[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 936 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 936

          To prevent children from having access to firearms.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 3, 1999

  Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Schumer, Mr. 
 Lautenberg, Mrs. Boxer, and Mr. Reed) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
          To prevent children from having access to firearms.

    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 ``Children's Firearm Access Prevention 
Act''.

SEC. 2. CHILDREN AND FIREARMS SAFETY.

    (a) Definition.--Section 921(a)(34)(A) of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting ``or removing'' after ``deactivating''.
    (b) Prohibition.--Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after subsection (y) the following:
    ``(z) Prohibition Against Giving Juveniles Access to Certain 
Firearms.--
            ``(1) Definition of juvenile.--In this subsection, the term 
        `juvenile' means an individual who has not attained the age of 
        18 years.
            ``(2) Prohibition.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), it 
        shall be unlawful for any person to keep a loaded firearm, or 
        an unloaded firearm and ammunition for the firearm, any of 
        which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign 
        commerce or otherwise substantially affects interstate or 
        foreign commerce, within any premise that is under the custody 
        or control of that person if that person knows, or reasonably 
        should know, that a juvenile is capable of gaining access to 
        the firearm without the permission of the parent or legal 
        guardian of the juvenile.
            ``(3) Exceptions.--Paragraph (2) does not apply if--
                    ``(A) the person uses a secure gun storage or 
                safety device for the firearm;
                    ``(B) the person is a peace officer, a member of 
                the Armed Forces, or a member of the National Guard, 
                and the juvenile obtains the firearm during, or 
                incidental to, the performance of the official duties 
                of the person in that capacity;
                    ``(C) the juvenile obtains, or obtains and 
                discharges, the firearm in a lawful act of self-defense 
                or defense of one or more other persons;
                    ``(D) the person has no reasonable expectation, 
                based on objective facts and circumstances, that a 
                juvenile is likely to be present on the premises on 
                which the firearm is kept; or
                    ``(E) the juvenile obtains the firearm as a result 
                of an unlawful entry by any person.''.
    (c) Penalties.--Section 924(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(7) Whoever violates section 922(z), if a juvenile (as defined in 
section 922(z)) obtains access to the firearm and thereby causes death 
or bodily injury to the juvenile or to any other person, or exhibits 
the firearm either in a public place, or in violation of section 
922(q)--
            ``(A) shall be fined not more than $10,000, imprisoned not 
        more than 1 year, or both; or
            ``(B) if such violation is reckless, shall be fined in 
        accordance with this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, 
        or both.''.
    (d) Role of Licensed Firearms Dealers.--Section 926 of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Contents of Form.--The Secretary shall ensure that a copy of 
section 922(z) appears on the form required to be obtained by a 
licensed dealer from a prospective transferee of a firearm.''.
    (e) No Effect on State Law.--Nothing in this section or the 
amendments made by this section shall be construed to preempt any 
provision of the law of any State, the purpose of which is to prevent 
juveniles from injuring themselves or others with firearms.
                                 <all>