Union Calendar No. 186
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1025
[Report No. 103–344]
A BILL
To provide for a waiting period before the purchase
of a handgun, and for the establishment of a na-
tional instant criminal background check system
to be contacted by firearms dealers before the
transfer of any firearm.
NOVEMBER 10, 1993
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commit-
tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
ordered to be printed
IB
Union Calendar No. 186
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1025
[Report No. 103–344]
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.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 22, 1993
Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. SYNAR, Mr. MAZZOLI,
Mr. GIBBONS, Mr. GLICKMAN, Mr. BRYANT, Mr. SAWYER, Mr. STARK,
Mr. FAZIO, Mr. STUDDS, Mr. REYNOLDS, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. JA-
COBS, Mr. MANTON, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. PORTER, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. BER-
MAN, Mr. BORSKI, Mr. BACCHUS of Florida, Mrs. SCHROEDER, Mr.
MORAN, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. FILNER, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. HALL of
Ohio, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. SKAGGS, Mrs. ROU-
KEMA, Mr. KLEIN, Mr. EVANS, Mr. MINETA, Mr. DERRICK, Mr. LIPIN-
SKI, Mr. KLUG, Mr. ANDREWS of Maine, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. EDWARDS
of California, Mr. YATES, Mr. TORRICELLI, Mr. WHEAT, Mr. TUCKER,
Mr. ROEMER, Ms. FURSE, Ms. MOLINARI, Mrs. BYRNE, Mrs. BENTLEY,
Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr.
FINGERHUT, Mr. SANGMEISTER, Mr. NADLER, Mr. MARKEY, Mr.
HUGHES, Mr. DELLUMS, Mr. OWENS, Ms. WATERS, Mr. DE LUGO, Mr.
HYDE, Mr. STOKES, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr.
BONIOR, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. COYNE, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. MFUME, Mrs.
MORELLA, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. ANDREWS of New Jersey, Ms. NORTON,
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. HOAGLAND, Mr. MILLER of California, Mr.
REED, Mr. HOYER, Mr. HOCHBRUECKNER, Mr. JOHNSTON of Florida,
Mr. SABO, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. FOGLI-
ETTA, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. GOSS, Mrs.
KENNELLY, Mr. BEILENSON, Ms. KAPTUR, Mrs. MINK, Mr. MATSUI, Mr.
FLAKE, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mrs. LOWEY, and Mr. WYNN) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
APRIL 20, 1993
Additional sponsors: Mr. LEACH, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. GONZALEZ, Ms.
MARGOLIES-MEZVINSKY, Mr. LAFALCE, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr.
MOAKLEY, Mr. WATT, Mr. MANN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. WYDEN,
Mr. RUSH, Ms. SCHENK, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. KLECZKA, Ms.
HARMAN, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON
of Texas, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. CLAY, Mr. MCHALE, Mr. TORRES, Mr. ABER-
CROMBIE, Mr. FORD of Michigan, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. VENTO, Mr. BECERRA,
Mr. DICKS, Mr. HAMBURG, Mrs. MEEK, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. SHEPHERD,
Mr. LAZIO, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. BLACKWELL, Mr.
KENNEDY, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO´, Mr. FORD of Tennessee, Ms. MCKIN-
NEY, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. WASHINGTON, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. PAYNE of
New Jersey, and Mr. BATEMAN
SEPTEMBER 9, 1993
Additional sponsors: Mr. HENRY, Mr. DIXON, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. THOMPSON,
Mr. VISCLOSKY, and Mr. UNDERWOOD
NOVEMBER 10, 1993
Additional sponsors: Mr. PASTOR, Mr. FARR of California, and Mr. DOOLEY
NOVEMBER 10, 1993
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 22, 1993]
A BILL
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 the Attorney General certifies under
section 3(d)(1) of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention
Act that the national instant criminal background check
system is established (except as provided in paragraphs (2)
and (3) of such section), it shall be unlawful for any li-
censed importer, 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 trans-
fer 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 transferee
furnishes the statement, provided notice 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 transferee
furnishes the statement, transmitted a copy
of the statement to the chief law enforcement
officer of the place of residence of the trans-
feree; 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 en-
forcement officer, during which period the trans-
feror has not received information from the chief
law enforcement officer that receipt or possession
of the handgun by the transferee would be in vio-
lation 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 receipt or
possession of the handgun by the transferee
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 trans-
feree during the 10-day period ending on the date of
the most recent proposal of such transfer by the trans-
feree, stating that the transferee requires access to a
handgun because of a threat to the life of the trans-
feree or of any member of the household of the trans-
feree;
‘‘(C)(i) the transferee has presented to the trans-
feror a permit that—
‘‘(I) allows the transferee to possess a hand-
gun; and
‘‘(II) was issued not more than 5 years ear-
lier 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 posses-
sion of a handgun by the transferee would be in viola-
tion 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, except that this subparagraph
shall not apply to a State that, on the date of certifi-
cation pursuant to section 3(d) of the Brady Hand-
gun Violence Prevention Act, is not in compliance
with the timetable established pursuant to section 3(c)
of such Act;
‘‘(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 transferor
at which the transfer is to occur are extremely
remote in relation to the chief law enforcement
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 contain-
ing a photograph of the transferee and a description
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 section
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 obtain
a handgun from the transferor.
