I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 899
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 
FEBRUARY 25, 2003
Mr. NADLER 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 2003’’. 
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been revoked; and 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 Attorney General; 
‘‘(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-
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 2003 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