the Na-
tion; and
(7) that a national firearms policy which re-
stricts the availability of handguns for nonlaw en-
forcement and nonmilitary purposes will significantly
reduce violent crime, reduce deaths from handguns,
and reduce other handgun violence in the United
States.
SEC. 3. HANDGUN CONTROLS.
Title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting
after chapter 50 the following:
‘‘CHAPTER 50A—HANDGUNS
‘‘Sec.
‘‘1091. Unlawful acts.
‘‘1092. Licensing.
‘‘1093. Penalties.
‘‘1094. Exceptions.
‘‘1095. Voluntary delivery to law enforcement agency; reimbursement.
‘‘1096. Rules and regulations.
‘‘1097. Effect on State law.
‘‘1098. Definitions.
‘‘§ 1091. Unlawful acts
‘‘(a) Except as provided in section 1094 of this chap-
ter and in subsection (b) of this section, it shall be unlaw-
ful for any person to import, manufacture, sell, buy, trans-
fer, receive, or transport any handgun.
‘‘(b) The Secretary may, consistent with public safety
and necessity, exempt from the operation of subsection (a)
of this section such importation, manufacture, sale, pur-
chase, transfer, receipt, or transportation of handguns by
importers, manufacturers, or dealers, licensed under chap-
ter 44 of this title, and by pistol clubs licensed under this
chapter, as may in his judgment be required for the oper-
ation of such pistol clubs or for purposes described in sec-
tion 1094 of this chapter.
‘‘§ 1092. Licensing
‘‘(a) A pistol club desiring to be licensed under this
chapter shall file an application for such license with the
Secretary. The application shall be in such form and con-
tain such information as the Secretary shall by regulation
prescribe. The fee for such license shall be $25 per year.
‘‘(b) Any importer, manufacturer, or dealer desiring
to be licensed under this chapter shall apply as provided
in chapter 44 of this title.
‘‘(c) Any application submitted under subsection (a)
shall be approved if—
‘‘(1) all members of the pistol club are twenty-
one years of age or older;
‘‘(2) no member of the pistol club is prohibited
from transporting, shipping, or receiving firearms or
ammunition in interstate or foreign commerce under
section 922(g) or (h) of this title or under the law
of the State in which the club will be located or of
the State in which the member is domiciled;
‘‘(3) no member of the pistol club has willfully
violated any of the provisions of this chapter or of
chapter 44 of this title or any regulations issued
thereunder;
‘‘(4) the pistol club has not willfully failed to
disclose any material information required, or has
not made any false statement as to any material
fact, in connection with his application; and
‘‘(5) the pistol club has premises from which it
operates and—
‘‘(A) maintains possession and control of
the handguns used by its members, and
‘‘(B) has procedures and facilities for keep-
ing such handguns in a secure place, under the
control of the club’s chief officer, at all times
when they are not being used for target shoot-
ing or other sporting or recreational purposes.
‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary must approve or deny an appli-
cation for a license within the forty-five-day period begin-
ning on the date it is received. If the Secretary fails to
act within such period, the applicant may file an action
under section 1361 of title 28 to compel the Secretary to
act. If the Secretary approves an applicant’s application,
such applicant shall be issued a license upon payment of
the prescribed fee.
‘‘(2) The Secretary may, after notice and opportunity
for hearing, revoke any license issued under this section
if the holder of such license has violated any provision of
this chapter or of chapter 44 of this title or any rule or
regulation prescribed by the Secretary under such chap-
ters. The Secretary’s action under this paragraph may be
reviewed only as provided in subsection (e) of this section.
‘‘(e)(1) Any person whose application for a license is
denied and any holder of a license which is revoked shall
receive a written notice from the Secretary stating specifi-
cally the grounds upon which the application was denied
or upon which the license was revoked. Any notice of rev-
ocation of a license shall be given to the holder of such
license before the effective date of the revocation.
‘‘(2) If the Secretary denies an application for, or re-
vokes, a license, he shall, upon request by the aggrieved
party, promptly hold a hearing to review his denial or rev-
ocation. In the case of a revocation of a license, the Sec-
retary shall upon the request of the holder of the license
stay the effective date of the revocation. A hearing held
under this paragraph shall be held at a location convenient
to the aggrieved party.