I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 233
To improve the safety of firearms.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 6, 2001
Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To improve the safety of firearms.
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 ‘‘Child Safety Lock Act
of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) according to statistics from the Centers for
Disease Control, more than 5,000 innocent children
have lost their lives due to unintentional deaths re-
lated to firearms;
(2) between 1983 and 1994, 5,523 males rang-
ing in ages from 1 to 19, were killed by the uninten-
tional discharge of a firearm;
(3) a Federal study found that ignorance and
carelessness are the major causes of firearms acci-
dents;
(4) 84 percent of firearms accidents involved
people who did not follow basic safety rules; and
(5) to help reduce the number of firearms acci-
dents, it is critical to practice and enforce firearms
safety rules.
TITLE I—CRIMINAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 101. HANDGUN SAFETY.
(a) DEFINITION
OF
LOCKING
DEVICE.—Section
921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by add-
ing at the end the following:
‘‘(35) The term ‘locking device’ means—
‘‘(A) a device which, if installed on a firearm
and secured by means of a key or a mechanically,
electronically, or electromechanically operated com-
bination lock, prevents the firearm from being dis-
charged without first deactivating or removing the
device by means of a key or mechanically, electroni-
cally, or electromechanically operated combination
lock; or
‘‘(B) a locking mechanism incorporated into the
design of a firearm which prevents discharge of the
firearm by any person who does not have access to
the key or other device designed to unlock the mech-
anism and thereby allow discharge of the firearm.’’.
(b) UNLAWFUL ACTS.—Section 922 of title 18,
United States Code, is amended by inserting after sub-
section (y) the following:
‘‘(z) LOCKING DEVICES AND WARNINGS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), beginning 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this subsection, it shall be unlawful for
any licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or li-
censed dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer a handgun
to any person, unless—
‘‘(A) the transferee is provided with a lock-
ing device for that handgun; and
‘‘(B) the handgun is accompanied by the
following warning, which shall appear in con-
spicuous and legible type in capital letters, and
which shall be printed on a label affixed to the
handgun and on a separate sheet of paper in-
cluded in the packaging enclosing the handgun:
‘‘ ‘THE USE OF A LOCKING DEVICE OR
SAFETY LOCK IS ONLY ONE ASPECT OF
RESPONSIBLE 
FIREARM 
STORAGE.
HANDGUNS SHOULD BE STORED UN-
LOADED AND LOCKED IN A LOCATION
THAT IS BOTH SEPARATE FROM THEIR
AMMUNITION AND INACCESSIBLE TO
CHILDREN.
‘FAILURE TO PROPERLY LOCK AND
STORE YOUR HANDGUN MAY RESULT
IN 
CIVIL 
OR 
CRIMINAL 
LIABILITY
UNDER STATE LAW. FEDERAL LAW
PROHIBITS THE POSSESSION OF A
HANDGUN BY A MINOR IN MOST CIR-
CUMSTANCES.’.
‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not
apply to the sale, delivery, or transfer of a handgun
to—
‘‘(A) the United States or a department or
agency of the United States, or a State or a de-
partment, agency, or political subdivision of a
State;
‘‘(B) a law enforcement officer (whether on
or off-duty) who is employed by an entity re-
ferred to in subparagraph (A), for law enforce-
ment purposes; or
‘‘(C) a rail police officer (whether on or
off-duty) who is employed by a rail carrier and
is certified or commissioned as a police officer
under the laws of a State, for law enforcement
purposes.’’.
(c) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 924 of title 18,
United States Code, is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘this sub-
section, subsection (b) or (c) of this section,’’ and in-
serting ‘‘this section’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(p) PENALTIES RELATING TO LOCKING DEVICES
AND WARNINGS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(A) SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF LI-
CENSE; CIVIL
PENALTIES.—With respect to
each violation of section 922(z)(1) by a licensee,
the Secretary may, after notice and opportunity
for hearing—
‘‘(i) suspend or revoke any license
issued to the licensee under this chapter;
or
‘‘(ii) impose a civil penalty on the li-
censee in an amount that is not more than
$10,000.
‘‘(B) REVIEW.—An action of the Secretary
under this paragraph may be reviewed only as
provided in section 923(f).
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES.—The taking
of an action under paragraph (1) with respect to
conduct of a licensee shall not affect the availability
of any other administrative authority with respect to
the conduct.’’.
TITLE II—REGULATORY
PROVISIONS
SEC. 201. REGULATION OF TRIGGER LOCK DEVICES.
