I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 138
To amend title 18, United States Code, to require persons to obtain a
State license before receiving a handgun or handgun ammunition.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 3, 2001
Mr. NADLER (for himself, Mr. WEINER, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. LEE, Mr.
ENGEL, Mr. CROWLEY, and Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to require persons
to obtain a State license before receiving a handgun
or handgun ammunition.
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 Licensing
Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. STATE LICENSE REQUIRED TO RECEIVE A HAND-
GUN OR HANDGUN AMMUNITION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 922 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(z)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to sell,
deliver, or otherwise transfer a handgun or handgun am-
munition to an individual who is not licensed under section
923 unless—
‘‘(A) the transferor (or a licensed dealer, if
State law so directs or allows)—
‘‘(i) has examined a valid handgun license
issued to the individual by the State in which
the transaction takes place, and an additional
valid identification document (as defined in sec-
tion 1028) containing a photograph of the indi-
vidual; and
‘‘(ii) has contacted the chief law enforce-
ment officer of the State, and been informed by
the officer that the handgun license has not
been revoked; and
‘‘(B)(i) 3 business days (meaning a day on
which State offices are open) have elapsed from the
date on which the transferor (or licensed dealer) re-
ceived the information described in subparagraph
(A)(ii); or
‘‘(ii) the individual has presented to the trans-
feror (or licensed dealer) a written document, issued
not less than 10 days earlier by the chief law en-
forcement officer of the State in which the individual
resides, stating that the transferee requires access to
a handgun because of a threat to the life of the
transferee or any member of the household of the
transferee.
‘‘(2)(A) It shall be unlawful for an individual who is
not licensed under section 923 to receive a handgun or
handgun ammunition in a State unless the individual pos-
sesses a valid handgun license issued to the individual by
the State.
‘‘(B) Beginning 2 years after the date of the enact-
ment of this subsection, it shall be unlawful for an indi-
vidual who is not licensed under section 923 to possess
a handgun or handgun ammunition in a State unless the
individual possesses a valid handgun license issued to the
individual by the State.
‘‘(3)(A) For purposes of this subsection, the term
‘handgun license’ means a license issued under a State
law that—
‘‘(i) provides for the issuance and revocation of
licenses permitting persons to receive handguns and
handgun ammunition, and for the reporting of losses
and thefts of handguns and handgun ammunition;
and
‘‘(ii) at a minimum, meets the requirements of
this paragraph.
‘‘(B) The State law referred to in subparagraph (A)
shall provide that a handgun license shall—
‘‘(i) be issued by the chief law enforcement offi-
cer of the State;
‘‘(ii) contain the licensee’s name, address, date
of birth, and physical description, a unique license
number, and a photograph of the licensee; and
‘‘(iii) remain valid for not more than 2 years,
unless revoked.
‘‘(C) The State law referred to in subparagraph (A)
shall provide that, before a handgun license is issued to
an applicant, the chief law enforcement officer of the State
determine that the applicant—
‘‘(i) has attained 21 years of age;
‘‘(ii) is a resident of the State, by examining,
in addition to a valid identification document (as de-
fined in section 1028), a utility bill or lease agree-
ment;
‘‘(iii) is not prohibited from possessing or re-
ceiving a handgun under Federal, State, or local
law, based upon name- and fingerprint-based re-
search in all available Federal, State, and local rec-
ordkeeping systems, including the national instant
criminal background check system established under
section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Preven-
tion Act; and
‘‘(iv) has been issued a handgun safety certifi-
cate by the State.
‘‘(D) The State law referred to in subparagraph (A)
shall provide that, if the chief law enforcement officer of
the State determines that an individual is ineligible to re-
ceive a handgun license, the officer shall provide the rea-
sons for the determination to the individual, in writing,
within 20 business days after making the determination.
‘‘(E)(i) The State law referred to in subparagraph
(A) shall provide that a handgun license issued by the
State shall be revoked if the chief law enforcement officer
of the State determines that the licensee no longer meets
the requirements of subparagraph (C).
‘‘(ii) The State law shall provide that, within 10 days
after a person receives notice from the State that the
handgun license issued to the person has been revoked,
the person shall return the license to the chief law enforce-
ment officer of the State in which the licensee resides.
‘‘(F) The State law referred to in subparagraph (A)
shall provide that, within 24 hours after a handgun li-
censee discovers the theft of any firearm from, or the loss
of any firearm by the licensee, the licensee shall report
the theft or loss to—
‘‘(i) the Secretary;
‘‘(ii) the chief law enforcement officer of the
State; and
‘‘(iii) appropriate local authorities,
and shall provide that any failure to make such a report
shall be punishable by a civil penalty as provided by State
law, with a maximum penalty of at least $1,000.
‘‘(4)(A) For purposes of paragraph (3)(C)(iv), the
term ‘handgun safety certificate’ means a certificate
issued under a State law that—
‘‘(i) provides for the issuance of certificates at-
testing to the completion of a course of instruction
and examination in handgun safety, consistent with
this paragraph; and
‘‘(ii) at a minimum, meets the requirements of
this paragraph.
‘‘(B) The State law referred to in subparagraph (A)
shall provide that the chief law enforcement officer of a
State shall issue the handgun safety certificate.
‘‘(C) The State law referred to in subparagraph (A)
shall provide that a handgun safety certificate shall not
be issued to an applicant unless the chief law enforcement
officer of the State determines that the applicant—
‘‘(i) has completed a course, taught by law en-
forcement officers and designed by the chief law en-
forcement officer, of not less than 2 hours of in-
struction in handgun safety; and
‘‘(ii) has passed an examination, designed by
the chief law enforcement officer, testing the appli-
cant’s knowledge of handgun safety.
‘‘(5) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘chief
law enforcement officer’ means, with respect to a State,
the chief, or equivalent officer, of the State police force,
or the designee of that officer.’’.
(b) DEFINITION OF HANDGUN AMMUNITION.—Sec-
tion 921(a) of such title is amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘(35) The term ‘handgun ammunition’ means—
‘‘(A) a centerfire cartridge or cartridge case less
than 1.3 inches in length; or
‘‘(B) a primer, bullet, or propellant powder de-
signed specifically for use in a handgun.’’.
(c) PENALTY.—Section 924(a)(1)(B) of such title is
amended by inserting ‘‘, or (z)’’ before ‘‘of section 922’’.
(d) 
TECHNICAL
CORRECTION.—Section
922(t)(1)(B)(ii) of such title is amended by inserting ‘‘or
State law’’ after ‘‘section’’.
(e) FUNDING.—
(1) GRANTS FOR ESTABLISHING SYSTEMS OF
LICENSING
AND
REGISTRATION.—Subject to the
availability of appropriations, the Attorney General
shall make a grant to each State (as defined in sec-
tion 921(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code), to
cover the initial startup costs associated with estab-
lishing a system of licensing pursuant to section
922(z) of title 18, United States Code.
(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For
grants under paragraph (1), there is authorized to
be appropriated a total of $200,000,000 for fiscal
year 2002 and all fiscal years thereafter.
(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall take effect 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT OF BUSINESS LIABILITY INSUR-
ANCE.
Section 923(d)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (F) and inserting a semicolon;
(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (G) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph:
‘‘(H) the applicant certifies that the busi-
ness is covered by an insurance policy which
provides personal injury protection, to a limit of
$100,000, to any person who, while engaged in
lawful activity, suffers bodily injury or death
through the use of a handgun obtained as a re-
sult of the negligence of the applicant.’’.
Æ