I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 165 
To improve the safety of firearms. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 4, 2005 
Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To improve the safety of firearms. 
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 ‘‘Child Safety Lock Act 
of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that— 
(1) according to statistics from the Centers for 
Disease Control, more than 5,000 innocent children 
have lost their lives due to unintentional deaths re-
lated to firearms;
(2) between 1983 and 1994, 5,523 males rang-
ing in ages from 1 to 19, were killed by the uninten-
tional discharge of a firearm; 
(3) a Federal study found that ignorance and 
carelessness are the major causes of firearms acci-
dents; 
(4) 84 percent of firearms accidents involved 
people who did not follow basic safety rules; and 
(5) to help reduce the number of firearms acci-
dents, it is critical to practice and enforce firearms 
safety rules. 
TITLE I—CRIMINAL PROVISIONS 
SEC. 101. HANDGUN SAFETY. 
(a) DEFINITION
OF
LOCKING
DEVICE.—Section 
921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(36) The term ‘locking device’ means— 
‘‘(A) a device which, if installed on a firearm 
and secured by means of a key or a mechanically, 
electronically, or electromechanically operated com-
bination lock, prevents the firearm from being dis-
charged without first deactivating or removing the 
device by means of a key or mechanically, electroni-
cally, or electromechanically operated combination 
lock; or
‘‘(B) a locking mechanism incorporated into the 
design of a firearm which prevents discharge of the 
firearm by any person who does not have access to 
the key or other device designed to unlock the mech-
anism and thereby allow discharge of the firearm.’’. 
(b) UNLAWFUL ACTS.—Section 922 of such title is 
amended by inserting after subsection (y) the following: 
‘‘(z) LOCKING DEVICES AND WARNINGS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), beginning 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this subsection, it shall be unlawful for 
any licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or li-
censed dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer a handgun 
to any person, unless— 
‘‘(A) the transferee is provided with a lock-
ing device for that handgun; and 
‘‘(B) the handgun is accompanied by the 
following warning, which shall appear in con-
spicuous and legible type in capital letters, and 
which shall be printed on a label affixed to the 
handgun and on a separate sheet of paper in-
cluded in the packaging enclosing the handgun: 
‘THE USE OF A LOCKING DEVICE 
OR SAFETY LOCK IS ONLY ONE ASPECT 
OF RESPONSIBLE FIREARM STORAGE.
HANDGUNS SHOULD BE STORED UN-
LOADED AND LOCKED IN A LOCATION 
THAT IS BOTH SEPARATE FROM THEIR 
AMMUNITION AND INACCESSIBLE TO 
CHILDREN. 
‘FAILURE TO PROPERLY LOCK AND 
STORE YOUR HANDGUN MAY RESULT 
IN 
CIVIL 
OR 
CRIMINAL 
LIABILITY 
UNDER STATE LAW. FEDERAL LAW 
PROHIBITS THE POSSESSION OF A 
HANDGUN BY A MINOR IN MOST CIR-
CUMSTANCES.’ 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not 
apply to the sale, delivery, or transfer of a handgun 
to— 
‘‘(A) the United States or a department or 
agency of the United States, or a State or a de-
partment, agency, or political subdivision of a 
State; 
‘‘(B) a law enforcement officer (whether on 
or off-duty) who is employed by an entity re-
ferred to in subparagraph (A), for law enforce-
ment purposes; or 
‘‘(C) a rail police officer (whether on or 
off-duty) who is employed by a rail carrier and
is certified or commissioned as a police officer 
under the laws of a State, for law enforcement 
purposes.’’. 
(c) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 924 of such title is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘this sub-
section, subsection (b), (c), or (f) of this section,’’ 
and inserting ‘‘this section’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(p) PENALTIES RELATING TO LOCKING DEVICES 
AND WARNINGS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(A) SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF LI-
CENSE; CIVIL
PENALTIES.—With respect to 
each violation of section 922(z)(1) by a licensee, 
the Attorney General may, after notice and op-
portunity for hearing— 
‘‘(i) suspend or revoke any license 
issued to the licensee under this chapter; 
or 
‘‘(ii) impose a civil penalty on the li-
censee in an amount that is not more than 
$10,000.
‘‘(B) REVIEW.—An action of the Attorney 
General under this paragraph may be reviewed 
only as provided in section 923(f). 
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES.—The taking 
of an action under paragraph (1) with respect to 
conduct of a licensee shall not affect the availability 
of any other administrative authority with respect to 
the conduct.’’. 
TITLE II—REGULATORY 
PROVISIONS 
SEC. 201. REGULATION OF TRIGGER LOCK DEVICES. 
(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Attorney General 
shall prescribe such regulations governing the design, 
manufacture, and performance of trigger lock devices, as 
are necessary to reduce or prevent the unintentional dis-
charge of handguns. 
(b) MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARD.—The regulations 
required by subsection (a) shall, at a minimum, set forth 
a minimum safety standard that trigger lock devices must 
meet in order to be manufactured, sold, transferred, or 
delivered consistent with this title. In developing the 
standard, the Attorney General shall give appropriate con-
sideration to trigger lock devices that are not detachable, 
but are permanently installed and incorporated into the 
design of a handgun. The standard shall include provisions
to ensure that any trigger lock device that meets the 
standard is of adequate quality and construction to pre-
vent children who have not attained 18 years of age from 
operating a handgun, and to ensure that such a product 
cannot be removed from a handgun except through the 
use of a key, combination, or other method of access pro-
vided in the design specifications of the manufacturer of 
the device. 
