II 
Calendar No. 29 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 8 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
FEBRUARY 28, 2019 
Received; read the first time 
MARCH 4, 2019 
Read the second time and placed on the calendar 
AN ACT 
To require a background check for every firearm sale. 
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 ‘‘Bipartisan Back-
ground Checks Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to utilize the current back-
ground checks process in the United States to ensure indi-
viduals prohibited from gun possession are not able to ob-
tain firearms. 
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SEC. 3. FIREARMS TRANSFERS. 
Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by striking subsection (s); 
(2) by redesignating subsection (t) as sub-
section (s); and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (s), as redesig-
nated, the following: 
‘‘(t)(1)(A) It shall be unlawful for any person who 
is not a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or li-
censed dealer to transfer a firearm to any other person 
who is not so licensed, unless a licensed importer, licensed 
manufacturer, or licensed dealer has first taken possession 
of the firearm for the purpose of complying with sub-
section (s). 
‘‘(B) Upon taking possession of a firearm under sub-
paragraph (A), a licensee shall comply with all require-
ments of this chapter as if the licensee were transferring 
the firearm from the inventory of the licensee to the unli-
censed transferee. 
‘‘(C) If a transfer of a firearm described in subpara-
graph (A) will not be completed for any reason after a 
licensee takes possession of the firearm (including because 
the transfer of the firearm to, or receipt of the firearm 
by, the transferee would violate this chapter), the return 
of the firearm to the transferor by the licensee shall not 
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constitute the transfer of a firearm for purposes of this 
chapter. 
‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to— 
‘‘(A) a law enforcement agency or any law en-
forcement officer, armed private security profes-
sional, or member of the armed forces, to the extent 
the officer, professional, or member is acting within 
the course and scope of employment and official du-
ties; 
‘‘(B) a transfer that is a loan or bona fide gift 
between spouses, between domestic partners, be-
tween parents and their children, including step-par-
ents and their step-children, between siblings, be-
tween aunts or uncles and their nieces or nephews, 
or between grandparents and their grandchildren, if 
the transferor has no reason to believe that the 
transferee will use or intends to use the firearm in 
a crime or is prohibited from possessing firearms 
under State or Federal law; 
‘‘(C) a transfer to an executor, administrator, 
trustee, or personal representative of an estate or a 
trust that occurs by operation of law upon the death 
of another person; 
‘‘(D) a temporary transfer that is necessary to 
prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, in-
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cluding harm to self, family, household members, or 
others, if the possession by the transferee lasts only 
as long as immediately necessary to prevent the im-
minent death or great bodily harm, including the 
harm of domestic violence, dating partner violence, 
sexual assault, stalking, and domestic abuse; 
‘‘(E) a transfer that is approved by the Attor-
ney General under section 5812 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986; or 
‘‘(F) a temporary transfer if the transferor has 
no reason to believe that the transferee will use or 
intends to use the firearm in a crime or is prohibited 
from possessing firearms under State or Federal 
law, and the transfer takes place and the trans-
feree’s possession of the firearm is exclusively— 
‘‘(i) at a shooting range or in a shooting 
gallery or other area designated for the purpose 
of target shooting; 
‘‘(ii) while reasonably necessary for the 
purposes of hunting, trapping, or fishing, if the 
transferor— 
‘‘(I) has no reason to believe that the 
transferee intends to use the firearm in a 
place where it is illegal; and 
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‘‘(II) has reason to believe that the 
transferee will comply with all licensing 
and permit requirements for such hunting, 
trapping, or fishing; or 
‘‘(iii) while in the presence of the trans-
feror. 
‘‘(3)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
chapter, the Attorney General may implement this sub-
section with regulations. 
‘‘(B) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 
may not include any provision requiring licensees to facili-
tate transfers in accordance with paragraph (1). 
‘‘(C) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 
may not include any provision requiring persons not li-
censed under this chapter to keep records of background 
checks or firearms transfers. 
‘‘(D) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 
may not include any provision placing a cap on the fee 
licensees may charge to facilitate transfers in accordance 
with paragraph (1). 
‘‘(E) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 
shall include, in the case of a background check conducted 
by the national instant criminal background check system 
in response to a contact from a licensed importer, licensed 
manufacturer, or licensed dealer, which background check 
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indicates that the receipt of a firearm by a person would 
violate subsection (g)(5), a requirement that the system 
notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 
‘‘(4) It shall be unlawful for a licensed importer, li-
censed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to transfer posses-
sion of, or title to, a firearm to another person who is 
not so licensed unless the importer, manufacturer, or deal-
er has provided such other person with a notice of the 
prohibition under paragraph (1), and such other person 
has certified that such other person has been provided 
with this notice on a form prescribed by the Attorney Gen-
eral.’’. 
SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 
(a) SECTION 922.—Section 922(y)(2) of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended in the matter preceding 
subparagraph 
(A) 
by 
striking 
‘‘, 
(g)(5)(B), 
and 
(s)(3)(B)(v)(II)’’ and inserting ‘‘and (g)(5)(B)’’. 
(b) CONSOLIDATED AND FURTHER CONTINUING AP-
PROPRIATIONS ACT, 2012.—Section 511 of title V of divi-
sion B of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appro-
priations Act, 2012 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is amended by 
striking ‘‘subsection 922(t)’’ each place it appears and in-
serting ‘‘subsection (s) or (t) of section 922’’. 
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SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by this 
Act, shall be construed to— 
(1) authorize the establishment, directly or indi-
rectly, of a national firearms registry; or 
(2) interfere with the authority of a State, 
under section 927 of title 18, United States Code, 
to enact a law on the same subject matter as this 
Act. 
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 
210 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Passed the House of Representatives February 27, 
2019. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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Calendar No. 29 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 8 
AN ACT 
To require a background check for every firearm 
sale. 
MARCH 4, 2019 
Read the second time and placed on the calendar 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:29 Mar 04, 2019
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PO 00000
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