[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 12 (Wednesday, February 9, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        FELON GUN PREVENTION ACT

  (Ms. HARMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, with a bipartisan groups of 
cosponsors, to introduce the Felon Gun Prevention Act to close an 
obscene loophole in the Federal Code.
  Most Americans know that convicted felons lose certain rights 
including the right to vote, sit on juries, and own firearms. But most 
Americans are unaware of a dangerous loophole that lets felons appeal 
to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms [BATF] to get back 
their gun rights.
  Between 1985 and 1990, over 2,300 felons were granted firearm relief. 
Among those who got their gun rights back through this appeal were 
individuals convicted of illegally transporting firearms, dealing 
drugs, manslaughter, assault, robbery, and rape.
  The outrageousness of this loophole is compounded by the fact that 
taxpayers must pay the entire bill for the research the BATF must do 
before granting relief. In 1991 alone, this program consumed over $4 
million of the BATF's budget and more than 40 full-time employees.
  It is time to close this loophole for good. I urge the House to pass 
the Felon Gun Prevention Act when the crime bill is considered after 
the recess.

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