[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4594 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4594

To amend title 18, United States Code, to treat bump-stock-type devices 
as machineguns, and to ban the possession or transfer of other devices 
  designed to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 1, 2019

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to treat bump-stock-type devices 
as machineguns, and to ban the possession or transfer of other devices 
  designed to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm.

    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 ``Bumpstocks and Acceleration Devices 
Act''.

SEC. 2. BUMP-STOCK-TYPE DEVICES TREATED AS MACHINEGUNS.

    (a) In General.--Section 921(a)(23) of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(A)'' before ``The''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(B) In such section 5845(b) as applied to this chapter--
            ``(i) the term `automatically' as it modifies `shoots, is 
        designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot,' means 
        functioning as the result of a self-acting or self-regulating 
        mechanism that allows the firing of multiple rounds through a 
        single function of the trigger;
            ``(ii) the term `single function of the trigger' means a 
        single pull of the trigger and analogous motions; and
            ``(iii) the term `machinegun' includes a bump-stock-type 
        device.''.
    (b) Definitions.--Section 921(a) of such title is amended by 
inserting after paragraph (29) the following:
    ``(30) Bump-stock-type Device.--The term `bump-stock-type device' 
means a device that allows a semiautomatic firearm to shoot more than 
one shot with a single pull of the trigger by harnessing the recoil 
energy of the semiautomatic firearm to which it is affixed so that the 
trigger resets and continues firing without additional physical 
manipulation of the trigger by the shooter.
    ``(31) Semiautomatic Firearm.--The term `semiautomatic firearm' 
means any repeating firearm that--
            ``(A) utilizes a portion of the energy of a firing 
        cartridge to extract the fired cartridge case and chamber the 
        next round; and
            ``(B) requires a separate function of the trigger to fire 
        each cartridge.''.

SEC. 3. BAN ON POSSESSION OR TRANSFER OF ACCELERATION DEVICE OR BINARY-
              TRIGGER-TYPE DEVICE.

    (a) In General.--Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(aa)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person, in or affecting 
interstate or foreign commerce, to possess or transfer an acceleration 
device or a binary-trigger-type device.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to--
            ``(A) the otherwise lawful possession of such a device 
        before the date that is 90 days after the date this subsection 
        takes effect, if the device is destroyed or disposed of within 
        that 90-day period; or
            ``(B) the possession of such a device by or for, or the 
        transfer of a device for or to, the United States, a department 
        or agency of the United States, a State, or a department, 
        agency, or political subdivision of a State, for the purposes 
        of testing or experimentation authorized by the Attorney 
        General.''.
    (b) Definitions.--Section 921(a) of such title is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(36) The term `acceleration device' means any part, combination 
of parts, component, device, attachment, or accessory that is designed 
and functions to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm 
but not convert the semiautomatic firearm into a machinegun.
    ``(37) The term `binary-trigger-type device' means a device that 
allows a semiautomatic firearm to fire more than one cartridge with a 
single pull and release of the trigger if--
            ``(A) the device treats the pull and release of the trigger 
        as separate functions to fire a cartridge; and
            ``(B) each function results in at least one fired 
        cartridge.''.
    (c) Penalties.--Section 924(a)(2) of such title is amended by 
striking ``or (o)'' and inserting ``(o), or (aa).''

SEC. 4. SENTENCING GUIDELINES.

    Pursuant to its authority under section 924 of title 28, United 
States Code, and in accordance with this section, the United States 
Sentencing Commission shall amend and review the Federal sentencing 
guidelines and policy statements to ensure that the guidelines provide 
for a penalty enhancement of not less than 2 offense levels for a 
violation of section 922(aa) of title 18 of such Code, and for a 
violation of section 922(o) of such title 18 consisting of possession 
of a bump-stock-type device (as defined in section 921(a)(30) of such 
title 18) if the device that is the subject of the violation has been--
            (1) used, carried, or possessed during or in relation to a 
        crime of violence or drug trafficking crime (as such terms are 
        defined in section 924(c)(3) of such title 18); or
            (2) smuggled unlawfully into or from the United States.
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