Firearm Owners Responsibility and Safety Act
Bill: H.R.4836 | Sponsor: Rep. McEachin, A. Donald (D-VA)
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Firearm Owners Responsibility and Safety Act
This bill establishes a framework to regulate the storage of firearms at the federal, state, and tribal levels. The bill also removes limitations on the civil liability of gun manufacturers and the disclosure of gun trace data in civil actions.
Among its provisions, the bill

To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to require the 
           safe storage of firearms, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as ``Firearm Owners Responsibility and Safety 
Act''.

SEC. 2. SECURE GUN STORAGE OR SAFETY DEVICE.

    Section 922(z) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Secure gun storage by owners.--
                    ``(A) Offense.--
                            ``(i) In general.--It shall be unlawful for 
                        a person to keep, leave, or store any unsecured 
                        firearm that has moved in, or that has 
                        otherwise affected, interstate or foreign 
                        commerce, unless the person carries the firearm 
                        on his or her person or within such close 
                        proximity thereto that the person can readily 
                        retrieve and use the firearm as if the person 
                        carried the firearm on his or her person.
                            ``(ii) Unsecured firearm.--In clause (i), 
                        the term `unsecured firearm' means a firearm 
                        that is not secured by a secure gun storage or 
                        safety device.
                    ``(B) Private right of action.--
                            ``(i) In general.--An individual who is 
                        injured as a result of a violation of 
                        subparagraph (A) (or, in the case of an 
                        individual who has died as a result of such a 
                        violation, a member of the family of, or the 
                        estate of, the individual) may bring a civil 
                        action against the violator or any other person 
                        who, when the violation occurred, was in 
                        control of any premises on which the violation 
                        occurred if the violator knew or should have 
                        known that there was an unsecured firearm on 
                        the premises, in a court of competent 
                        jurisdiction, for compensatory and punitive 
                        damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, and 
                        such other relief as the court deems 
                        appropriate.
                            ``(ii) Joint and several liability.--In an 
                        action described in clause (i), the liability 
                        of all defendants shall be joint and several.
                            ``(iii) Rule of interpretation.--For 
                        purposes of any determination of liability 
                        covered by any contract of insurance entered 
                        into after the date of the enactment of this 
                        subparagraph, a violation of subparagraph (A) 
                        shall not solely be considered an intentional 
                        action.
                            ``(iv) No effect on state law.--This 
                        subparagraph shall not be interpreted to 
                        preempt, supplant, or displace any claim 
                        brought under State statutory law or common 
                        law.''.

SEC. 3. FIREARM SAFE STORAGE PROGRAM.

    Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
(34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

                ``PART OO--FIREARM SAFE STORAGE PROGRAM

``SEC. 3051. FIREARM SAFE STORAGE PROGRAM.

    ``(a) In General.--The Assistant Attorney General shall make grants 
to an eligible State or Indian Tribe to assist the State or Indian 
Tribe in carrying out the provisions of any State or Tribal law that is 
functionally identical to section 922(z)(4) of title 18, United States 
Code.
    ``(b) Eligible State or Indian Tribe.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), a 
        State or Indian Tribe shall be eligible to receive grants under 
        this section on and after the date on which the State or Indian 
        Tribe--
                    ``(A) enacts legislation functionally identical to 
                section 922(z)(4) of title 18, United States Code; and
                    ``(B) the attorney general of the State (or 
                comparable Tribal official) submits a written 
                certification to the Assistant Attorney General stating 
                that the law of the State or Indian Tribe is consistent 
                with the requirements under section 922(z)(4)(D) of 
                such title 18.
            ``(2) First year eligibility exception.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A covered State or Indian Tribe 
                shall be eligible to receive a grant under this section 
                during the 1-year period beginning on the date of 
                enactment of this part.
                    ``(B) Covered state or indian tribe.--In this 
                paragraph, the term `covered State or Indian Tribe' 
                means a State or Indian Tribe that, before the date of 
                enactment of this part, enacted legislation--
                            ``(i) that is functionally identical to 
                        section 922(z)(4) of title 18, United States 
                        Code; and
                            ``(ii) for which the attorney general of 
                        the State (or comparable Tribal official) 
                        submits a written certification to the 
                        Assistant Attorney General stating that the law 
                        of the State or Indian Tribe is consistent with 
                        the requirements under section 922(z)(4)(D) of 
                        such title 18.
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--Funds awarded under this section may be used 
by a State or Indian Tribe to assist law enforcement agencies or the 
courts of the State or Indian Tribe in enforcing and otherwise 
facilitating compliance with any State law functionally identical to 
section 922(z)(4), of title 18, United States Code.
    ``(d) Application.--An eligible State or Indian Tribe desiring a 
grant under this section shall submit to the Assistant Attorney General 
an application at such time, in such manner, and containing or 
accompanied by such information, as the Assistant Attorney General may 
reasonably require.
    ``(e) Incentives.--For each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023, the 
Attorney General shall give affirmative preference to all Bureau of 
Justice Assistance discretionary grant applications of a State or 
Indian Tribe that has enacted legislation--
            ``(1) functionally identical to section 922(z)(4) of title 
        18, United States Code; and
            ``(2) for which the attorney general of the State (or 
        comparable Tribal official) submits a written certification to 
        the Assistant Attorney General stating that the law of the 
        State or Indian Tribe is consistent with the requirements under 
        section 922(z)(4)(D) of such title 18.''.

SEC. 4. REPEAL OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE PROTECTION OF LAWFUL 
              COMMERCE IN ARMS ACT.

    Sections 2 through 4 of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms 
Act (15 U.S.C. 7901-7903) are repealed.

SEC. 5. DISCOVERY AND ADMISSIBILITY OF GUN TRACE INFORMATION IN CIVIL 
              PROCEEDINGS.

    The contents of the Firearms Trace System database maintained by 
the National Trace Center of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms 
and Explosives shall not be immune from legal process, shall be subject 
to subpoena or other discovery, shall be admissible as evidence, and 
may be used, relied on, or disclosed in any manner, and testimony or 
other evidence may be permitted based on the data, on the same basis as 
other information, in a civil action in any State (including the 
District of Columbia) or Federal court or in an administrative 
proceeding.

SEC. 6. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION.

    Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit a report to 
Congress on the implementation of this Act and the amendments made by 
this Act, including a disaggregation of the application of such 
amendments to individuals by sex, race, age, ethnicity, national 
origin, and English language proficiency.

SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act, or an amendment made by this Act, or 
the application of such provision to any person or circumstance, is 
held to be invalid, the remainder of this Act, or an amendment made by 
this Act, or the application of such provision to other persons or 
circumstances, shall not be affected.
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