‘‘(4) Any transferor of a handgun who, after such
transfer, receives a report from a chief law enforcement offi-
cer 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 oth-
erwise available to the public, in a report under this sub-
section 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 otherwise
transfers a handgun to a transferee shall retain the copy
of the statement of the transferee with respect to the hand-
gun transaction, and shall retain evidence that the trans-
feror has complied with subclauses (III) and (IV) of para-
graph (1)(A)(i) with respect to the statement.
‘‘(B)(i) 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 de-
rived 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.
‘‘(ii) Subparagraph (A) shall not be construed to im-
pose a requirement contrary to State or local law or regula-
tion.
‘‘(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 possession 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 hand-
gun.
‘‘(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 individ-
ual.
‘‘(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 officials,
and the public.’’.
(2) HANDGUN DEFINED.—Section 921(a) of such
title is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(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 assem-
bled.’’.
(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 following:
‘‘(t)(1) Beginning on the date that the Attorney Gen-
eral certifies under section 3(d)(1) of the Brady Handgun
Violence Prevention Act that the national instant criminal
background check system is established (except as provided
in paragraphs (2) and (3) of such section), a licensed im-
porter, 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 li-
censee contacts the national instant criminal back-
ground check system established under section 3 of
such Act;
‘‘(B) the system notifies the licensee that the sys-
tem has not located any record that demonstrates that
the receipt of a firearm by such other person would
violate 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 trans-
fer between a licensee and another person if—
‘‘(A)(i) such other person has presented to the li-
censee a permit that—
‘‘(I) allows such other person to possess a
firearm; and
‘‘(II) was issued not more than 5 years ear-
lier 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 posses-
sion 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 re-
mote in relation to the chief law enforcement of-
ficer (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 receipt of a fire-
arm by such other person would violate subsection (g) or
(n), and the licensee transfers a firearm to such other per-
son, 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 transfer
and, at the time such other person most recently proposed
the transfer, the national instant criminal background
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 possession 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 hand-
gun.’’.
(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.—The Attorney Gen-
eral of the United States shall establish a national instant
criminal background check system that any licensee may
contact for information on whether receipt 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 SYS-
TEM.—(1) Not later than 6 months after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Attorney General shall—
(A) determine the type of computer hardware
and software that will be used to operate the national
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;
(B) investigate the criminal records system of
each State and determine for each State a timetable
by which the State should be able to provide criminal
records on an on line capacity basis to the national
system; and
(C) notify each State of the determinations made
pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B).
(2) The Attorney General shall require as a part of
the State timetable that the State achieve, by the end of
5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, at least 80
percent currency of case dispositions in computerized crimi-
nal history files for all cases in which there has been an
event of activity within the last 5 years and continue to
maintain such a system.
(d) NATIONAL SYSTEM CERTIFICATION.—(1) On the
date that is 30 months after the date of enactment of this
Act, and at any time thereafter, the Attorney General shall
determine whether—
(A) the national system has achieved at least 80
percent currency of case dispositions in computerized
criminal history files for all cases in which there has
been an event of activity within the last 5 years on
a national average basis; and
(B) the States are in compliance with the time-
table established pursuant to subsection (c),
and, if so, shall certify that the national system is estab-
lished.
(2) If, on the date of certification in paragraph (1)
of this subsection, a State is not in compliance with the
timetable established pursuant to subsection (c) of this sec-
tion, section 922(s) of title 18, United States Code, shall
remain in effect in such State and section 922(t) of such
title shall not apply to the State. The Attorney General shall
certify if a State subject to the provisions of section 922(s)
under the preceding sentence achieves compliance with its
timetable after the date of certification in paragraph (1)
of this subsection, and section 922(s) of title 18, United
States Code, shall not apply to such State and section
922(t) of such title shall apply to the State.
(3) Six years after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Attorney General shall certify whether or not a State
is in compliance with subsection (c)(2) of this section and
if the State is not in compliance, section 922(s) of title 18,
United States Code, shall apply to the State and section
922(t) of such title shall not apply to the State. The Attor-
ney General shall certify if a State subject to the provisions
of section 922(s) under the preceding sentence achieves com-
pliance with the standards in subsection (c)(2) of this sec-
tion, and section 922(s) of title 18, United States Code,
shall not apply to the State and section 922(t) of such title
shall apply to the State.
(e) NOTIFICATION OF LICENSEES.—On establishment
of the system under this section, the Attorney General shall
notify each licensee and the chief law enforcement 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 per-
sons for whom receipt of a firearm would violate sub-
section (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 accordance 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