I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1488
To control crime by increasing penalties for armed violent criminals.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 7, 1995
Mr. BARR (for himself, Mr. MCCOLLUM, Mr. BRYANT of Tennessee, Mrs.
CHENOWETH, Mr. STOCKMAN, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. BREW-
STER, Mr. TAUZIN, and Mr. VOLKMER) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To control crime by increasing penalties for armed violent
criminals.
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 ‘‘Citizens’ Protection
From Violent Crime Act of 1995’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) One of the primary duties of government is
to protect its citizens from armed violent criminals.
America’s cherished liberty and the social and eco-
nomic prosperity of its communities are dependent
upon government’s ability to maintain public safety.
(2) The fulfillment of government’s responsibil-
ity is not achieved by gun control laws. Criminals,
by definition, operate outside the law and routinely
acquire firearms when they so desire.
(3) The only true effect of gun control laws is
to disarm citizens who have no intention of harming
others except in the course of self-defense. These
laws also have the effect of criminalizing the mere
possession of certain types of guns even when such
possession is for entirely lawful purposes.
(4) The Second Amendment to the Constitution
of the United States guarantees citizens the right to
possess firearms. This right is grounded in the need
for self-defense.
(5) People in the United States frequently use
firearms to defend themselves because police cannot
always protect, and are not legally liable for failing
to protect, individual citizens.
SEC. 3. MANDATORY PRISON TERMS FOR POSSESSING,
BRANDISHING, OR DISCHARGING A FIREARM
OR DESTRUCTIVE DEVICE DURING A STATE
CRIME THAT IS A SERIOUS VIOLENT FELONY
OR SERIOUS DRUG OFFENSE.
Section 924(c) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as
paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively;
(2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(1) A person who, during and in relation to any
crime of violence or drug trafficking crime (including a
crime of violence or serious drug trafficking crime which
provides for an enhanced punishment if committed by the
use of a deadly or dangerous weapon or device) for which
the person may be prosecuted in a court of the United
States—
‘‘(A) possesses a firearm, shall, in addition to
the sentence imposed for the crime of violence or
drug trafficking crime, be sentenced to imprison-
ment for 5 years;
‘‘(B) brandishes a firearm, shall, in addition to
the sentence imposed for the crime of violence or
drug trafficking crime, be sentenced to imprison-
ment for 10 years; or
‘‘(C) discharges a firearm with the intent to in-
jure another person, shall, in addition to the sen-
tence imposed for the crime of violence or drug traf-
ficking crime, be sentenced to imprisonment for 20
years;
except that if the firearm is a short-barreled rifle or short-
barreled shotgun, such additional sentence shall be impris-
onment for 5 years more than the term of imprisonment
that would otherwise be imposed under this paragraph,
and if the firearm is a machinegun or destructive device
or is equipped with a firearm silencer or firearm muffler,
such additional sentence shall be imprisonment for 30
years.
‘‘(2)(A) A person who, during and in relation to a
serious violent felony or serious drug offense (including
a serious violent felony or serious drug offense that pro-
vides for an enhanced punishment if committed by the use
of a deadly or dangerous weapon or device) for which the
person may be prosecuted in a court of any State—
‘‘(i) possesses a firearm, shall, in addition to
the sentence imposed for the serious violent felony or
serious drug offense, be sentenced to imprisonment
for not less than 5 years;
‘‘(ii) brandishes a firearm, shall, in addition to
the sentence imposed for the serious violent felony or
serious drug offense, be sentenced to imprisonment
for not less than 10 years; or
‘‘(iii) discharges a firearm with the intent to in-
jure another person, shall, in addition to the sen-
tence imposed for the serious violent felony or seri-
ous drug offense, be sentenced to imprisonment for
not less than 20 years;
except that if the firearm is a machinegun or destructive
device or is equipped with a firearm silencer or firearm
muffler, such additional sentence shall be imprisonment
for not less than 30 years.
‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the con-
duct of a person in defense of person or property during
the course of a crime committed by another person (in-
cluding the arrest or attempted arrest of such other per-
son during or immediately after the commission of the
crime), unless the person engaged in or participated in
criminal conduct that gave rise to the criminal conduct
of such other person.
‘‘(C) It is the intent of the Congress that—
‘‘(i) this paragraph shall be used to supplement
but not supplant the efforts of State and local pros-
ecutors in prosecuting serious violent felonies and
serious drug offenses that could be prosecuted under
State law; and
‘‘(ii) the Attorney General shall give due def-
erence to the interest that a State or local prosecu-
tor has in prosecuting a person under State law.
‘‘(3) In the case of the second or subsequent convic-
tion of a person under this subsection—
‘‘(A) if the person possessed a firearm during
and in relation to such second or subsequent crime
of violence, drug trafficking crime, serious violent
felony, or serious drug offense, the person shall, in
addition to the sentence imposed for such second or
subsequent offense, be sentenced to imprisonment
for not less than 20 years;
‘‘(B) if the person brandished a firearm during
and in relation to such second or subsequent crime
of violence, drug trafficking crime, serious violent
felony, or serious drug offense, the person shall, in
addition to the sentence imposed for such second or
subsequent offense, be sentenced to imprisonment
for not less than 25 years; or
‘‘(C) if the person discharged a firearm with
the intent to injure another person during and in re-
lation to such second or subsequent crime of vio-
lence, drug trafficking crime, serious violent felony,
or serious drug offense, the person shall, in addition
to the sentence imposed for such second or subse-
quent offense, be sentenced to imprisonment for not
less than 30 years;
except that if the firearm is a machinegun or destructive
device or is equipped with a firearm silencer or firearm
muffler, the person shall, in addition to the sentence im-
posed for such second or subsequent offense, be sentenced
to life imprisonment.
‘‘(4)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
the court shall not impose a probationary sentence on any
person convicted of a violation of this subsection, nor shall
a term of imprisonment imposed under this subsection run
concurrently with any other term of imprisonment includ-
ing that imposed for the crime of violence, drug trafficking
crime, serious violent felony, or serious drug offense in
which the firearm was used.
‘‘(B) No person sentenced under this subsection shall
be released for any reason whatsoever during a term of
imprisonment imposed under this subsection.’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(7) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘seri-
ous violent felony’ shall have the meaning given such term
by section 3559(c)(2)(F)(i).
‘‘(8) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘seri-
ous drug offense’ means an offense under State law that,
had the offense been prosecuted in a court of the United
States, would have been punishable under section
401(b)(1)(B) or section 408 of the Controlled Substances
Act (21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(B), 848), or section 1010(b)(2)
of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21
U.S.C. 960(b)(2)).’’.
SEC. 4. MANDATORY PENALTIES FOR VIOLENT FELONS.
Section 924(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The court
shall sentence a person convicted of an offense under sec-
tion 922(g)(1) of this title to not less than 5 years in pris-
on if the person has a prior conviction for a serious violent
felony (as defined in section 3559(c)(2)(F)), and to not
less than 10 years in prison if the person has 2 such prior
convictions.’’.
SEC. 5. SERIOUS JUVENILE DRUG OFFENSES AS ARMED CA-
REER CRIMINAL ACT PREDICATES.
Section 924(e)(2)(A) of title 18, United States Code,
is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (i);
(2) in clause (ii), by striking the semicolon and
inserting ‘‘or which, if it had been prosecuted as a
violation of the Controlled Substances Act (21
U.S.C. 801 et seq.) at the time of the offense, and
because of the type and quantity of the controlled
substance involved, would have been punishable by a
maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years or
more; or’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(iii) any act of juvenile delinquency
that if committed by an adult would be a
serious drug offense described in this para-
graph;’’.
SEC. 6. PRETRIAL DETENTION FOR POSSESSION OF FIRE-
ARMS OR EXPLOSIVES BY CONVICTED VIO-
LENT FELONS.
