[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1996 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1996

  To prohibit the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer, 
    receipt, or transportation of handguns in any manner affecting 
 interstate or foreign commerce, except for or by members of the Armed 
Forces, law enforcement officials, and, as authorized by the Secretary 
 of the Treasury, licensed importers, manufacturers, and dealers, and 
                             pistol clubs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 19, 1997

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prohibit the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer, 
    receipt, or transportation of handguns in any manner affecting 
 interstate or foreign commerce, except for or by members of the Armed 
Forces, law enforcement officials, and, as authorized by the Secretary 
 of the Treasury, licensed importers, manufacturers, and dealers, and 
                             pistol clubs.

    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 Control Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.

    The Congress hereby finds and declares--
            (1) that the estimated total number of handguns in private 
        hands has reached seventy-six million;
            (2) that handguns play a major role, and a role 
        disproportionate to their number in comparison with long guns, 
        in the commission of homicide, aggravated assault, and armed 
        robbery, and that the percentage of violent crimes in which 
        handguns are used is increasing;
            (3) that more than one-half of all handguns are acquired 
        secondhand and that licensing and restrictions on sale of new 
        handguns will not significantly reduce handgun crime and 
        handgun violence;
            (4) that with few exceptions handguns are not used for 
        sporting or recreational purposes and that such purposes do not 
        require keeping of handguns in private homes;
            (5) that handguns in the home are of less value than is 
        commonly thought in defending against intruders and that such 
        defensive purposes can be adequately accomplished by other 
        means;
            (6) that violent crimes perpetrated with handguns 
        constitute a burden upon and interfere with interstate and 
        foreign commerce and threaten the internal security and 
        domestic tranquillity of the Nation; and
            (7) that a national firearms policy which restricts the 
        availability of handguns for nonlaw enforcement and nonmilitary 
        purposes will significantly reduce violent crime, reduce deaths 
        from handguns, and reduce other handgun violence in the United 
        States.

SEC. 3. HANDGUN CONTROLS.

    Title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 
50 the following:

