I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 737
To provide for the manufacturer or importer of a handgun or an assault
weapon to be held strictly liable for damages that result from the use
of the handgun or assault weapon, and to amend the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 to increase the excise tax on firearms and use a portion
of the revenues from such tax to assist hospitals in urban areas to
provide medical care to gunshot victims who are not covered under
any health plan.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 2, 1993
Mr. REYNOLDS (for himself and Mr. TUCKER) introduced the following bill;
which was referred jointly to the Committees on the Judiciary and Ways
and Means
A BILL
To provide for the manufacturer or importer of a handgun
or an assault weapon to be held strictly liable for dam-
ages that result from the use of the handgun or assault
weapon, and to amend the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 to increase the excise tax on firearms and use
a portion of the revenues from such tax to assist hos-
pitals in urban areas to provide medical care to gunshot
victims who are not covered under any health plan.
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 ‘‘Strict Liability for
Safer Streets Act of 1993’’.
TITLE I—STRICT LIABILITY OF
MANUFACTURERS 
AND 
IM-
PORTERS OF HANDGUNS AND
ASSAULT WEAPONS
SEC. 101. CAUSE OF ACTION; FEDERAL JURISDICTION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Any person suffering bodily in-
jury, death, or property damage, as a result of the dis-
charge of a handgun or an assault weapon may bring an
action in any United States district court against any per-
missible defendant for damages and such other relief as
the court deems appropriate.
(b) PERMISSIBLE DEFENDANTS.—The following per-
sons are permissible defendants in an action brought
under subsection (a) with respect to a handgun or an as-
sault weapon:
(1) Any manufacturer of the handgun or as-
sault weapon.
(2) Any importer of the handgun or assault
weapon.
SEC. 102. STRICT LIABILITY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Each defendant in an action
brought under section 101(a) shall be held strictly liable
in tort, without regard to fault or proof of defect, for all
direct and consequential damages that arise from bodily
injury, death, and property damage, proximately resulting
from the discharge of the handgun or assault weapon with
respect to which the defendant is a permissible defendant,
except as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) DEFENSES.—
(1) INJURY WHILE COMMITTING A FELONY.—
There shall be no liability under subsection (a) if it
is established by a preponderance of the evidence
that the plaintiff suffered the bodily injury, death, or
property damage, while committing a crime punish-
able by death, or by imprisonment for life or for any
term of years.
(2) SELF-INFLICTED INJURY.—There shall be
no liability under subsection (a) if it is established
by a preponderance of the evidence that the plain-
tiff’s bodily injury or death was self-inflicted, or that
the property damage was caused by the plaintiff.
(3) INJURY BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—
There shall be no liability under subsection (a) if it
is established by a preponderance of the evidence
that the injury was suffered as a result of the dis-
charge, by a law enforcement officer in the perform-
ance of official duties, of a handgun or assault weap-
on issued by the United States or any department
SEC. 103. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.
An action may not be brought under section 101(a)
after the 2-year period that begins with the date the injury
described therein is discovered.
SEC. 104. APPLICABILITY.
This title shall apply only to handguns and assault
weapons manufactured in or imported into the United
States after the effective date of this Act.
SEC. 105. NO EFFECT ON OTHER CAUSES OF ACTION.
This title shall not be construed to limit the scope
of any other cause of action available to a person who suf-
fers bodily injury, death, or property damage, as a result
of the discharge of a handgun or an assault weapon.
SEC. 106. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this title:
(1) HANDGUN.—The term ‘‘handgun’’ means a
firearm which, at the time of manufacture, had a
barrel of less than 12 inches in length.
(2) ASSAULT
WEAPON.—The term ‘‘assault
weapon’’ means—
(A) a firearm—
(i) which—
(I) has a barrel of 12 or more
inches in length; and
(II) is capable of receiving am-
munition directly from a large capac-
ity ammunition magazine;
(ii) which is a semiautomatic firearm
which is—
(I) not generally recognized as
particularly suitable for, or readily
adaptable to, sporting purposes; or
(II) concealable on a person; or
(B) a firearm which is substantially func-
tionally equivalent to a firearm described by
clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A).
(3) LARGE
CAPACITY
AMMUNITION
MAGA-
ZINE.—The term ‘‘large capacity ammunition maga-
zine’’ means a detachable magazine, belt, drum, feed
strip, or similar device which has, or which can be
readily restored or converted to have, a capacity of
15 or more rounds of ammunition.
(4) 
SEMIAUTOMATIC
FIREARM.—The 
term
‘‘semiautomatic firearm’’ means any repeating fire-
arm which utilizes a portion of the energy of a firing
cartridge to extract the fired cartridge case and
chamber the next round, and which requires a sepa-
rate pull of the trigger to fire each cartridge.
(5) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term
‘‘law enforcement officer’’ means any officer, agent,
or employee of the United States, or of a State or
political subdivision thereof, who is authorized by
law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detec-
tion, investigation, or prosecution of any violation of
law.
