[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2946 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2946

       To combat illegal gun trafficking, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2003

   Mr. King of New York (for himself and Mr. Meehan) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
       To combat illegal gun trafficking, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Detectives Nemorin and Andrews Anti-
Gun Trafficking Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Illegal gun traffickers are a principal source of 
        firearms for criminals.
            (2) Illegal gun traffickers are often criminals in other 
        respects, and gun trafficking investigations provide another 
        means to prevent them from harming the community.
            (3) Criminals obtain their guns from the illegal market by 
        a variety of sources, such as from--
                    (A) corrupt Federal firearm licensees, who are 
                associated with the largest number of illegally 
                trafficked firearms--nearly 40,000 firearms over the 
                30-month period from July 1996 through December 1998;
                    (B) straw purchasers, who buy firearms for persons 
                prohibited from receiving firearms, and who are the 
                most common channel in gun trafficking investigations, 
                accounting for almost half of all such investigations 
                over the 30-month period from July 1996 through 
                December 1998; and
                    (C) firearms thefts, with investigations involving 
                firearms stolen from residences or federally licensed 
                firearms dealers being associated with over 9,000 
                trafficked firearms over the 30-month period from July 
                1996 through December 1998.
            (4) The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and 
        Explosives has discerned significant interstate patterns in 
        illegal gun trafficking, including the trafficking of firearms 
        between the Southeast and Northeast; from the South into the 
        Midwest and from California into other western States. 
        Nationally, slightly less than half of all gun trafficking 
        investigations involve interstate gun trafficking.

SEC. 3. ILLEGAL GUN TRAFFICKING.

    Section 924 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(p)(1) Whoever, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce in 
violation of subsection (a)(6), (g), or (n) of section 922 or 
subsection (c) of this section--
            ``(A) offers for sale, transfer, or barter 2 or more 
        firearms, at least 2 of which are handguns, semiautomatic 
        assault weapons, short-barreled shotguns, short-barreled 
        rifles, or machineguns; and
            ``(B) at least 1 of the firearms--
                    ``(i) is transported, received, or possessed by the 
                person, and--
                            ``(I) is stolen; or
                            ``(II) has had the importer's or 
                        manufacturer's serial number removed, 
                        obliterated, or altered; or
                    ``(ii) is offered by the person for sale, transfer, 
                or barter to another person who--
                            ``(I) is prohibited from possessing a 
                        firearm under subsection (g) or (n) of section 
                        922;
                            ``(II) is prohibited by State law from 
                        possessing a firearm;
                            ``(III) has not attained 18 years of age, 
                        except as otherwise allowed under Federal or 
                        State law;
                            ``(IV) is in a school zone; or
                            ``(V) has travelled from any State into any 
                        other State, and acquires or attempts to 
                        acquire the firearm otherwise in violation of 
                        Federal or State law,
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or 
both.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to conduct of a licensed dealer 
at the premises from which the licensed dealer conducts business 
subject to the license, or pursuant to section 923(j).''.

SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF PROJECT SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS.

    Section 104 of the 21st Century Department of Justice 
Appropriations Authorization Act (Public Law 107-273) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``, illegal gun 
        trafficking,'' after ``violence'' ; and
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``2002'' and inserting 
        ``2004''.

SEC. 5. REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.

    Beginning in calendar year 2005, the Attorney General shall submit 
biennially to the Congress a written report, covering the preceding 2 
years, which specifies--
            (1) the State of origin for each firearm, used in a crime, 
        that was traced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, 
        and Explosives, and the State in which the firearm was 
        recovered;
            (2) the total number of firearms so traced, by 
        manufacturer, model, and type of firearm;
            (3) the name of Federal firearms licensees who have had 
        more than 50 firearms, used in a crime, traced back to them in 
        a single year; and
            (4) the number of prosecutions for each individual offense 
        under sections 922, 923, and 924 of title 18, United States 
        Code.

SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL PENALTY FOR POSSESSION OF A STOLEN FIREARM DURING 
              THE COMMISSION OF A FELONY.

    Section 924 of title 18, United States Code is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
    ``(q)(1) Whoever, during and in relation to the commission of a 
crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, 
receives, possesses, conceals, barters, sells, or disposes of any 
stolen firearm or stolen ammunition, in or affecting interstate or 
foreign commerce, whether or not the person is aware that the firearm 
or ammunition is stolen, shall, in addition to the punishment provided 
for the crime so punishable, be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 
not more than 5 years.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply if the person obtained the 
firearm or ammunition from a licensed dealer at the place of business 
specified on the license of the dealer issued under this chapter.''.

SEC. 7. NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION CENTER STOLEN GUN FILE.

    (a) Availability.--The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall make 
available to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives 
the National Crime Information Center Gun File for the purpose of 
enabling the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to 
access the file while completing a crime gun trace.
    (b) Use.--The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives 
shall conduct a search of the National Crime Information Center Stolen 
Gun File with respect to each firearm submitted to the Bureau of 
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives for tracing.
    (c) Notification Regarding Stolen Firearms.--If a law enforcement 
agency requests the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and 
Explosives to trace a firearm, and the National Crime Information 
Center Stolen Gun File indicates that the firearm is stolen, then the 
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives shall notify the 
law enforcement agency of that information and provide the law 
enforcement agency with any available information regarding the owner 
of the firearm.
    (d) Return of Stolen Firearms Possessed by BATFE.--If the Bureau of 
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives possesses a firearm which 
the National Crime Information System Gun File indicates is stolen, the 
Bureau shall return the firearm to the person who reported the firearm 
stolen, when the Bureau determines that--
            (1) the firearm is no longer needed for criminal 
        investigation or evidentiary purposes; and
            (2) the person is entitled to possess the firearm.
    (e) Use by Federal Firearms Licensees Enrolled in the NICS 
System.--Within 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall allow all Federal firearms 
licensees enrolled in the National Instant Criminal Background Check 
System to conduct a search of the National Crime Information Center 
Stolen Gun File with respect to any firearm the licensee purchases, 
receives, possesses, or accepts as security for a loan, from any person 
not licensed under section 923 of title 18, United States Code.

SEC. 8. ADDITIONAL PENALTY FOR POSSESSION OF A FIREARM WITH AN 
              OBLITERATED SERIAL NUMBER DURING THE COMMISSION OF A 
              FELONY.

    Section 924 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(r) Whoever, during and in relation to the commission of a crime 
punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, transports, 
possesses, or receives, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, 
a firearm which has had the importer's or manufacturer's serial number 
removed, obliterated, or altered, regardless of whether or not the 
person is aware of the removal, obliteration, or alteration, shall, in 
addition to the punishment provided for the crime so punishable, be 
sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than 5 years.''.

SEC. 9. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR THE USE OF A STOLEN FIREARM OR A FIREARM 
              WITH AN OBLITERATED SERIAL NUMBER DURING THE COMMISSION 
              OF A CRIME OF VIOLENCE OR DRUG TRAFFICKING CRIME.

    Section 924(c)(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in clause (i), by inserting ``, or if the firearm was 
        stolen or had the manufacturer's serial number removed, 
        obliterated, or altered, not less than 7 years''after 
        ``years'';
            (2) in clause (ii), by inserting ``, or if the firearm was 
        stolen or had the manufacturer's serial number removed, 
        obliterated, or altered, not less than 9 years''after 
        ``years''; and
            (3) in clause (iii), by inserting ``, or if the firearm was 
        stolen or had the manufacturer's serial number removed, 
        obliterated, or altered, not less than 12 years''after 
        ``years''.
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