                        ``CHAPTER 50A--HANDGUNS

``Sec.
``1091. Unlawful acts.
``1092. Licensing.
``1093. Penalties.
``1094. Exceptions.
``1095. Voluntary delivery to law enforcement agency; reimbursement.
``1096. Rules and regulations.
``1097. Effect on State law.
``1098. Definitions.
``Sec. 1091. Unlawful acts
    ``(a) Except as provided in section 1094 of this chapter and in 
subsection (b) of this section, it shall be unlawful for any person to 
import, manufacture, sell, buy, transfer, receive, or transport any 
handgun.
    ``(b) The Secretary may, consistent with public safety and 
necessity, exempt from the operation of subsection (a) of this section 
such importation, manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer, receipt, or 
transportation of handguns by importers, manufacturers, or dealers, 
licensed under chapter 44 of this title, and by pistol clubs licensed 
under this chapter, as may in his judgment be required for the 
operation of such pistol clubs or for purposes described in section 
1094 of this chapter.
``Sec. 1092. Licensing
    ``(a) A pistol club desiring to be licensed under this chapter 
shall file an application for such license with the Secretary. The 
application shall be in such form and contain such information as the 
Secretary shall by regulation prescribe. The fee for such license shall 
be $25 per year.
    ``(b) Any importer, manufacturer, or dealer desiring to be licensed 
under this chapter shall apply as provided in chapter 44 of this title.
    ``(c) Any application submitted under subsection (a) shall be 
approved if--
            ``(1) all members of the pistol club are twenty-one years 
        of age or older;
            ``(2) no member of the pistol club is prohibited from 
        transporting, shipping, or receiving firearms or ammunition in 
        interstate or foreign commerce under section 922(g) or (h) of 
        this title or under the law of the State in which the club will 
        be located or of the State in which the member is domiciled;
            ``(3) no member of the pistol club has willfully violated 
        any of the provisions of this chapter or of chapter 44 of this 
        title or any regulations issued thereunder;
            ``(4) the pistol club has not willfully failed to disclose 
        any material information required, or has not made any false 
        statement as to any material fact, in connection with his 
        application; and
            ``(5) the pistol club has premises from which it operates 
        and--
                    ``(A) maintains possession and control of the 
                handguns used by its members, and
                    ``(B) has procedures and facilities for keeping 
                such handguns in a secure place, under the control of 
                the club's chief officer, at all times when they are 
                not being used for target shooting or other sporting or 
                recreational purposes.
    ``(d)(1) The Secretary must approve or deny an application for a 
license within the forty-five-day period beginning on the date it is 
received. If the Secretary fails to act within such period, the 
applicant may file an action under section 1361 of title 28 to compel 
the Secretary to act. If the Secretary approves an applicant's 
application, such applicant shall be issued a license upon payment of 
the prescribed fee.
    ``(2) The Secretary may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, 
revoke any license issued under this section if the holder of such 
license has violated any provision of this chapter or of chapter 44 of 
this title or any rule or regulation prescribed by the Secretary under 
such chapters. The Secretary's action under this paragraph may be 
reviewed only as provided in subsection (e) of this section.
    ``(e)(1) Any person whose application for a license is denied and 
any holder of a license which is revoked shall receive a written notice 
from the Secretary stating specifically the grounds upon which the 
application was denied or upon which the license was revoked. Any 
notice of revocation of a license shall be given to the holder of such 
license before the effective date of the revocation.
    ``(2) If the Secretary denies an application for, or revokes, a 
license, he shall, upon request by the aggrieved party, promptly hold a 
hearing to review his denial or revocation. In the case of a revocation 
of a license, the Secretary shall upon the request of the holder of the 
license stay the effective date of the revocation. A hearing held under 
this paragraph shall be held at a location convenient to the aggrieved 
party.
    ``(3) If after a hearing held under paragraph (2) the Secretary 
decides not to reverse his decision to deny an application or revoke a 
license, the Secretary shall give notice of his decision to the 
aggrieved party. The aggrieved party may at any time within sixty days 
after the date notice was given under this paragraph file a petition 
with the United States District Court for the district in which he 
resides or has his principal place of business for a judicial review of 
such denial or revocation. In a proceeding conducted under this 
subsection, the court may consider any evidence submitted by the 
parties to the proceeding. If the court decides that the Secretary was 
not authorized to deny the application or to revoke the license, the 
court shall order the Secretary to take such action as may be necessary 
to comply with the judgment of the court.
    ``(f) Each licensed pistol club shall maintain such records of 
receipt, sale, or other disposition, of handguns at such place, for 
such period, and in such form as the Secretary may by regulations 
prescribe. Such pistol clubs shall make such records available for 
inspection at all reasonable times, and shall submit to the Secretary 
such reports and information with respect to such records and the 
contents thereof as he shall by regulations prescribe. The Secretary 
may enter at reasonable times the premises (including places of 
storage) of any pistol club for the purpose of inspecting or examining 
(1) any records of documents required to be kept by such pistol club 
under the provisions of this chapter or chapter 44 of this title and 
regulations issued under such chapters, and (2) any handguns or 
ammunition kept or stored by such pistol club at such premises. Upon 
the request of any State or any political subdivision thereof, the 
Secretary may make available to such State or any political subdivision 
thereof any information which he may obtain by reason of the provisions 
of this chapter with respect to the identification of persons who are 
members of pistol clubs within such State or political subdivision 
thereof, together with a description of the handguns included in such 
pistol club's license.
    ``(g) Licenses issued under the provisions of subsection (c) of 
this section shall be kept posted and kept available for inspection on 
the premises covered by the license.
``Sec. 1093. Penalties
    ``(a) Whoever violates any provision of this chapter or knowingly 
makes any false statement or representation with respect to the 
information required by the provisions of this chapter to be kept in 
the records of a pistol club licensed under this chapter, or in 
applying for any license under the provisions of this chapter, shall be 
fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
    ``(b) Any handgun involved or used in, or intended to be used in, 
any violation of the provisions of this chapter or chapter 44 of this 
title or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, or any 