(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of the
Treasury (in this title referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall
prescribe such regulations governing the design, manufac-
ture, and performance of trigger lock devices, as are nec-
essary to reduce or prevent the unintentional discharge of
handguns.
(b) MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARD.—The regulations
required by subsection (a) shall, at a minimum, set forth
a minimum safety standard that trigger lock devices must
meet in order to be manufactured, sold, transferred, or
delivered consistent with this title. In developing the
standard, the Secretary shall give appropriate consider-
ation to trigger lock devices that are not detachable, but
are permanently installed and incorporated into the design
of a handgun. The standard shall include provisions to en-
sure that any trigger lock device that meets the standard
is of adequate quality and construction to prevent children
who have not attained 18 years of age from operating a
handgun, and to ensure that such a product cannot be
removed from a handgun except through the use of a key,
combination, or other method of access provided in the
design specifications of the manufacturer of the device.
(c) DEADLINE FOR ISSUANCE OF STANDARD.—With-
in 12 months after the date of the enactment of this title,
the Secretary shall issue in final form the standard re-
quired by subsection (b).
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE OF STANDARD.—The standard
issued under subsection (b) shall take effect 6 months
after the date of issuance.
SEC. 202. ORDERS; INSPECTIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may issue an order
prohibiting the manufacture, sale, transfer, or delivery of
a trigger lock device which the Secretary finds has been
designed, or has been or is intended to be manufactured,
transferred, or distributed in violation of this title or a
regulation prescribed under this title.
(b) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE THE RECALL, REPAIR,
OR REPLACEMENT
OF, OR
THE PROVISION
OF RE-
FUNDS.—The Secretary may issue an order requiring the
manufacturer of, and any dealer in, a trigger lock device
which the Secretary finds has been designed, manufac-
tured, transferred, or delivered in violation of this title or
a regulation prescribed under this title, to—
(1) provide notice of the risks associated with
the device, and of how to avoid or reduce the risks,
to—
(A) the public;
(B) in the case of the manufacturer of the
device, each dealer in the device; and
(C) in the case of a dealer in the device,
the manufacturer of the device and the other
persons known to the dealer as dealers in the
device;
(2) bring the device into conformity with the
regulations prescribed under this title;
(3) repair the device;
(4) replace the device with a like or equivalent
device which is in compliance with such regulations;
(5) refund the purchase price of the device, or,
if the device is more than 1 year old, a lesser
amount based on the value of the device after rea-
sonable use;
(6) recall the device from the stream of com-
merce; or
(7) submit to the Secretary a satisfactory plan
for implementation of any action required under this
subsection.
(c) INSPECTIONS.—In order to ascertain compliance
with this title and the regulations and orders issued under
this title, the Secretary may, at reasonable times—
(1) enter any place in which trigger lock devices
are manufactured, stored, or held, for distribution in
commerce, and inspect those areas where the devices
are manufactured, stored, or held; and
(2) enter and inspect any conveyance being
used to transport for commercial purposes a trigger
lock device.
SEC. 203. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) CIVIL PENALTIES.—The Secretary may assess a
civil money penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each viola-
tion of this title.
(b) REVOCATION
OF
FEDERAL
FIREARMS
LI-
CENSE.—Section 923(e) of title 18, United States Code,
is amended by inserting after the 2nd sentence the fol-
lowing: ‘‘The Secretary may, after notice and opportunity
for hearing, revoke any license issued under this section
if the holder of the license violates any provision of title
II of the Child Safety Lock and Community Protection
Act of 1999 or any rule or regulation prescribed under
such title.’’.
(c) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Any person who has re-
ceived from the Secretary a notice that the person has vio-
lated a provision of this title or of a regulation prescribed
under this title with respect to a trigger lock device, and
who subsequently knowingly violates such provision with
respect to the device shall be fined under title 18, United
States Code, imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.
SEC. 204. NO EFFECT ON STATE LAW.
This title does not annul, alter, impair, or affect, or
exempt any person subject to the provisions of this title
from complying with, any provision of the law of any State
or any political subdivision thereof, except to the extent
that such provisions of State law are inconsistent with any
provision of this title, and then only to the extent of the
inconsistency. A provision of State law is not inconsistent
with this title if such provision affords greater protection
in respect of trigger lock devices than is afforded by this
title.
SEC. 205. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) The term ‘‘trigger lock device’’ means any
device that is designed, manufactured, or rep-