[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 971 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 971

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the possession of a 
 firearm by, or the disposition of a firearm to, a person who has been 
          convicted of a misdemeanor crime of animal cruelty.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 5, 2019

  Ms. Clark of Massachusetts introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the possession of a 
 firearm by, or the disposition of a firearm to, a person who has been 
          convicted of a misdemeanor crime of animal cruelty.

    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 ``Animal Violence Exposes Real Threat 
of Future Gun Violence Act of 2019'' or the ``AVERT Future Gun Violence 
Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON THE POSSESSION OF A FIREARM BY, OR THE 
              DISPOSITION OF A FIREARM TO, A PERSON WHO HAS BEEN 
              CONVICTED OF A MISDEMEANOR CRIME OF ANIMAL CRUELTY.

    (a) Definition.--Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(35)(A) The term `misdemeanor crime of animal cruelty' means an 
offense that--
            ``(i) is a misdemeanor under Federal, State, or tribal law; 
        and
            ``(ii) has, as an element, knowingly causing unnecessary or 
        unjustifiable physical pain or suffering to an animal by an 
        act, omission, or neglect.
    ``(B)(i) A person shall not be considered to have been convicted of 
such an offense for purposes of this chapter, unless--
            ``(I) the person was represented by counsel in the case, or 
        knowingly and intelligently waived the right to counsel in the 
        case; and
            ``(II) in the case of a prosecution for an offense 
        described in this paragraph for which a person was entitled to 
        a jury trial in the jurisdiction in which the case was tried, 
        either--
                    ``(aa) the case was tried by a jury; or
                    ``(bb) the person knowingly and intelligently 
                waived the right to have the case tried by a jury, by 
                guilty plea or otherwise.
    ``(ii) A person shall not be considered to have been convicted of 
such an offense for purposes of this chapter if the conviction has been 
expunged or set aside, or is an offense for which the person has been 
pardoned or has had civil rights restored (if the law of the applicable 
jurisdiction provides for the loss of civil right under such an 
offense), unless the pardon, expungement, or restoration of civil 
rights expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, 
possess, or receive firearms.''.
    (b) Prohibitions.--Section 922 of such title is amended--
            (1) in the 1st sentence of subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (8)(B)(ii), by striking ``or'' at 
                the end;
                    (B) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and 
                inserting ``; or''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(10) has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor 
        crime of animal cruelty.''; and
            (2) in subsection (g)--
                    (A) in paragraph (8)(C)(ii), by striking ``or'' at 
                the end;
                    (B) in paragraph (9), by striking the comma and 
                inserting ``; or''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(10) who has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor 
        crime of animal cruelty,''.
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