violation of any other criminal law of the United States, shall be 
subject to seizure and forfeiture and all provisions of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 relating to the seizure, forfeiture, and 
disposition of firearms shall, so far as applicable, extend to seizures 
and forfeitures under the provisions of this chapter.
``Sec. 1094. Exceptions
    ``(a) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply with respect 
to the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer, receipt, or 
transportation of any handgun which the Secretary determines is being 
imported or manufactured for, sold, or transferred to, purchased, 
received, or transported by, or issued for the use of, the United 
States or any department or agency thereof or any State or any 
department, agency, or political subdivision thereof.
    ``(b) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply with respect 
to the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer, receipt, or 
transportation of a handgun which the Secretary determines is 
unserviceable, not restorable to firing condition, and intended for use 
as a curio, museum piece, or collectors' item.
``Sec. 1095. Voluntary delivery to law enforcement agency; 
              reimbursement
    ``(a) A person may at any time deliver to any Federal, State, or 
local law enforcement agency designated by the Secretary a handgun 
owned or possessed by such person. The Secretary shall arrange with 
each agency designated to receive handguns for the transfer, 
destruction, or other disposition of all handguns delivered under this 
section.
    ``(b) Upon proof of lawful acquisition and ownership by a person 
delivering a handgun to a law enforcement agency under this section, 
the owner of the handgun shall be entitled to receive from the United 
States a payment equal to the fair market value of the handgun or $25, 
whichever is more. The Secretary shall provide for the payment, 
directly or indirectly, through Federal, State, and local law 
enforcement agencies, of the amounts to which owners of handguns 
delivered under this section are entitled.
    ``(c) The amounts authorized in subsection (b) of this section 
shall be paid out of the fees collected under section 1092(a) of this 
chapter to the extent that such fees are sufficient for this purpose. 
The remainder of amounts authorized in subsection (b) of this section 
shall be paid out of general revenues.
``Sec. 1096. Rules and regulations
    ``(a) The Secretary may prescribe such rules and regulations as he 
deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, 
including--
            ``(1) regulations providing that a person licensed under 
        this chapter, when dealing with another person so licensed or 
        with a person licensed under chapter 44 of this title, shall 
        provide such other licensed person a certified copy of his 
        license; and
            ``(2) regulations providing for the issuance, at a 
        reasonable cost, to a person licensed under this chapter, of 
        certified copies of his license for use as provided under 
        regulations issued under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
    ``(b) The Secretary shall give reasonable public notice, and afford 
to interested parties opportunity for hearing, prior to prescribing 
rules and regulations authorized by this section.
``Sec. 1097. Effect on State law
    ``No provision of this chapter shall be construed as indicating an 
intent on the part of the Congress to occupy the field in which such 
provision operates to the exclusion of the law of any State on the same 
subject, unless there is a direct and positive conflict between such 
provision and the law of the State so that the two cannot be reconciled 
or consistently stand together.
``Sec. 1098. Definitions
    ``As used in this chapter:
            ``(1) The term `person' and the term `whoever' include any 
        individual, corporation, company, association, firm, 
        partnership, club, society, or joint-stock company.
            ``(2) The term `importer' means any person engaged in the 
        business of importing or bringing handguns into the United 
        States for purposes of sale or distribution; and the term 
        `licensed importer' means any such person licensed under the 
        provisions of chapter 44 of this title.
            ``(3) The term `manufacturer' means any person engaged in 
        the manufacture or assembly of handguns for the purposes of 
        sale or distribution; and the term `licensed manufacturer' 
        means any such person licensed under the provisions of chapter 
        44 of this title.
            ``(4) The term `dealer' means (A) any person engaged in the 
        business of selling handguns at wholesale or retail, (B) any 
        person engaged in the business of repairing handguns or of 
        making or fitting special barrels, or trigger mechanisms to 
        handguns, or (C) any person who is a pawnbroker. The term 
        `licensed dealer' means any dealer who is licensed under the 
        provisions of chapter 44 of this title.
            ``(5) The term `collector' means any person who acquires, 
        holds, or disposes of handguns as curios, or relics, as the 
        Secretary shall by regulation define, and the term `licensed 
        collector' means any such person licensed under the provisions 
        of chapter 44 of this title.
            ``(6) The term `Secretary' or `Secretary of the Treasury' 
        means the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate.
            ``(7) The term `handgun' means any weapon--
                    ``(A) designed or redesigned, or made, or remade, 
                and intended to be fired while held in one hand;
                    ``(B) having a barrel less than ten inches in 
                length; and
                    ``(C) designed or redesigned, or made or remade, to 
                use the energy of an explosive to expel a projectile or 
                projectiles through a smooth or rifled bore.
            ``(8) The term `pistol club' means a club organized for 
        target shooting with handguns or to use handguns for sporting 
        or other recreational purposes and which--
                    ``(A) maintains possession and control of the 
                handguns used by its members, and
                    ``(B) has procedures and facilities for keeping 
                such handguns in a secure place, under the control of 
                the club's chief officer, at all times when they are 
                not being used for target shooting, sporting, or other 
                recreational purposes.
        The term `licensed pistol club' means any pistol club which is 
        licensed under this chapter.''.

SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION.

    The enforcement and administration of the amendment made by this 
Act shall be vested in the Secretary of the Treasury.

SEC. 5. EFFECT ON OTHER FEDERAL LAW.

    Nothing in this Act or the amendment made by this Act shall be 
construed as modifying or affecting any provision of--
            (1) the National Firearms Act (chapter 53 of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986);
            (2) section 414 of the Mutual Security Act of 1954 (22 
        U.S.C. 1934), relating to munitions control; or
            (3) section 1715 of title 18, United States Code, relating 
        to nonmailable firearms.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The provisions of this Act shall take effect one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
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