[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5435 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5435

To prevent a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime, 
 or received an enhanced sentence for a misdemeanor because of hate or 
           bias in its commission, from obtaining a firearm.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 13, 2023

   Ms. Escobar (for herself, Mr. Frost, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
   Higgins of New York, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. 
Clyburn, Mr. Garamendi, and Ms. Porter) introduced the following bill; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prevent a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime, 
 or received an enhanced sentence for a misdemeanor because of hate or 
           bias in its commission, from obtaining a 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 ``Disarm Hate Act''.

SEC. 2. PREVENTION OF PERSON WHO HAS BEEN CONVICTED OF A MISDEMEANOR 
              HATE CRIME, OR RECEIVED AN ENHANCED SENTENCE FOR A 
              MISDEMEANOR BECAUSE OF HATE OR BIAS IN ITS COMMISSION, 
              FROM OBTAINING A FIREARM.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(36) The term `convicted in any court of a misdemeanor hate 
crime'--
            ``(A) means being convicted by a court of an offense that--
                    ``(i) is a misdemeanor under Federal, State, or 
                tribal law;
                    ``(ii) has, as an element, that the conduct of the 
                offender was motivated by hate or bias because of the 
                actual or perceived race, color, religion, national 
                origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity (as 
                defined in section 249), or disability of any person; 
                and
                    ``(iii) involves the use or attempted use of 
                physical force, the threatened use of a deadly weapon, 
                or other credible threat to the physical safety of any 
                person; and
            ``(B) does not include--
                    ``(i) a conviction of an offense described in 
                subparagraph (A), unless--
                            ``(I) the person--
                                    ``(aa) was represented by counsel 
                                in the case; or
                                    ``(bb) knowingly and intelligently 
                                waived the right to counsel in the 
                                case; and
                            ``(II) in the case of a prosecution for an 
                        offense described in subparagraph (A) for which 
                        a person was entitled to a jury trial in the 
                        jurisdiction in which the case was tried--
                                    ``(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; or
                    ``(ii) a conviction of an offense described in 
                subparagraph (A) if--
                            ``(I) the conviction--
                                    ``(aa) has been expunged or set 
                                aside; or
                                    ``(bb) 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 rights under such 
                                an offense); and
                            ``(II) the pardon, expungement, or 
                        restoration of civil rights does not expressly 
                        provide that the person may not ship, 
                        transport, possess, or receive firearms.
    ``(37) The term `received from any court an enhanced hate crime 
misdemeanor sentence'--
            ``(A) means a court has imposed a sentence for a 
        misdemeanor under Federal, State, or tribal law--
                    ``(i) that involves the use or attempted use of 
                physical force, the threatened use of a deadly weapon, 
                or other credible threat to the physical safety of any 
                person; and
                    ``(ii) based, in whole or in part, on a judicial 
                finding that the conduct of the offender was motivated, 
                in whole or in part, by hate or bias for any reason 
                referred to in paragraph (36)(A)(ii); and
            ``(B) does not include--
                    ``(i) the imposition of a sentence described in 
                subparagraph (A), unless--
                            ``(I) the person--
                                    ``(aa) was represented by counsel 
                                in the case; or
                                    ``(bb) knowingly and intelligently 
                                waived the right to counsel in the 
                                case; and
                            ``(II) if the sentence described in 
                        subparagraph (A) was imposed in a prosecution 
                        for an offense for which a person was entitled 
                        to a jury trial in the jurisdiction in which 
                        the case was tried--
                                    ``(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; or
                    ``(ii) the imposition of a sentence described in 
                subparagraph (A) if--
                            ``(I)(aa) the conviction of the offense for 
                        which the sentence was imposed has been 
                        expunged or set aside; or
                            ``(bb) the offense for which the sentence 
                        was imposed 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 
                        rights under such an offense); and
                            ``(II) the pardon, expungement, or 
                        restoration of civil rights does not expressly 
                        provide that the person may not ship, 
                        transport, possess, or receive firearms.''.
    (b) Prohibition on Sale or Other Disposition of Firearm.--Section 
922(d) of such title is amended in the first sentence--
            (1) in paragraph (10), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (11)--
                    (A) by redesignating such paragraph as paragraph 
                (12); and
                    (B) by striking ``through (10)'' and inserting 
                ``through (11)''; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (10) the following:
            ``(11) has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor 
        hate crime, or has received from any court an enhanced hate 
        crime misdemeanor sentence; or''.
    (c) Prohibition on Possession, Shipment, or Transport of Firearm.--
Section 922(g) of such title is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the comma and inserting 
        ``; or''; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (9) the following:
            ``(10) who has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor 
        hate crime, or has received from any court an enhanced hate 
        crime misdemeanor sentence,''.
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