I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5289 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to remove short-barreled 
rifles from the definition of firearms for purposes of the National Fire-
arms Act, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 3, 2019 
Mr. MARSHALL (for himself, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of 
Georgia, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. BUDD, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. 
WATKINS, Mr. BABIN, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. YOHO, Mr. MEAD-
OWS, Mr. GRIFFITH, Mr. HICE of Georgia, and Mr. ESTES) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and 
Means, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to remove 
short-barreled rifles from the definition of firearms for 
purposes of the National Firearms Act, 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 ‘‘Home Defense and 
Competitive Shooting Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. SHORT-BARRELED RIFLES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5845(a) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘(3) a rifle’’ and all that follows 
through ‘‘(5) any other weapon’’ and inserting ‘‘(3) 
any other weapon’’; and 
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (6), (7), and 
(8) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall apply to calendar quarters beginning 
more than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF DISPARATE TREATMENT OF 
SHORT-BARRELED RIFLES USED FOR LAW-
FUL PURPOSES. 
Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended in each of subsections (a)(4) and (b)(4) by strik-
ing ‘‘short-barreled shotgun, or short-barreled rifle’’ and 
inserting ‘‘or short-barreled shotgun’’. 
SEC. 4. TREATMENT OF SHORT-BARRELED RIFLES DETER-
MINED BY REFERENCE TO NATIONAL FIRE-
ARMS ACT. 
Section 5841 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) SHORT-BARRELED RIFLE REQUIREMENTS DE-
TERMINED BY REFERENCE.—In the case of any short-bar-
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reled rifle registration or licensing requirement under 
State or local law which is determined by reference to the 
National Firearms Act, any person who acquires or pos-
sesses such a rifle in accordance with chapter 44 of title 
18, United States Code, shall be treated as meeting any 
such registration or licensing requirement with respect to 
such rifle.’’. 
SEC. 5. PREEMPTION OF CERTAIN STATE LAWS IN RELA-
TION TO SHORT-BARRELED RIFLES. 
Section 927 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Notwith-
standing the preceding sentence, a law of a State or a 
political subdivision of a State that imposes a tax, other 
than a generally applicable sales or use tax, on making, 
transferring, using, possessing, or transporting a short- 
barreled rifle in or affecting interstate or foreign com-
merce, or imposes a marking, recordkeeping or registra-
tion requirement with respect to such a rifle, shall have 
no force or effect.’’. 
SEC. 6. DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 365 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 
shall destroy any registration of an applicable rifle main-
tained in the National Firearms Registration and Trans-
fer Record pursuant to section 5841 of the Internal Rev-
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enue Code of 1986, any application to transfer filed under 
section 5812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that 
identifies the transferee of an applicable rifle, and any ap-
plication to make filed under section 5822 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 that identifies the maker of an ap-
plicable rifle. 
(b) APPLICABLE RIFLE.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the term ‘‘applicable rifle’’ means a rifle, or weapon 
made from a rifle, described in paragraph (3) or (4) of 
section 5845(a) of such Code (as in effect on the day be-
fore the enactment of the Home Defense and Competitive 
Shooting Act of 2019). 
Æ 
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