[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1717 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1717

  To permanently ban the possession of firearms by dangerous juvenile 
                               offenders.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 6, 1999

 Mr. Blagojevich (for himself and Mr. Rogan) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To permanently ban the possession of firearms by dangerous juvenile 
                               offenders.

    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 ``Violent Youth Accountability Act of 
1999.''

SEC. 2. PERMANENT PROHIBITION ON TRANSFERS OF FIREARMS TO THOSE 
              ADJUDICATED DANGEROUS JUVENILE OFFENDERS.

    (a) Definition.--Section 921(a)(20) of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(20)'';
            (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses 
        (i) and (ii);
            (3) by striking all that follows the 1st sentence and 
        inserting the following:
    ``(B) For purposes of subsections (d) and (g) of section 922, the 
term `act of juvenile delinquency' means an adjudication of delinquency 
based upon a finding of the commission of an act by a person prior to 
his or her eighteenth birthday that, if committed by an adult, would be 
a serious drug offense (as defined in section 3559(c)(2)(H)) or serious 
violent felony (as defined in section 3559(c)(2)(F)), on or after the 
date of the enactment of this paragraph.
    ``(C) What constitutes a conviction of such a crime or an 
adjudication of juvenile delinquency shall be determined in accordance 
with the law of the jurisdiction in which the proceedings were held. 
Any State conviction or adjudication of delinquency which has been 
expunged or set aside or for which a person has been pardoned or has 
had civil rights restored by the jurisdiction in which the conviction 
or adjudication of delinquency occurred shall nevertheless be 
considered a conviction or adjudication of delinquency unless (i) the 
expungement, set-aside, pardon, or restoration of civil rights is 
directed to a specific person, (ii) the State authority granting the 
expungement, set-aside, pardon, or restoration of civil rights has 
expressly determined that the circumstances regarding the conviction 
and the person's record and reputation are such that the person will 
not act in a manner dangerous to public safety, and (iii) the 
expungement, set-aside, pardon, or restoration of civil rights 
expressly authorizes the person to ship, transport, receive, or possess 
firearms. The requirement of this subparagraph for an individualized 
restoration of rights shall apply whether or not, under State law, the 
person's civil rights were taken away by virtue of the conviction or 
adjudication.''.
    (b) Prohibitions.--Section 922 of such title is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (8);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph 
                (9) and inserting ``; or;''; and
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (9) the following:
            ``(10) who has committed an act of juvenile delinquency.''; 
        and
            (2) in subsection (g)--
                    (A) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (8);
                    (B) by adding ``or'' at the end of paragraph (9); 
                and
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (9) the following:
            ``(10) who has committed an act of juvenile delinquency,''.
                                 <all>