[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 41 (Wednesday, April 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2916-S2917]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DODD:
  S. 534. A bill to amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, 
to improve the safety of handguns; to the Committee on the Judiciary.


                       HANDGUN SAFETY ACT OF 1997

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise to speak on the need for increased 
attention to gun safety. Increasingly, children are gaining access to 
loaded and unlocked guns with fatal consequences. Recently, an 8-year-
old girl in Bridgeport, CT, took a gun that was left behind a couch and 
shot and killed her 10-year-old sister.
  These tragedies happen far too frequently. A report from the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention notes that nearly 1.2 million latch-
key children have access to loaded and unlocked firearms each day. 
Children cause over 10,000 unintentional shootings each year in which 
800 people die.
  This violence is not limited to the home. The Connecticut Department 
of Health recently completed a survey of 12,000 Connecticut teenagers 
called the Voice of Connecticut Youth. More than one-third of boys in 
9th and 11th grades said they either had a gun or could get one in less 
than a day. When you consider intentional and unintentional shootings, 
16 children are killed with firearms every day in this country.
  We must put an end to the tragedy of gun violence. We need to take 
steps to ensure that gun owners are storing their guns safely--
unloaded, locked, and out of the reach of children. That is why I am 
cosponsoring Senator Kohl's legislation, S. 428, which requires 
licensed manufacturers, importers, and dealers to sell handguns with a 
child safety or locking device. The bill also requires a warning that 
the improper locking or storage of a handgun may result in civil or 
criminal penalties.
  Today I am also introducing a separate measure that would simply add 
another section to Senator Kohl's bill. The section would authorize the 
National Institute of Justice to conduct a study on possible standards 
for gun locks. As we move to have greater use of gun locks, we ought to 
make sure that those locks are high quality.
  These small steps forward could save thousands of lives. They will 
not affect responsible gun owners who are already doing the right 
thing, but they will remind careless gun owners of the need for 
increased safety.
  My home State of Connecticut is out in front on this issue. One of 
our State laws requires locks on handguns, another State law requires 
that guns be stored away from children. But one State can only do so 
much. A gun bought outside our State can become an instrument of 
tragedy within our State. And we also need to make kids across the 
Nation safer. In many ways, this issue is simple--if we require safety 
caps on medicine to protect kids, we should clearly require safety 
locks on guns.
  I urge my colleagues to join with me and Senator Kohl in support of 
these gun safety measures.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of my bill, the 
Handgun Safety Act of 1997, be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 534

       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 ``Handgun Safety Act of 
     1997''.

     SEC. 2. HANDGUN SAFETY.

       (a) Definition of Locking Device.--Section 921(a) of title 
     18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(34) The term `locking device' means--
       ``(A) a device that, if installed on a firearm and secured 
     by means of a key or a mechanically-, electronically-, or 
     electromechanically-operated combination lock, prevents the 
     firearm from being discharged without first deactivating or 
     removing the device by means of a key or mechanically-, 
     electronically-, or electromechanically-operated combination 
     lock; or
       ``(B) a locking mechanism incorporated into the design of a 
     firearm that prevents discharge of the firearm by any person 
     who does not have access to the key or other device designed 
     to unlock the mechanism and thereby allow discharge of the 
     firearm.''.
       (b) Unlawful Acts.--Section 922 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by inserting after subsection (x) the 
     following:
       ``(y) Locking Devices and Warnings.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
     beginning 90 days after the date of enactment of the Handgun 
     Safety Act of 1997, it shall be unlawful for any licensed 
     manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer to sell, 
     deliver, or transfer any handgun--
       ``(A) to any person other than a licensed manufacturer, 
     licensed importer, or licensed dealer, unless the transferee 
     is provided with a locking device for that handgun; or
       ``(B) to any person, unless the handgun is accompanied by 
     the following warning, which shall appear in conspicuous and 
     legible type in capital letters, and which shall be printed 
     on a label affixed to the gun and on a separate sheet of 
     paper included within the packaging enclosing the handgun:
     `` `THE USE OF A LOCKING DEVICE OR SAFETY LOCK IS ONLY ONE 
     ASPECT OF RESPONSIBLE FIREARM STORAGE. FIREARMS SHOULD BE 
     STORED UNLOADED AND LOCKED IN A LOCATION THAT IS BOTH 
     SEPARATE FROM THEIR AMMUNITION AND INACCESSIBLE TO CHILDREN.

     `FAILURE TO PROPERLY LOCK AND STORE YOUR FIREARM MAY RESULT 
     IN CIVIL OR CRIMINAL LIABILITY UNDER STATE LAW. IN ADDITION, 
     FEDERAL LAW PROHIBITS THE POSSESSION OF A HANDGUN BY A MINOR 
     IN MOST CIRCUMSTANCES.'
       ``(2) Exceptions.--Paragraph (1) does not apply to--
       ``(A) the--
       ``(i) manufacture for, transfer to, or possession by, the 
     United States or a State or a department or agency of the 
     United States, or a State or a department, agency, or 
     political subdivision of a State, of a handgun; or
       ``(iii) the transfer to, or possession by, a law 
     enforcement officer employed by an entity referred to in 
     clause (i) of a handgun for law enforcement purposes (whether 
     on or off-duty); or
       ``(B) the transfer to, or possession by, a rail police 
     officer employed by a rail carrier and certified or 
     commissioned as a police officer under the laws of a State of 
     a handgun for purposes of law enforcement (whether on or off-
     duty).''.
       (c) Civil Penalties.--Section 924 of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``or (f)'' and 
     inserting ``(f), or (p)''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(p) Penalties Relating to Locking Devices and Warnings.--
       ``(1) In general.--
       ``(A) Suspension or revocation of license; civil 
     penalties.--With respect to each violation of subparagraph 
     (A) or (B) of section 922(y)(1) by a licensee, the Secretary 
     may, after notice and opportunity for hearing--
       ``(i) suspend or revoke any license issued to the licensee 
     under this chapter; or

[[Page S2917]]

       ``(ii) subject the licensee to a civil penalty in an amount 
     equal to not more than $10,000.
       ``(B) Review.--An action of the Secretary under this 
     paragraph may be reviewed only as provided in section 923(f).
       ``(2) Administrative remedies.--The suspension or 
     revocation of a license or the imposition of a civil penalty 
     under paragraph (1) does not preclude any administrative 
     remedy that is otherwise available to the Secretary.''.

     SEC. 3. STUDY ON STANDARDS FOR LOCKING DEVICES.

       Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the National Institute of Justice shall--
       (1) conduct a study to determine the feasibility of 
     developing minimum quality standards for locking devices (as 
     that term is defined in section 921(a) of title 18, United 
     States Code (as amended by this Act)); and
       (2) submit to the Attorney General of the United States and 
     the Secretary of the Treasury a report, which shall include 
     the results of the study under paragraph (1) and any 
     recommendations for legislative or regulatory action.
                                 ______