[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1998 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1998

To disarm lawless persons and assist State and Federal law enforcement 
agencies in preventing and solving gun crimes by requiring registration 
  of all firearms and firearm transfers and requiring permits for the 
          possession and transfer of firearms and ammunition.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    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 disarm lawless persons and assist State and Federal law enforcement 
agencies in preventing and solving gun crimes by requiring registration 
  of all firearms and firearm transfers and requiring permits for the 
          possession and transfer of firearms and ammunition.

    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 ``Yates Firearm Registration and Crime 
Prevention Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) crimes committed with guns threaten the peace and 
        domestic tranquillity of the citizens of the United States and 
        the security and general welfare of the Nation and its people;
            (2) the unregistered and unregulated circulation of 
        firearms in the United States increases the number of crimes 
        committed with firearms;
            (3) firearms crimes have created a substantial burden on 
        interstate and foreign commerce;
            (4) fear of firearms crimes discourages citizens from 
        traveling between the States to conduct business or to visit 
        national shrines and monuments, including the Nation's Capital;
            (5) in view of the ease with which firearms may be 
        concealed and transported across State lines, individual State 
        action to regulate firearms is made ineffective by lax 
        regulation in other States and, accordingly, national 
        legislation establishing minimum standards for the registration 
        and regulation of firearms is necessary to permit effective 
        State action;
            (6) crimes committed with guns have disrupted our national 
        political processes and threaten the republican form of 
        government within the States as guaranteed by Article IV of the 
        United States Constitution;
            (7) the use of guns in homicides is not evenly distributed 
        across population subgroups, death and injury in criminal 
        violence from firearms are especially pronounced in the younger 
        age groups and among minorities, and firearm homicide is the 
        second leading cause of death for 15- to 19-year-olds and is 
        increasing more rapidly than any other cause of death;
            (8) the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution 
        was established to provide for the common defense by protecting 
        the rights of the individual States to organize militias in 
        times of national emergency;
            (9) firearm ownership is a privilege, not unlike that of 
        driving a car, and it is the duty and obligation of the Federal 
        Government to institute regulations and guidelines in order to 
        safeguard the welfare of the general public; and
            (10) officials of the Government of the United States, 
        including 4 Presidents of the United States and candidates for 
        national public office, have been assassinated by use of 
        firearms, and the lives of national officials of the 
        legislative, executive, and judicial branches are increasingly 
        threatened by the unregistered and unregulated circulation of 
        firearms in the United States.

SEC. 3. REGISTRATION OF FIREARMS AND FIREARM TRANSFERS; FIREARMS 
              PERMITS.

    (a) In General.--Title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after chapter 44 the following:

