[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 186 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 186

         To provide for the mandatory registration of handguns.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 7, 1997

   Mr. Hastings of Florida introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
         To provide for the mandatory registration of handguns.

    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 ``Handgun Registration Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL HANDGUN REGISTRATION SYSTEM TO APPLY IN ALL STATES NOT 
              ESTABLISHING STATE HANDGUN REGISTRATION SYSTEM THAT MEETS 
              CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Beginning 2 years after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Federal handgun registration system to be established 
by the Attorney General under section 3(a) and the amendment made by 
section 3(b) shall apply in any State during any period in which the 
Attorney General finds, after opportunity for a hearing on the record, 
that such State is not complying substantially with the requirements of 
subsection (b) of this section.
    (b) Requirements of State Handgun Registration System.--The 
requirements of this subsection are as follows:
            (1) Registration requirement.--State law must require each 
        individual who owns, possesses, or controls a handgun in the 
        State to register such handgun--
                    (A) in the case of handguns owned, possessed, or 
                controlled on or before the effective date of the State 
                law--
                            (i) with a State law enforcement agency; 
                        and
                            (ii) within 90 days after such effective 
                        date; and
                    (B) in the case of handguns owned, possessed, or 
                controlled after such effective date--
                            (i) with the licensed dealer (as defined in 
                        section 921(a)(11) of title 18, United States 
                        Code) from whom such handgun was last 
                        purchased; and
                            (ii) at the time the handgun is first 
                        owned, possessed, or controlled by the 
                        individual.
            (2) Imposition of penalties for violations.--State law must 
        impose the following penalties for knowing violation of the 
        registration requirement specified in paragraph (1):
                    (A) Non-serious violations.--In the case of a 
                violation which is not a serious violation, the 
                violator shall be imprisoned not less than 1 year.
                    (B) Serious violations.--In the case of a violation 
                which is a serious violation, the violator shall be 
                imprisoned not less than 12 years.
            (3) Definition of serious violation.--State law must define 
        a serious violation of the registration requirement specified 
        in paragraph (1) to be any violation with respect to which 2 or 
        more of the following conditions are satisfied:
                    (A) Multiple unregistered handguns.--The violation 
                consists of the violator possessing, owning, or 
                controlling 2 or more unregistered handguns.
                    (B) Unregistered handgun is of high caliber.--The 
                caliber of any handgun which is the subject of the 
                violation is greater than 0.22.
                    (C) Violator has previous felony or firearms 
                conviction.--The violator has been previously convicted 
                of a felony, or of a violation of any Federal or State 
                law relating to firearms.
                    (D) Unregistered handgun readily accessible to 
                violator.--Any handgun which is the subject of the 
                violation was readily accessible to the violator at the 
                time of the violation.
            (4) Easily retrievable record of handguns.--State law must 
        require the State to maintain an easily retrievable record 
        identifying--
                    (A) each individual who--
                            (i) resides, or regularly or frequently 
                        appears, in the State; and
                            (ii) possesses, owns, or controls a 
                        handgun; and
                    (B) such handgun.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL HANDGUN REGISTRATION SYSTEM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Attorney General shall establish a Federal 
handgun registration system which contains, in an easily retrievable 
record, information sufficient to identify--
            (1) each resident of each State to which this subsection 
        applies who owns, possesses, or controls a handgun; and
            (2) such handgun.
    (b) Handgun Registration Requirement.--Chapter 44 of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 931. Registration of handguns
    ``(a) Each individual who owns, possesses, or controls a handgun in 
any State to which this section applies by reason of section 2(a) of 
the Handgun Registration Act of 1997 shall register such handgun--
            ``(1) in the case of handguns owned, possessed, or 
        controlled on or before the effective date of this section--
                    ``(A) with a Federal, State, or local law 
                enforcement agency or the licensed dealer, if any, from 
                whom such handgun was last purchased; and
                    ``(B) within 90 days after such effective date; and
            ``(2) in the case of handguns owned, possessed, or 
        controlled after such effective date--
                    ``(A) with the licensed dealer from whom such 
                handgun was last purchased; and
                    ``(B) at the time the handgun is first owned, 
                possessed, or controlled by the individual.
    ``(b) Whoever knowingly violates subsection (a) shall be fined not 
more than $250,000, imprisoned not less than 15 years, or both. The 
court shall not suspend a sentence of imprisonment imposed for an 
offense under this section, and shall not impose a probationary 
sentence for an offense under this section.
    ``(c) As used in subsection (a):
            ``(1) The term `handgun' means a pistol or revolver 
        originally designed to be fired by the use of a single hand and 
        which is designed to fire or capable of firing fixed cartridge 
        ammunition, and any other firearm originally designed to be 
        fired by the use of a single hand.
            ``(2) The term `State' includes the District of Columbia 
        and the territories and possessions of the United States.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (b) shall 
apply to conduct engaged in 2 or more years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. TERMINATION OF CERTAIN FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.

    The Attorney General shall order the termination of all assistance 
under each of parts D, E, and G of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 
and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to each State, and each recipient in such 
State, during any period in which the Federal handgun registration 
system established under section 3(a) of this Act applies to such 
State.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) Handgun.--The term ``handgun'' means a pistol or 
        revolver originally designed to be fired by the use of a single 
        hand and which is designed to fire or capable of firing fixed 
        cartridge ammunition, and any other firearm (as defined in 
        section 921(a)(3) of title 18, United States Code) originally 
        designed to be fired by the use of a single hand.
            (2) State.--The term ``State'' includes the District of 
        Columbia and the territories and possessions of the United 
        States.
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