I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1501
To prohibit the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer, receipt,
or transportation of handguns, in any manner affecting interstate or
foreign commerce, except for or by members of the Armed Forces,
law enforcement officials, and, as authorized by the Secretary of the
Treasury, licensed importers, manufacturers, dealers, and pistol clubs.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 25, 1993
Mr. YATES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary
A BILL
To prohibit the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase,
transfer, receipt, or transportation of handguns, in any
manner affecting interstate or foreign commerce, except
for or by members of the Armed Forces, law enforcement
officials, and, as authorized by the Secretary of the
Treasury, licensed importers, manufacturers, dealers, and
pistol clubs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That this Act may be cited as the ‘‘Handgun Control Act
of 1993’’.
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SECTION 1. The Congress hereby finds and de-
clares—
(a) that the estimated total number of hand-
guns in private hands has more than doubled since
1978, bringing the total to sixty-six million;
(b) that handguns play a major role, and a role
disproportionate to their number in comparison with
long guns, in the commission of homicide, aggra-
vated assault, and armed robbery, and that the per-
centage of violent crimes in which handguns are
used is increasing;
(c) that more than one-half of all handguns are
acquired secondhand and that licensing and restric-
tions on sale of new handguns will not significantly
reduce handgun crime and handgun violence;
(d) that with few exceptions handguns are not
used for sporting or recreational purposes and that
such purposes do not require keeping of handguns in
private homes;
(e) that handguns in the home are of less value
than is commonly thought in defending against in-
truders and that such defensive purposes can be
adequately accomplished by other means;
(f) that violent crimes perpetrated with hand-
guns constitute a burden upon and interfere with
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interstate and foreign commerce and threaten the
internal security and domestic tranquillity of the Na-
tion; and
(g) that a national firearms policy which re-
stricts the availability of handguns for nonlaw en-
forcement and nonmilitary purposes will significantly
reduce violent crime, reduce deaths from handguns,
and reduce other handgun violence in the United
States.
SEC. 2. Title 18, United States Code, is amended by
inserting immediately after chapter 50 thereof the follow-
ing new chapter:
‘‘CHAPTER 50A.—HANDGUNS
‘‘Sec.
‘‘1091. Unlawful acts.
‘‘1092. Licensing.
‘‘1093. Penalties.
‘‘1094. Exceptions.
‘‘1095. Voluntary delivery to law enforcement agency; reimbursement.
‘‘1096. Rules and regulations.
‘‘1097. Effect on State law.
‘‘1098. Separability clause.
‘‘1099. Appropriations.
‘‘1100. Definitions.
‘‘§ 1091. Unlawful acts
‘‘(a) Except as provided in section 1094 of this chap-
ter and in subsection (b) of this section, it shall be unlaw-
ful for any person to import, manufacture, sell, buy, trans-
fer, receive, or transport any handgun.
‘‘(b) The Secretary may, consistent with public safety
and necessity, exempt from the operation of subsection (a)
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of this section such importation, manufacture, sale, pur-
chase, transfer, receipt, or transportation of handguns by
importers, manufacturers, or dealers, licensed under chap-
ter 44 of this title, and by pistol clubs licensed under this
chapter, as may in his judgment be required for the oper-
ation of such pistol clubs or for purposes described in sec-
tion 1094 of this chapter.
‘‘§ 1092. Licensing
‘‘(a) A pistol club desiring to be licensed under this
chapter shall file an application for such license with the
Secretary. The application shall be in such form and con-
tain such information as the Secretary shall by regulation
prescribe. The fee for such license shall be $25 per year.
‘‘(b) Any importer, manufacturer, or dealer desiring
to be licensed under this chapter shall apply as provided
in chapter 44 of this title.
‘‘(c) Any application submitted under subsection (a)
shall be approved if—
‘‘(1) all members of the pistol club are twenty-
one years of age or older;
‘‘(2) no member of the pistol club is prohibited
from transporting, shipping, or receiving firearms or
ammunition in interstate or foreign commerce under
section 922 (g) or (h) of this title or under the law
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of the State in which the club will be located or of
the State in which the member is domiciled;
‘‘(3) no member of the pistol club has willfully
violated any of the provisions of this chapter or of
chapter 44 of this title or any regulations issued
thereunder;
‘‘(4) the pistol club has not willfully failed to
disclose any material information required, or has
not made any false statement as to any material
fact, in connection with his application; and
‘‘(5) the pistol club has premises from which it
operates and—
‘‘(A) maintains possession and control of
the handguns used by its members, and
‘‘(B) has procedures and facilities for keep-
ing such handguns in a secure place, under the
control of the club’s chief officer, at all times
when they are not being used for target shoot-
ing or other sporting or recreational purposes.
‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary must approve or deny an appli-
cation for a license within the forty-five-day period begin-
ning on the date it is received. If the Secretary fails to
act within such period, the applicant may file an action
under section 1361 of title 28 to compel the Secretary to
act. If the Secretary approves an applicant’s application,
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‘‘(3) If after a hearing held under paragraph (2) the
Secretary decides not to reverse his decision to deny an
application or revoke a license, the Secretary shall give
notice of his decision to the aggrieved party. The aggrieved
party may at any time within sixty days after the date
notice was given under this paragraph file a petition with
the United States District Court for the district in which
he resides or has his principal place of business for a judi-
cial review of such denial or revocation. In a proceeding
conducted under this subsection, the court may consider
any evidence submitted by the parties to the proceeding.
If the court decides that the Secretary was not authorized
to deny the application or to revoke the license, the court
shall order the Secretary to take such action as may be
necessary to comply with the judgment of the court.
‘‘(f) Each licensed pistol club shall maintain such
records of receipt, sale, or other disposition, of handguns
at such place, for such period, and in such form as the
Secretary may by regulations prescribe. Such pistol clubs
shall make such records available for inspection at all rea-
sonable times, and shall submit to the Secretary such re-
ports and information with respect to such records and
the contents thereof as he shall by regulations prescribe.
The Secretary may enter at reasonable times the premises
(including places of storage) of any pistol club for the pur-
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pose of inspecting or examining (1) any records of docu-
ments required to be kept by such pistol club under the
provisions of this chapter or chapter 44 of this title and
regulations issued under such chapters, and (2) any hand-
guns or ammunition kept or stored by such pistol club at
such premises. Upon the request of any State or any polit-
ical subdivision thereof, the Secretary may make available
to such State or any political subdivision thereof any infor-
mation which he may obtain by reason of the provisions
of this chapter with respect to the identification of persons
who are members of pistol clubs within such State or polit-
ical subdivision thereof, together with a description of the
handguns included in such pistol club’s license.
‘‘(g) Licenses issued under the provisions of sub-
section (c) of this section shall be kept posted and kept
available for inspection on the premises covered by the li-
cense.
‘‘§ 1093. Penalties
‘‘(a) Whoever violates any provision of this chapter
or knowingly makes any false statement or representation
with respect to the information required by the provisions
of this chapter to be kept in the records of a pistol club
licensed under this chapter, or in applying for any license
under the provisions of this chapter, shall be fined not
more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than five years,
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or both, and shall become eligible for parole as the board
of parole shall determine.
‘‘(b) Any handgun involved or used in, or intended
to be used in, any violation of the provisions of this chap-
ter or chapter 44 of this title or any rule or regulation
promulgated thereunder, or any violation of any other
criminal law of the United States, shall be subject to sei-
zure and forfeiture and all provisions of the Internal Reve-
nue Code of 1954 relating to the seizure, forfeiture, and
disposition of firearms shall, so far as applicable, extend
to seizures and forfeitures under the provisions of this
chapter.
‘‘§ 1094. exceptions
‘‘(a) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply
with respect to the importation, manufacture, sale, pur-
chase, transfer, receipt, or transportation of any handgun
which the Secretary determines is being imported or man-
ufactured for, sold, or transferred to, purchased, received,
or transported by, or issued for the use of, the United
States or any department or agency thereof or any State
or any department, agency, or political subdivision thereof.
‘‘(b) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply
with respect to the importation, manufacture, sale, pur-
chase, transfer, receipt, or transportation of a handgun
which the Secretary determines is unserviceable, not
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restorable to firing condition, and intended for use as a
curio, museum piece, or collectors’ item.
‘‘§ 1095. Voluntary delivery to law enforcement agen-
cy; reimbursement
‘‘(a) A person may at any time deliver to any Federal,
State, or local law enforcement agency designated by the
Secretary a handgun owned or possessed by such person.
The Secretary shall arrange with each agency designated
to receive handguns for the transfer, destruction, or other
disposition of all handguns delivered under this section.
‘‘(b) Upon proof of lawful acquisition and ownership
by a person delivering a handgun to a law enforcement
agency under this section, the owner of the handgun shall
be entitled to receive from the United States a payment
equal to the fair market value of the handgun or $25,
whichever is more. The Secretary shall provide for the
payment, directly or indirectly, through Federal, State,
and local law enforcement agencies, of the amounts to
which owners of handguns delivered under this section are
entitled.