``CHAPTER 44A--REGISTRATION OF FIREARMS AND FIREARM TRANSFERS; FIREARMS 
                                PERMITS

``Sec.
``941. Definitions.
``942. Registration of firearms and firearm transfers.
``943. Permits for possession and transfer of firearms and ammunition.
``944. Disposition of unregistered firearms.
``945. Penalties.
``946. Administration.
``947. Effect on State law.
``Sec. 941. Definitions
    ``The definitions in section 921(a) shall apply for purposes of 
this chapter.
``Sec. 942. Registration of firearms and firearm transfers
    ``(a)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person who owns a firearm in 
the United States on the effective date of this chapter to fail to 
register the firearm with the Secretary in accordance with subsection 
(b) within 1 year after the effective date.
    ``(2) It shall be unlawful for any person who manufactures a 
firearm in, or imports a firearm into, the United States to fail to 
register the firearm with the Secretary in accordance with subsection 
(b) within 7 calendar days after the date of manufacture or 
importation.
    ``(3)(A) It shall be unlawful for any person who transfers, or to 
whom is transferred, a firearm in the United States to fail to register 
the firearm transfer with the Secretary in accordance with subsection 
(b) within 7 calendar days after the date of the transfer.
    ``(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the delivery of a firearm 
by or to a common carrier, licensed pursuant to Federal or State law to 
transport firearms, in connection with the otherwise lawful transport 
of the firearm.
    ``(b) A person may register a firearm or firearm transfer by 
submitting to the Secretary, in person or by mail, the following 
information:
            ``(1) The name, age, address, and social security number 
        (if any), of--
                    ``(A) the person; or
                    ``(B) in the case of a firearm transfer, the 
                transferor and the transferee.
            ``(2) The name of the manufacturer, the caliber or gauge 
        (as appropriate), the model and type, and the serial number 
        identification (if any) of the firearm.
    ``(c) It shall be unlawful for any person who discovers that the 
person has lost a firearm or that a firearm has been stolen from the 
person to fail to submit to the Secretary, during the 48-hour period 
that begins with the time the person discovers the loss or theft, a 
report of the loss or theft, which shall include such information as 
the Secretary shall by regulation prescribe, including the date and 
place of the loss or theft.
``Sec. 943. Permits for possession and transfer of firearms and 
              ammunition
    ``(a)(1) Beginning 1 year after the effective date of this chapter, 
it shall be unlawful for a person to possess a firearm or ammunition in 
or affecting commerce unless the Secretary has issued to the person a 
firearms permit under subsection (b) which has not become invalid.
    ``(2)(A) It shall be unlawful for a person to transfer or receive a 
firearm or ammunition in or affecting commerce unless the transferee or 
recipient has and displays to the transferor a firearms permit issued 
to the transferee or recipient by the Secretary under subsection (b) 
which has not become invalid.
    ``(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the delivery of a firearm 
by or to, or the receipt of a firearm from, a common carrier licensed 
pursuant to Federal or State law to transport firearms, in connection 
with the otherwise lawful transportation of the firearm.
    ``(b) The Secretary shall issue a firearms permit to an applicant 
upon receipt of a written application that contains the following:
            ``(1) A statement that the applicant--
                    ``(A) has attained 18 years of age;
                    ``(B) is not under indictment for, or been 
                convicted in a court of, a crime punishable by 
                imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year;
                    ``(C) is not a fugitive from justice;
                    ``(D) is not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, a 
                controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the 
                Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802));
                    ``(E) has not been adjudicated as a mental 
                defective or been committed to a mental institution;
                    ``(F) is not an alien who is illegally or 
                unlawfully in the United States;
                    ``(G) has not been discharged from the armed forces 
                under dishonorable conditions;
                    ``(H) is not a person who, having been a citizen of 
                the United States, has renounced such citizenship; and
                    ``(I) is not subject to a court order that--
                            ``(i) was issued after a hearing of which 
                        the applicant received actual notice, and at 
                        which the applicant had an opportunity to 
                        participate;
                            ``(ii) restrains the applicant from 
                        harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate 
                        partner of the applicant or a child of such an 
                        intimate partner or the applicant, or engaging 
                        in other conduct that would place an intimate 
                        partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to 
                        the partner or child; and
                            ``(iii)(I) includes a finding that the 
                        applicant represents a credible threat to the 
                        physical safety of such intimate partner or 
                        child; or
                            ``(II) by its terms explicitly prohibits 
                        the use, attempted use, or threatened use of 
                        physical force against such intimate partner or 
                        child that would reasonably be expected to 
                        cause bodily injury.
            ``(2) A photograph and fingerprints of the applicant, which 
        shall be obtained in such manner as the Secretary shall by 
        regulation prescribe.
            ``(3) Such additional information regarding the applicant, 
        including date and place of birth, gender, height, weight, eye 
        and hair color, and present and previous residences, as the 
        Secretary shall by regulation prescribe.
            ``(4) The notarized signature of the applicant, who shall 
        swear or attest to the truth of all statements, information, 
        and material provided in the application.
    ``(c) A firearms permit issued to a person under subsection (b) 
shall be invalid if it becomes unlawful for the person to receive a 
firearm in interstate or foreign commerce.
    ``(d) It shall be unlawful for a person to fail to return to the 
Secretary a firearms permit issued to the person under subsection (b) 
within 7 calendar days after the date the permit becomes invalid.
``Sec. 944. Disposition of unregistered firearms
    ``(a) Within 1 year after the effective date of this chapter, the 
owner of a firearm may dispose of the firearm at such place as the 
Secretary may designate, and upon such disposition, the Secretary shall 
pay the owner an amount equal to the fair market value of the firearm.
    ``(b) The Secretary shall provide for the destruction of any 
firearm acquired by the Secretary pursuant to this section, except any 
such firearm which the Secretary finds is needed in a criminal 
investigation or prosecution, or has unique historic or technological 
value.
``Sec. 945. Penalties
    ``(a) Whoever knowingly owns, possesses, transfers, or receives any 
firearm or ammunition in violation of this chapter shall be fined under 
this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.
    ``(b) Whoever knowingly obliterates, defaces, or otherwise alters 
the serial number identification of a firearm shall be fined under this 
title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.
    ``(c) Whoever knowingly violates section 942(c) shall be fined 
under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
    ``(d) Whoever, with the intent to evade a requirement or obstruct 
the enforcement of this chapter, furnishes to a person a firearms 
permit which has not been issued to the person under section 943(b) 
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or 
both.
    ``(e) Whoever knowingly violates section 943(d) shall be fined 
under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.
    ``(f) Any firearm or ammunition involved in, or used or intended to 
be used in, a violation of this chapter 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 (as 
defined in section 5845(a) of such Code) shall, so far as applicable, 
extend to seizures and forfeitures under this subsection.
``Sec. 946. Administration
    ``(a) The Secretary shall establish and maintain records of the 
information submitted pursuant to this chapter.
    ``(b) The Secretary shall cooperate with the State and local law 
enforcement officers in making available to them, under appropriate 
safeguards, information gathered pursuant to this chapter, and shall 
undertake to establish reciprocal channels of information with the 
States to carry out this chapter.
    ``(c) The Secretary may prescribe such rules and regulations as the 
Secretary deems reasonably necessary to carry out this chapter.
    ``(d) To meet the expenses of carrying out this chapter, the 
Secretary may prescribe reasonable fees to be paid by any person who--
            ``(1) registers a firearm or firearm transfer pursuant to 
        section 942; or
            ``(2) applies for a permit under section 943.
    ``(e) Upon request of the Secretary, the head of a department or 
agency of the Federal Government shall assist the Secretary in the 
administration of this chapter, unless the President prohibits the 
provision of such assistance.
``Sec. 947. 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 the 
provision operates to the exclusion of the law of any State or 
possession on the same subject matter, unless there is a direct and 
positive conflict between the provision and the law of the State or 
possession so that the 2 cannot be reconciled or consistently stand 
together.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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