Title: Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act
This bill expands the categories of individuals who are prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm, particularly with respect to individuals who have been convicted of stalking or who are subject to certain restraining orders involving an intimate partner.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 511 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 511

   To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect more victims of 
   domestic violence by preventing their abusers from possessing or 
              receiving firearms, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 11, 2019

Mr. Brown of Maryland (for himself, Mr. Beyer, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Ms. 
    Bonamici, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Ms. Brownley of 
California, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Cardenas, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Ms. 
Clarke of New York, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Connolly, Mrs. Davis of California, 
  Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Foster, Ms. Haaland, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Khanna, Mr. 
Krishnamoorthi, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, Mr. Lawson of Florida, Ms. 
Lofgren, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Mrs. Carolyn 
  B. Maloney of New York, Ms. Matsui, Ms. McCollum, Mr. McNerney, Mr. 
   Meeks, Ms. Moore, Mr. Morelle, Mr. Moulton, Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. 
 Norton, Ms. Omar, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Peters, Mr. Price of 
    North Carolina, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. 
 Ruppersberger, Mr. Sires, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Swalwell of California, Ms. 
 Wasserman Schultz, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. Himes, and 
   Mr. Garcia of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect more victims of 
   domestic violence by preventing their abusers from possessing or 
              receiving 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 the ``Protecting Domestic Violence and 
Stalking Victims Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS OF ``INTIMATE PARTNER'' AND ``MISDEMEANOR CRIME OF 
              DOMESTIC VIOLENCE'' EXPANDED.

    Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (32)--
                    (A) by striking ``and an individual'' and inserting 
                ``an individual''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``, or a dating partner (as 
                defined in section 2266)'' before the period at the 
                end; and
            (2) in paragraph (33)(A)--
                    (A) by striking ``Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (C), the'' and inserting ``The'';
                    (B) in clause (i), by inserting ``municipal,'' 
                after ``State,''; and
                    (C) in clause (ii)--
                            (i) by striking ``or by'' and inserting 
                        ``by''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``, or by a dating 
                        partner (as defined in section 2266) of the 
                        victim'' before the period at the end.

SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF LIST OF PERSONS SUBJECT TO A RESTRAINING OR 
              SIMILAR ORDER TO WHOM A FIREARM IS PROHIBITED FROM BEING 
              SOLD OR DISPOSED.

    Section 922(d)(8) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 
        ``that'';
            (2) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting the 
        following:
                    ``(A)(i) that was issued after a hearing of which 
                such person received actual notice, and at which such 
                person had an opportunity to participate; or
                    ``(ii) in the case of an ex parte order, relating 
                to which notice and opportunity to be heard are 
                provided--
                            ``(I) within the time required by State, 
                        tribal, or territorial law; and
                            ``(II) in any event within a reasonable 
                        time after the order is issued, sufficient to 
                        protect the person's right to due process;
                    ``(B) that restrains such person from--
                            ``(i) harassing, stalking, threatening, or 
                        engaging in other conduct that would put an 
                        individual in reasonable fear of bodily injury 
                        to such individual, including an order that was 
                        issued at the request of an employer on behalf 
                        of its employee or at the request of an 
                        institution of higher education on behalf of 
                        its student; or
                            ``(ii) intimidating or dissuading a witness 
                        from testifying in court; and''; and
            (3) in subparagraph (C)--
                    (A) by striking ``intimate partner or child'' each 
                place it appears and inserting ``individual described 
                in subparagraph (B)'';
                    (B) in clause (i), by inserting ``that'' before 
                ``includes''; and
                    (C) in clause (ii), by inserting ``that'' before 
                ``by its''.

SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF LIST OF PERSONS SUBJECT TO A RESTRAINING OR 
              SIMILAR ORDER PROHIBITED FROM POSSESSING OR RECEIVING A 
              FIREARM.

    Section 922(g)(8) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 
        ``that'';
            (2) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting the 
        following:
                    ``(A)(i) that was issued after a hearing of which 
                such person received actual notice, and at which such 
                person had an opportunity to participate; or
                    ``(ii) in the case of an ex parte order, relating 
                to which notice and opportunity to be heard are 
                provided--
                            ``(I) within the time required by State, 
                        tribal, or territorial law; and
                            ``(II) in any event within a reasonable 
                        time after the order is issued, sufficient to 
                        protect the person's right to due process;
                    ``(B) that restrains such person from--
                            ``(i) harassing, stalking, threatening, or 
                        engaging in other conduct that would put an 
                        individual in reasonable fear of bodily injury 
                        to such individual, including an order that was 
                        issued at the request of an employer on behalf 
                        of its employee or at the request of an 
                        institution of higher education on behalf of 
                        its student; or
                            ``(ii) intimidating or dissuading a witness 
                        from testifying in court; and''; and
            (3) in subparagraph (C)--
                    (A) by striking ``intimate partner or child'' each 
                place it appears and inserting ``individual described 
                in subparagraph (B)'';
                    (B) in clause (i), by inserting ``that'' before 
                ``includes''; and
                    (C) in clause (ii), by inserting ``that'' before 
                ``by its''.

SEC. 5. STALKING PROHIBITIONS.

    (a) Sales or Other Dispositions of Firearms or Ammunition.--Section 
922(d) of title 18, United States Code, as amended by section 3 of this 
Act, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (8);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (9) and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (9) the following:
            ``(10) has been convicted in any court of--
                    ``(A) a misdemeanor crime of stalking under 
                Federal, State, municipal, territorial, or tribal law; 
                or
                    ``(B) a crime that involves conduct which would be 
                prohibited by section 2261A if committed within the 
                special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the 
                United States.''.
    (b) Possession, etc., of Firearms or Ammunition.--Section 922(g) of 
such title, as amended by section 4 of this Act, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (8);
            (2) by striking the comma at the end of paragraph (9) and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (9) the following:
            ``(10) has been convicted in any court of--
                    ``(A) a misdemeanor crime of stalking under 
                Federal, State, municipal, territorial, or tribal law; 
                or
                    ``(B) a crime that involves conduct which would be 
                prohibited by section 2261A if committed within the 
                special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the 
                United States,''.
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