I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5435 
To prevent a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime, 
or received an enhanced sentence for a misdemeanor because of hate 
or bias in its commission, from obtaining a firearm. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 
Ms. ESCOBAR (for herself, Mr. FROST, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Mr. HIG-
GINS of New York, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. 
CLYBURN, Mr. GARAMENDI, and Ms. PORTER) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To prevent a person who has been convicted of a mis-
demeanor hate crime, or received an enhanced sentence 
for a misdemeanor because of hate or bias in its commis-
sion, from obtaining a 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 ‘‘Disarm Hate Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PREVENTION OF PERSON WHO HAS BEEN CON-
VICTED OF A MISDEMEANOR HATE CRIME, 
OR RECEIVED AN ENHANCED SENTENCE FOR 
A MISDEMEANOR BECAUSE OF HATE OR BIAS 
IN ITS COMMISSION, FROM OBTAINING A 
FIREARM. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 921(a) of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(36) The term ‘convicted in any court of a mis-
demeanor hate crime’— 
‘‘(A) means being convicted by a court of an of-
fense that— 
‘‘(i) is a misdemeanor under Federal, 
State, or tribal law; 
‘‘(ii) has, as an element, that the conduct 
of the offender was motivated by hate or bias 
because of the actual or perceived race, color, 
religion, national origin, gender, sexual orienta-
tion, gender identity (as defined in section 
249), or disability of any person; and 
‘‘(iii) involves the use or attempted use of 
physical force, the threatened use of a deadly 
weapon, or other credible threat to the physical 
safety of any person; and 
‘‘(B) does not include— 
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‘‘(i) a conviction of an offense described in 
subparagraph (A), unless— 
‘‘(I) the person— 
‘‘(aa) was represented by counsel 
in the case; or 
‘‘(bb) knowingly and intelligently 
waived the right to counsel in the 
case; and 
‘‘(II) in the case of a prosecution for 
an offense described in subparagraph (A) 
for which a person was entitled to a jury 
trial in the jurisdiction in which the case 
was tried— 
‘‘(aa) the case was tried by a 
jury; or 
‘‘(bb) the person knowingly and 
intelligently waived the right to have 
the case tried by a jury, by guilty plea 
or otherwise; or 
‘‘(ii) a conviction of an offense described in 
subparagraph (A) if— 
‘‘(I) the conviction— 
‘‘(aa) has been expunged or set 
aside; or 
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‘‘(bb) is an offense for which the 
person has been pardoned or has had 
civil rights restored (if the law of the 
applicable jurisdiction provides for the 
loss of civil rights under such an of-
fense); and 
‘‘(II) the pardon, expungement, or 
restoration of civil rights does not ex-
pressly provide that the person may not 
ship, transport, possess, or receive fire-
arms. 
‘‘(37) The term ‘received from any court an enhanced 
hate crime misdemeanor sentence’— 
‘‘(A) means a court has imposed a sentence for 
a misdemeanor under Federal, State, or tribal law— 
‘‘(i) that involves the use or attempted use 
of physical force, the threatened use of a deadly 
weapon, or other credible threat to the physical 
safety of any person; and 
‘‘(ii) based, in whole or in part, on a judi-
cial finding that the conduct of the offender 
was motivated, in whole or in part, by hate or 
bias for any reason referred to in paragraph 
(36)(A)(ii); and 
‘‘(B) does not include— 
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‘‘(i) the imposition of a sentence described 
in subparagraph (A), unless— 
‘‘(I) the person— 
‘‘(aa) was represented by counsel 
in the case; or 
‘‘(bb) knowingly and intelligently 
waived the right to counsel in the 
case; and 
‘‘(II) if the sentence described in sub-
paragraph (A) was imposed in a prosecu-
tion for an offense for which a person was 
entitled to a jury trial in the jurisdiction in 
which the case was tried— 
‘‘(aa) the case was tried by a 
jury; or 
‘‘(bb) the person knowingly and 
intelligently waived the right to have 
the case tried by a jury, by guilty plea 
or otherwise; or 
‘‘(ii) the imposition of a sentence described 
in subparagraph (A) if— 
‘‘(I)(aa) the conviction of the offense 
for which the sentence was imposed has 
been expunged or set aside; or 
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‘‘(bb) the offense for which the sen-
tence was imposed is an offense for which 
the person has been pardoned or has had 
civil rights restored (if the law of the appli-
cable jurisdiction provides for the loss of 
civil rights under such an offense); and 
‘‘(II) the pardon, expungement, or 
restoration of civil rights does not ex-
pressly provide that the person may not 
ship, transport, possess, or receive fire-
arms.’’. 
(b) PROHIBITION ON SALE OR OTHER DISPOSITION 
OF FIREARM.—Section 922(d) of such title is amended in 
the first sentence— 
(1) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (11)— 
(A) by redesignating such paragraph as 
paragraph (12); and 
(B) by striking ‘‘through (10)’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘through (11)’’; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (10) the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(11) has been convicted in any court of a mis-
demeanor hate crime, or has received from any court 
an enhanced hate crime misdemeanor sentence; or’’. 
(c) PROHIBITION ON POSSESSION, SHIPMENT, OR 
TRANSPORT OF FIREARM.—Section 922(g) of such title 
is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (9), by striking the comma 
and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (9) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(10) who has been convicted in any court of 
a misdemeanor hate crime, or has received from any 
court an enhanced hate crime misdemeanor sen-
tence,’’. 
Æ 
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