I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2025
To ban the manufacture of handguns that cannot be personalized, to provide
for a report to the Congress on the commercial feasibility of personalizing
firearms, and to provide for grants to improve firearm safety.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 7, 1999
Mr. PASCRELL (for himself, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. WEINER, Mr.
UNDERWOOD, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. MEE-
HAN, and Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To ban the manufacture of handguns that cannot be person-
alized, to provide for a report to the Congress on the
commercial feasibility of personalizing firearms, and to
provide for grants to improve firearm safety.
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 ‘‘Childproof Handgun
Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. BAN ON MANUFACTURE OF HANDGUNS THAT CAN-
NOT BE PERSONALIZED.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 922 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by inserting after subsection (y)
the following:
‘‘(z)(1) It shall be unlawful for a licensed manufac-
turer to manufacture a handgun that cannot be personal-
ized.
‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any manufac-
ture for an individual acting under the authority of the
United States or any department or agency of the United
States, or of any State or any department, agency, or po-
litical subdivision of a State.’’.
(b) PERSONALIZED DEFINED.—Section 921(a) of
such title is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(35) The term ‘personalized’ means, with respect to
a handgun, that, integral to the handgun is a device or
feature that—
‘‘(A) allows the handgun to be fired only by a
particular individual;
‘‘(B) is not capable of being readily deactivated;
and
‘‘(C) may allow the handgun to be personalized
to an additional individual.’’.
(c) PENALTY.—Section 924(a) of such title is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(7) Whoever knowingly violates section 922(z) shall
be fined not more than $10,000, imprisoned not more
than 18 months, or both. The fine otherwise applicable
under section 3571 shall not apply to an offense under
section 922(z).’’.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to conduct engaged in after the
5-year period that begins with the date of the enactment
of this Act if the report required by section 3 states that
the technology to personalize firearms (within the meaning
of section 921(a)(35) of title 18, United States Code) will
be commercially feasible by the end of such 5-year period.
SEC. 3. REPORT TO THE CONGRESS ON TECHNOLOGY TO
PERSONALIZE FIREARMS.
(a) STUDY.—The Director of the National Institute
of Justice (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Director’’)
shall conduct a study of the state of the technology in-
volved in personalizing firearms (within the meaning of
section 921(a)(35) of title 18, United States Code) and
determine whether such technology will be commercially
feasible within 5 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
(b) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Within 3 years
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director
shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judi-
ciary of the Senate a written report on the results of the
study required by subsection (a).
(c) COMMERCIAL
FEASIBILITY.—In determining
whether the technology involved in personalizing firearms
is commercially feasible, the Director shall consider the
following factors:
(1) The reliability of the technology utilized in
personalized firearms.
(2) The difference between the manufacturer’s
suggested retail price for personalized firearms and
the manufacturer’s suggested retail price for equiva-
lent firearms that are not personalized.
(3) Such other criteria as the Director deems
appropriate.
SEC. 4. GRANTS TO IMPROVE GUN SAFETY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—
(1) GRANTS.—Subject to the availability of ap-
propriations, the Attorney General, acting through
the Director of the National Institute of Justice (re-
ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Director’’), shall
make grants under this section for the purpose spec-
ified in paragraph (2) to applicants that submit an
application that meets requirements that the Attor-
ney General, acting through the Director, shall es-
tablish.
(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of a grant under
this section shall be to reduce violence caused by
firearms through the development and improvement
of personalized handgun technology, as described in
section 921(a)(35) of title 18, United States Code.
(3) CONSULTATION.—In making grants under
this section, the Attorney General, acting through
the Director, shall consult with appropriate employ-
ees of the National Institute of Justice with exper-
tise in firearms and weapons technology.
(b) PERIOD OF GRANT.—A grant under this section
shall be for a period of not to exceed 2 years.
(c) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—For
grants under this section, there are authorized to be ap-
propriated not more than $25,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2000 through 2003.
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