‘‘(c) The amounts authorized in subsection (b) of this
section shall be paid out of the fees collected under section
1092(a) of this chapter to the extent that such fees are
sufficient for this purpose. The remainder of amounts au-
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thorized in subsection (b) of this section shall be paid out
of general revenues.
‘‘§ 1096. Rules and regulations
‘‘(a) The Secretary may prescribe such rules and reg-
ulations as he deems necessary to carry out the provisions
of this chapter, including—
‘‘(1) regulations providing that a person li-
censed under this chapter, when dealing with an-
other person so licensed or with a person licensed
under chapter 44 of this title, shall provide such
other licensed person a certified copy of his license;
and
‘‘(2) regulations providing for the issuance, at
a reasonable cost, to a person licensed under this
chapter, of certified copies of his license for use as
provided under regulations issued under paragraph
(1) of this subsection.
‘‘(b) The Secretary shall give reasonable public no-
tice, and afford to interested parties opportunity for hear-
ing, prior to prescribing rules and regulations authorized
by this section.
‘‘§ 1097. Effect on State law
‘‘No provision of this chapter shall be construed as
indicating an intent on the part of the Congress to occupy
the field in which such provision operates to the exclusion
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of the law of any State on the same subject, unless there
is a direct and positive conflict between such provision and
the law of the State so that the two cannot be reconciled
or consistently stand together.
‘‘§ 1098. Separability
‘‘If any provision of this chapter or the application
thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
remainder of the chapter and the application of such pro-
vision to other persons not similarly situated or to other
circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
‘‘§ 1099. Appropriations
‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated such sums
as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
‘‘§ 1100. Definitions
‘‘As used in this chapter—
‘‘(1) The term ‘person’ and the term ‘whoever’
include any individual, corporation, company, asso-
ciation, firm, partnership, club, society, or joint-
stock company.
‘‘(2) The term ‘importer’ means any person en-
gaged in the business of importing or bringing hand-
guns into the United States for purposes of sale or
distribution; and the term ‘licensed importer’ means
any such person licensed under the provisions of
chapter 44 of this title.
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‘‘(3) The term ‘manufacturer’ means any per-
son engaged in the manufacture or assembly of
handguns for the purposes of sale or distribution;
and the term ‘licensed manufacturer’ means any
such person licensed under the provisions of chapter
44 of this title.
‘‘(4) The term ‘dealer’ means (A) any person
engaged in the business of selling handguns at
wholesale or retail, (B) any person engaged in the
business of repairing handguns or of making or fit-
ting special barrels, or trigger mechanisms to hand-
guns, or (C) any person who is a pawnbroker. The
term ‘licensed dealer’ means any dealer who is li-
censed under the provisions of chapter 44 of this
title.
‘‘(5) The term ‘collector’ means any person who
acquires, holds, or disposes of handguns as curios,
or relics, as the Secretary shall by regulation define,
and the term ‘licensed collector’ means any such per-
son licensed under the provisions of chapter 44 of
this title.
‘‘(6) The term ‘Secretary’ or ‘Secretary of the
Treasury’ means the Secretary of the Treasury or
his delegate.
‘‘(7) The term ‘handgun’ means any weapon—
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‘‘(A) designed or redesigned, or made, or
remade, and intended to be fired while held in
one hand;
‘‘(B) having a barrel less than ten inches
in length; and
‘‘(C) designed or redesigned, or made or
remade, to use the energy of an explosive to
expel a projectile or projectiles through a
smooth or rifled bore.
‘‘(8) The term ‘pistol club’ means a club orga-
nized for target shooting with handguns or to use
handguns for sporting or other recreational purposes
and which—
‘‘(A) maintains possession and control of
the handguns used by its members, and
‘‘(B) has procedures and facilities for keep-
ing such handguns in a secure place, under the
control of the club’s chief officer, at all times
when they are not being used for target shoot-
ing, sporting, or other recreational purposes.
The term ‘licensed pistol club’ means any pistol club
which is licensed under this chapter.’’.
SEC. 3. The enforcement and administration of the
amendment made by this Act shall be vested in the Sec-
retary of the Treasury.
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SEC. 4. Nothing in this Act or the amendment made
thereby shall be construed as modifying or affecting any
provision of—
(a) the National Firearms Act (chapter 53 of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1954);
(b) section 414 of the Mutual Security Act of
1954 (22 U.S.C. 1934), as amended, relating to mu-
nitions control; or
(c) section 1715 of title 18, United States
Code, relating to nonmailable firearms.
SEC. 5. The provisions of this Act shall take effect
one year from the date of enactment.
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