Section 3156(a)(4) of title 18, United States Code,
is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph
(B);
(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (C) and inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding after subparagraph (C) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(D) an offense that is a violation of sec-
tion 842(i) of this title (relating to possession
of explosives by convicted felons); or
‘‘(E) an offense that is a violation of sec-
tion 922(g)(1) of this title (relating to posses-
sion of firearms by convicted felons), if the of-
fender has previously been convicted of such a
violation or of any other offense described in
this paragraph.’’.
SEC. 7. ARMED VIOLENT CRIMINAL APPREHENSION DIREC-
TIVE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General
of the United States shall establish an armed violent
criminal apprehension program consistent with the follow-
ing requirements:
(1) Each United States attorney shall designate
at least 1 assistant United States attorney to pros-
ecute armed violent criminals.
(2) Each United States attorney shall establish
an armed violent criminal apprehension task force
comprised of appropriate law enforcement represent-
atives. The task force shall develop strategies for re-
moving armed violent criminals from the streets,
taking into consideration—
(A) the importance of severe punishment
in deterring armed violent crime;
(B) the effectiveness of Federal and State
laws pertaining to apprehension and prosecu-
tion of armed violent criminals;
(C) the resources available to each law en-
forcement agency participating in the task
force;
(D) the nature and extent of the violent
crime occurring in the district for which the
United States attorney is appointed; and
(E) the principle of limited Federal in-
volvement in the prosecution of crimes tradi-
tionally prosecuted in State and local jurisdic-
tions.
(3) Not less frequently than monthly, the Attor-
ney General shall require each United States attor-
ney to report to the Department of Justice the num-
ber of defendants charged with, or convicted of, vio-
lating section 922(g) or 924 of title 18, United
States Code, in the district for which the United
States attorney is appointed.
(4) Not less frequently than twice annually, the
Attorney General shall submit to the Congress a
compilation of the information received by the De-
partment of Justice pursuant to paragraph (3) and
a report on all waivers granted under subsection (b).
(b) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—
(1) REQUEST FOR WAIVER.—A United States
attorney may request the Attorney General to waive
the requirements of subsection (a) with respect to
the United States attorney.
(2) PROVISION
OF
WAIVER.—The Attorney
General may waive the requirements of subsection
(a) pursuant to a request made under paragraph
(1), in accordance with guidelines which shall be es-
tablished by the Attorney General. In establishing
the guidelines, the Attorney General shall take into
consideration the number of assistant United States
attorneys in the office of the United States attorney
making the request and the level of violent crime
committed in the district for which the United
States attorney is appointed.
(c) ARMED VIOLENT CRIMINAL DEFINED.—As used
in this section, the term ‘‘armed violent criminal’’ means
a person who is accused of violating section 922(g)(1) of
title 18, United States Code, having been previously con-
victed of a violent crime, or who is accused of violating
section 924 of such title.
(d) SUNSET.—This section shall have no force or ef-
fect after the 5-year period that begins 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 8. RIGHT TO USE FIREARMS IN DEFENSE OF SELF OR
OTHER PERSONS WITHIN A HOME; ENFORCE-
MENT.
(a) REAFFIRMATION OF RIGHT.—A person not pro-
hibited by Federal law from receiving a firearm shall have
the right to use firearms within a home in defense of self
or other persons against a reasonably perceived threat of
imminent and unlawful infliction of serious bodily injury.
(b) FIREARM DEFINED.—As used in subsection (a),
the term ‘‘firearm’’ means—
(1) a shotgun (as defined in section 921(a)(5)
of title 18, United States Code);
(2) a rifle (as defined in section 921(a)(7) of
title 18, United States Code); or
(3) a handgun (as defined in section 10 of Pub-
lic Law 99–408).
(c) ENFORCEMENT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—A person whose right under
subsection (a) is violated in any manner by any
other person or by any government may bring an ac-
tion in any United States district court against such
other person or government for damages, injunctive
relief, and such other relief as the court deems ap-
propriate.
(2) AUTHORITY TO AWARD A REASONABLE AT-
TORNEY’S FEE.—In an action brought under para-