103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3098
AN ACT
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the pos-
session of a handgun or handgun ammunition by, or
the private transfer of a handgun or handgun ammuni-
tion to, a juvenile.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.
The Congress finds and declares that—
(1) Crime, particularly crime involving drugs
and guns, is a pervasive, nationwide problem.
(2) Problems with crime at the local level are
exacerbated by the interstate movement of drugs,
funds, and criminal gangs.
(3) Firearms and ammunition, and handguns in
particular, move easily in interstate commerce, as
documented in numerous hearings in both the Judi-
ciary Committee of the House of Representatives
and Judiciary Committee of the Senate.
(4) In fact, even before the sale of a handgun,
the gun, its component parts, ammunition, and the
raw materials from which they are made have con-
siderably moved in interstate commerce.
(5) While criminals freely move from State to
State, ordinary citizens may fear to travel to or
through certain parts of the country due to the con-
cern that violent crime is not under control, and for-
eigners may decline to travel in the United States
for the same reason.
(6) Just as the hardened drug kingpins begin
their life in the illicit drug culture by exposure to
drugs at a young age, violent criminals often start
their criminal careers on streets where the ready
availability of guns to young people results in the ac-
ceptability of their random use.
(7) Violent crime and the use of illicit drugs go
hand-in-hand, and attempts to control one without
controlling the other may be fruitless.
(8) Individual States and localities find it im-
possible to handle the problem by themselves; even
States and localities that have made a strong effort
to prevent, detect, and punish crime find their effort
unavailing due in part to the failure or inability of
other States and localities to take strong measures.
(9) Inasmuch as illicit drug activity and related
violent crime overflow State lines and national
boundaries, the Congress has power, under the inter-
state commerce clause and other provisions of the
Constitution, to enact measures to combat these
problems.
(10) The Congress finds that it is necessary
and appropriate to assist the States in controlling
crime by stopping the commerce in handguns with
juveniles nationwide, and allowing the possession of
handguns by juveniles only when handguns are pos-
sessed and used for legitimate purposes under ap-
propriate conditions.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF THE POSSESSION OF A HANDGUN
OR 
AMMUNITION 
BY, 
OR 
THE 
PRIVATE
TRANSFER OF A HANDGUN OR AMMUNITION
TO, A JUVENILE.
(a) DEFINITION.—Section 921(a) of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing new paragraph:
‘‘(29) The term ‘handgun’ means—
‘‘(A) a firearm that has a short stock and is de-
signed 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 as-
sembled.’’.
(b) OFFENSE.—Section 922 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
‘‘(s)(1) It shall be unlawful for a person to sell, de-
liver, or otherwise transfer to a juvenile, or to a person
who the transferor knows or has reasonable cause to be-
lieve is a juvenile—
‘‘(A) a handgun; or
‘‘(B) ammunition that is suitable for use only
in a handgun.
‘‘(2) It shall be unlawful for any person who is a juve-
nile to knowingly possess—
‘‘(A) a handgun; or
‘‘(B) ammunition that is suitable for use
only in a handgun.
‘‘(3) This subsection does not apply—
‘‘(A) to a temporary transfer of a handgun or
ammunition to a juvenile, or to the possession or use
of a handgun or ammunition by a juvenile, if the
handgun and ammunition are possessed and used by
the juvenile—
‘‘(i) in the course of employment, in the
course of ranching or farming related to activi-
ties at the residence of the juvenile (or on prop-
erty used for ranching or farming at which the
juvenile, with the permission of the property
owner or lessee, is performing activities related
to the operation of the farm or ranch), target
practice, hunting, or a course of instruction in
the safe and lawful use of a handgun;
‘‘(ii) with the prior written consent of the
juvenile’s parent or guardian who is not prohib-
ited by Federal, State, or local law from pos-
sessing a firearm;
‘‘(iii) with the prior written consent in the
juvenile’s possession at all times when a hand-
gun is in the possession of the juvenile; and