I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5490 
To provide for a grant program for handgun licensing programs, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 12, 2018 
Ms. ESTY of Connecticut (for herself, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, and Ms. ADAMS) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide for a grant program for handgun licensing 
programs, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Handgun Purchaser 
Licensing Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds as follows: 
(1) In 2013, more than 33,000 Americans were 
killed by guns and almost 90 percent of the firearms 
used in these deaths were handguns. 
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(2) Recently published research by top national 
experts, notably on Missouri and Connecticut hand-
gun purchaser licensing laws, have estimated that 
Missouri’s repeal of its handgun purchaser licensing 
law led to a 25-percent increase in firearm homicide 
rates while Connecticut’s adoption of its handgun 
purchaser licensing law led to a 40-percent decrease 
in firearm homicide rates. 
(3) In States which have had effective handgun 
purchaser licensing laws for decades, such as Con-
necticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, 
the vast majority of guns traced to crimes originated 
in other States, which supports the need for hand-
gun purchaser licensing laws in every State. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
(1) the terms ‘‘Attorney General’’ and ‘‘hand-
gun’’ have the meanings given those terms in section 
921(a) of title 18, United States Code; and 
(2) the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has the meaning 
given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Deter-
mination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
450b). 
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SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED FOR HANDGUN LI-
CENSING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General is author-
ized to award grants to States, units of local government, 
and Indian tribes for the development, implementation, 
and evaluation of handgun purchaser licensing require-
ments. 
(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From the amounts ap-
propriated to carry out this Act and not later than 90 
days after such amounts are appropriated, the Attorney 
General shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eli-
gible applicants whose applications are approved under 
subsection (c) to assist such applicants in implementing 
and improving handgun purchaser licensing programs. 
(c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this Act, a State, unit of local government, or In-
dian tribe shall submit to the Attorney General an applica-
tion at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Attorney General may require, includ-
ing— 
(1) a description of the law that the applicant 
has enacted to require a license for any purchase of 
a handgun including a description of any exemptions 
to such law; and 
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(2) a description of how the applicant will use 
the grant to carry out or improve its handgun pur-
chaser licensing program. 
(d) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible for 
a grant under this Act, an applicant shall have in effect 
handgun purchaser licensing laws that— 
(1) require— 
(A) an individual applying for a handgun 
license or permit to be at least 21 years old and 
be a national or lawful permanent resident of 
the United States; 
(B) an individual described in subpara-
graph (A) to apply for the handgun purchaser 
license or permit at a law enforcement agency 
in the State in which the individual resides; 
(C) an individual who is issued a handgun 
license or permit to reapply for the handgun 
purchaser license or permit after a period not 
longer than 5 years; 
(D) an individual described in subpara-
graph (A) to submit to a background investiga-
tion, and a criminal history check, in connection 
with the application, as established by the 
State; 
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(E) an individual described in subpara-
graph (A) to submit fingerprints and photo-
graphs in connection with the application for 
the license or permit; and 
(F) an individual described in subpara-
graph (A) to provide— 
(i) proof that the individual is legally 
present and lawfully resides in the United 
States, including a birth certificate, or 
valid passport; and 
(ii)(I) in the case of a lawful perma-
nent resident, the alien registration num-
ber and 90-day proof of residency; or 
(II) in the case of a naturalized cit-
izen, proof of citizenship; and 
(2) prohibit an individual who is prohibited 
from possessing a firearm under section 922(g) of 
title 18, United States Code, from receiving a license 
or permit. 
(e) USE OF FUNDS.—A grantee under this Act shall 
use such grant to improve handgun purchaser licensing 
programs of that grantee. 
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