I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5508 
To protect the rights of the people of the United States under the Second 
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 
Mr. PFLUGER (for himself, Mr. MORAN, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. LAMALFA, and 
Mrs. HINSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To protect the rights of the people of the United States 
under the Second Amendment to the Constitution of 
the United States. 
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 ‘‘Respect for the Second 
Amendment Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Second Amendment to the Constitution 
of the United States protects the individual right to 
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keep and bear arms independent of service in an or-
ganized militia. 
(2) The Supreme Court of the United States 
held in District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 
595 (2008) that ‘‘[t]here seems to us no doubt, on 
the basis of both text and history, that the Second 
Amendment conferred an individual right to keep 
and bear arms.’’. 
(3) The Supreme Court further held in New 
York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 142 
S. Ct. 2111, 2126 (2022) that the Second Amend-
ment requires the government to demonstrate that a 
law regulating firearms ‘‘is consistent with this Na-
tion’s historical tradition of firearm regulation’’. 
(4) The right to keep and bear arms is a funda-
mental individual right guaranteed by the Constitu-
tion and a cornerstone of the liberties that every 
United States citizen enjoys. 
(5) The Fourteenth Amendment to the Con-
stitution grants Congress the authority to enforce, 
by appropriate legislation, that Amendment’s com-
mand that ‘‘[n]o State shall make or enforce any 
law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities 
of citizens of the United States’’. 
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(6) Certain States have enacted or are seeking 
to enact gun control laws that are inconsistent with 
the United States historical tradition of firearm reg-
ulation, including bans on the carrying of firearms 
by residents of other States and bans on large cat-
egories of firearms that are in common use for law-
ful purposes. 
(7) It is therefore necessary for Congress to ex-
ercise its authority under the Fourteenth Amend-
ment to ensure that the Second Amendment rights 
of all people of the United States are protected from 
infringement by the States. 
(8) Congress has also exercised authority under 
the Taxing Clause and Commerce Clause of section 
8 of article I of the Constitution to regulate the 
interstate market in firearms and ammunition. 
SEC. 3. LIMITATIONS ON REGULATION OF FIREARMS. 
(a) DEFINITION OF ‘‘FIREARM’’.—In this section, the 
term ‘‘firearm’’— 
(1) has the meaning given the term in section 
921 of title 18, United States Code; and 
(2) includes— 
(A) an antique firearm, as defined in sec-
tion 921 of title 18, United States Code (not-
withstanding paragraph (1) of this subsection); 
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(B) an assembled or unassembled firearm; 
and 
(C) any part of a firearm, including any 
integrated or detachable magazine or ammuni-
tion feeding device. 
(b) NO ENFORCEMENT
OR IMPLEMENTATION
OF 
LAWS IN VIOLATION OF SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS.— 
No person acting under color of any statute, ordinance, 
regulation, custom, or usage of the Federal Government, 
of any State or territory, of any locality, or of the District 
of Columbia may enforce or implement any Federal, State, 
or local law, rule, ordinance, or regulation that prohibits, 
limits, places requirements or conditions upon, or other-
wise regulates the right of an individual to lawfully manu-
facture for personal use, acquire, possess, own, carry, 
transport, ship, or use a privately owned firearm or pri-
vately owned ammunition unless the law, rule, ordinance, 
or regulation is consistent with the United States histor-
ical tradition of firearm regulation. 
(c) ENFORCEMENT.— 
(1) PUBLIC RIGHT OF ACTION.—The Attorney 
General may bring a civil action for declaratory or 
injunctive relief in an appropriate district court of 
the United States against any person who violates 
subsection (b). 
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(2) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Any person who is 
harmed by a violation of subsection (b), or any 
membership organization that represents such a 
person, may bring a civil action for declaratory 
or injunctive relief in an appropriate district 
court of the United States against the person 
who committed the violation. 
(B) COSTS
AND
FEES.—The court shall 
award costs and reasonable attorney fees to any 
plaintiff who prevails in an action brought 
under subparagraph (A), including if the action 
is resolved by a negotiated settlement or mooted 
by repeal or amendment of the offending law, 
rule, regulation, prohibition, policy, or practice. 
(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to— 
(1) preempt any provision of State law that 
provides greater protections to the individual right 
to keep and bear arms than those provided under 
this section; or 
(2) limit any other remedy available under the 
laws of a State or the United States for infringe-
ment of the right to lawfully manufacture for per-
sonal use, acquire, possess, own, carry, transport, 
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ship, or use a privately owned firearm or privately 
owned ammunition. 
SEC. 4. REPEALER. 
Chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is amend-
ed— 
(1) by striking section 927; and 
(2) in the table of sections, by striking the item 
relating to section 927. 
Æ 
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