(6) OTHER
TERMS.—The terms ‘‘firearm’’,
‘‘importer’’, and ‘‘manufacturer’’ shall have the
meanings given such terms, respectively, in para-
graphs (3), (9), and (10) of section 921(a) of title
18, United States Code.
SEC. 107. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This title shall apply to conduct occurring after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
TITLE II—REPORT TO VICTIMS
ON FEDERAL CRIMES COM-
MITTED WITH FIREARMS
SEC. 201. REPORT TO VICTIMS ON FEDERAL CRIMES COM-
MITTED WITH FIREARMS.
Within 30 days after a conviction is obtained in any
Federal court of a crime during or in relation to which
an individual was injured or killed by a firearm (as defined
in section 921(a)(3) of title 18, United States Code), the
United States attorney prosecuting the case shall report,
on whether title I of this Act applies to the firearm, to—
(1) the individual; or
(2) if the individual is dead—
(A) the closest relative of the individual; or
(B) if there is no such relative, the estate
of the individual.
TITLE III—REVENUE
PROVISIONS
SEC. 301. INCREASE IN TAX ON FIREARMS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4181 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 (relating to imposition of tax on fire-
arms) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 4181. IMPOSITION OF TAX.
‘‘There is hereby imposed a tax on the sale by the
manufacturer, producer, or importer of any firearm, shell,
or cartridge a tax equal to—
‘‘(1) in the case of firearms, 20 percent of the
price for which so sold, and
‘‘(2) in the case of shells and cartridges, 11
percent of the price for which so sold.’’
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall take effect on the 1st day of the 1st
calendar month beginning more than 30 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) FLOOR STOCKS TAX.—
(1) IMPOSITION OF TAX.—In the case of any
firearm on which tax was imposed under section
4181 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 before
the tax-increase date and which is held on such date
for sale by any dealer, there is hereby imposed a
floor stocks tax on such firearm.
(2) AMOUNT OF TAX.—The amount of tax im-
posed by paragraph (1) with respect to any firearm
shall be equal to the amount of tax imposed under
section 4181 of such Code with respect to such fire-
arm before the tax-increase date.
(3) LIABILITY FOR TAX AND METHOD OF PAY-
MENT.—
(A) LIABILITY FOR TAX.—Any dealer hold-
ing any firearm on the tax-increase date to
which any tax imposed by paragraph (1) applies
shall be liable for such tax.
(B) METHOD OF PAYMENT.—The tax im-
posed by paragraph (1) shall be paid in such
manner as the Secretary of the Treasury or his
delegate shall prescribe by regulations.
(C) TIME
FOR
PAYMENT.—The tax im-
posed by paragraph (1) shall be paid before the
close of the 6-month period beginning on the
tax-increase date.
(4) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section—
(A) TAX-INCREASE DATE.—The term ‘‘tax-
increase date’’ means the 1st day of the 1st cal-
endar month beginning more than 30 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(B) FIREARM.—The term ‘‘firearm’’ has
the same meaning as when used in section 4181
of such Code.
(5) OTHER LAWS APPLICABLE.—All provisions
of law, including penalties, applicable with respect to
the taxes imposed by section 4181 of such Code
shall, insofar as applicable and not inconsistent with
the provisions of this subsection, apply to the floor
stocks taxes imposed by paragraph (1), to the same
extent as if such taxes were imposed by such section
4181.
SEC. 302. HOSPITAL GUNSHOT COST RELIEF TRUST FUND.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to trust fund
code) is amended by adding at the end thereof the follow-
ing new section:
‘‘SEC. 9512. HOSPITAL GUNSHOT COST RELIEF TRUST
FUND.
‘‘(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.—There is estab-
lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund
to be known as the ‘Hospital Gunshot Cost Relief Trust
Fund’, consisting of such amounts as may be appropriated
or credited to such Trust Fund as provided in this section
or section 9602(b).
‘‘(b) TRANSFERS TO TRUST FUND.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are hereby appro-
priated to the Hospital Gunshot Cost Relief Trust
Fund amounts equivalent to 50 percent of the net
revenues received in the Treasury from the firearms
tax.
‘‘(2) NET REVENUES.—For purposes of para-
graph (1), the term ‘net revenues’ means the
amount estimated by the Secretary based on the ex-
cess of—
‘‘(A) the firearms taxes received in the
Treasury, over
‘‘(B) the decrease in the tax imposed by
chapter 1 resulting from the firearms taxes.
‘‘(3) FIREARMS TAX.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the term ‘firearms tax’ means the tax imposed
by section 4181 with respect to firearms (within the
meaning of such section).
‘‘(c) EXPENDITURES FROM TRUST FUND.—Amounts
in the Hospital Gunshot Cost Relief Trust Fund shall be
available, as provided in appropriation Acts, only for pur-
poses of making expenditures to assist hospitals located
in urban areas in defraying the costs incurred in providing
medical care to gunshot victims who are not covered under
any health plan.’’
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
for such subchapter A is amended by adding at the end
thereof the following new item:
‘‘Sec. 9512. Hospital Gunshot Cost Relief Trust Fund.’’
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