(c) DEADLINE FOR ISSUANCE OF STANDARD.—With-
in 12 months after the date of the enactment of this title, 
the Attorney General shall issue in final form the standard 
required by subsection (b). 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE OF STANDARD.—The standard 
issued under subsection (b) shall take effect 6 months 
after the date of issuance. 
SEC. 202. ORDERS; INSPECTIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may issue 
an order prohibiting the manufacture, sale, transfer, or 
delivery of a trigger lock device which the Attorney Gen-
eral finds has been designed, or has been or is intended 
to be manufactured, transferred, or distributed in violation 
of this title or a regulation prescribed under this title. 
(b) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE THE RECALL, REPAIR, 
OR REPLACEMENT
OF, OR
THE PROVISION
OF RE-
FUNDS.—The Attorney General may issue an order re-
quiring the manufacturer of, and any dealer in, a trigger 
lock device which the Attorney General finds has been de-
signed, manufactured, transferred, or delivered in viola-
tion of this title or a regulation prescribed under this title, 
to— 
(1) provide notice of the risks associated with 
the device, and of how to avoid or reduce the risks, 
to— 
(A) the public; 
(B) in the case of the manufacturer of the 
device, each dealer in the device; and 
(C) in the case of a dealer in the device, 
the manufacturer of the device and the other 
persons known to the dealer as dealers in the 
device; 
(2) bring the device into conformity with the 
regulations prescribed under this title; 
(3) repair the device; 
(4) replace the device with a like or equivalent 
device which is in compliance with such regulations; 
(5) refund the purchase price of the device, or, 
if the device is more than 1 year old, a lesser 
amount based on the value of the device after rea-
sonable use;
(6) recall the device from the stream of com-
merce; or 
(7) submit to the Attorney General a satisfac-
tory plan for implementation of any action required 
under this subsection. 
(c) INSPECTIONS.—In order to ascertain compliance 
with this title and the regulations and orders issued under 
this title, the Attorney General may, at reasonable times— 
(1) enter any place in which trigger lock devices 
are manufactured, stored, or held, for distribution in 
commerce, and inspect those areas where the devices 
are manufactured, stored, or held; and 
(2) enter and inspect any conveyance being 
used to transport for commercial purposes a trigger 
lock device. 
SEC. 203. ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) CIVIL PENALTIES.—The Attorney General may 
assess a civil money penalty not to exceed $10,000 for 
each violation of this title. 
(b) REVOCATION
OF
FEDERAL
FIREARMS
LI-
CENSE.—Section 923(e) of title 18, United States Code, 
is amended by inserting after the 2nd sentence the fol-
lowing: ‘‘The Attorney General may, after notice and op-
portunity for hearing, revoke any license issued under this 
section if the holder of the license violates any provision
of title II of the Child Safety Lock Act of 2005 or any 
rule or regulation prescribed under such title.’’. 
(c) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Any person who has re-
ceived from the Attorney General a notice that the person 
has violated a provision of this title or of a regulation pre-
scribed under this title with respect to a trigger lock de-
vice, and who subsequently knowingly violates such provi-
sion with respect to the device shall be fined under title 
18, United States Code, imprisoned not more than 2 
years, or both. 
SEC. 204. NO EFFECT ON STATE LAW. 
This title does not annul, alter, impair, or affect, or 
exempt any person subject to the provisions of this title 
from complying with, any provision of the law of any State 
or any political subdivision thereof, except to the extent 
that such provisions of State law are inconsistent with any 
provision of this title, and then only to the extent of the 
inconsistency. A provision of State law is not inconsistent 
with this title if such provision affords greater protection 
in respect of trigger lock devices than is afforded by this 
title. 
SEC. 205. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title: 
(1) The term ‘‘trigger lock device’’ means any 
device that is designed, manufactured, or rep-
resented in commerce, as a means of preventing the 
unintentional discharge of a handgun. 
(2) The terms ‘‘licensed importer’’, ‘‘licensed 
manufacturer’’, ‘‘licensed dealer’’, ‘‘Attorney Gen-
eral’’, and ‘‘handgun’’ have the meanings given in 
paragraphs (9), (10), (11), (18), and (29), respec-
tively, of section 921(a) of title 18, United States 
Code. 
TITLE III—EDUCATION 
PROVISIONS 
SEC. 301. PORTION OF FIREARMS TAX REVENUE TO BE 
USED FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION ON SAFE 
STORAGE OF FIREARMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, an amount equal to 2 percent of the net reve-
nues received in the Treasury from the tax imposed by 
section 4181 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relat-
ing to firearms) for each of the first 5 fiscal years begin-
ning after the date of the enactment of this Act shall be 
available, as provided in appropriation Acts, to the Sec-
retary of the Treasury to carry out public education pro-
grams on the safe storage and use of firearms. Amounts 
otherwise transferred or made available for any other pur-
pose by reason of such tax shall be reduced by the