Title: Keeping Guns From Criminals Act
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Keeping Guns From Criminals Act
This bill amends the federal criminal code to modify the criminal liability standard for certain firearm sales or transfers.
Current law makes it a crime for any person to knowingly sell or transfer a firearm to a prohibited person (i.e., a person who is prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm). This legislation eliminates the "knowingly" standard to impose criminal liability on any person who sells or transfers a firearm to a prohibited person, regardless of whether such seller or transferor knows that the buyer is a prohibited person.
A defendant seller or transferor may assert as an affirmative defense against prosecution evidence to prove that the buyer or recipient passed a background check or possessed a valid concealed carry permit in the state of transfer.
The affirmative defense does not apply if defendant knew or had reasonable cause to believe the buyer or recipient was a prohibited person.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7274 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7274

   To provide an incentive for firearm owners to sell their firearms 
                        safely and responsibly.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 12, 2018

  Mr. Beyer introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide an incentive for firearm owners to sell their firearms 
                        safely and responsibly.

    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 the ``Keeping Guns From Criminals Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON SALE OR OTHER DISPOSITION OF A FIREARM TO A 
              PROHIBITED PERSON MADE INTO A STRICT LIABILITY CRIME WITH 
              AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES.

    (a) In General.--Section 922(d) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in the 1st sentence--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                striking ``any person knowing or having reasonable 
                cause to believe that such person'' and inserting 
                ``another person who'';
                    (B) in each of paragraphs (5) and (7), by striking 
                ``who,''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (6), by striking ``who''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``It shall be an 
        affirmative defense to a prosecution under this subsection that 
        the defendant can prove by a preponderance of the evidence 
        that, at the time of the sale or other disposition of the 
        firearm, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System 
        established under section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence 
        Prevention Act had indicated to any person that a sale or other 
        disposition of a firearm to the recipient would not be 
        unlawful, or the recipient possessed a valid permit, issued to 
        the recipient by the State in which the sale or other 
        disposition occurred, which authorizes the carrying of a 
        concealed weapon, unless the defendant knew or had reasonable 
        cause to believe that this subsection prohibited the sale or 
        disposition of a firearm or ammunition to the recipient or that 
        subsection (g) prohibited the recipient from receiving a 
        firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in 
        interstate or foreign commerce.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 924(a)(2) of such title is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``(d),''; and
            (2) by inserting ``, or violates subsection (d),'' before 
        ``of section 922''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall apply to conduct engaged in 
after the 90-day period that begins with the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
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