[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 133 (Tuesday, September 29, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11125-S11126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Bumpers, and Ms. 
        Moseley-Braun):
  S. 2527. A bill to better regulate the transfer of firearms at gun 
shows; to the Committee on the Judiciary.


                   the gun show sunshine act of 1998

 Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, today on behalf of myself and 
Senators Bumpers, Dodd, and Moseley-Braun, I introduce the Gun Show 
Sunshine Act of 1998. This bill addresses the serious problem of gun 
shows where criminals can buy and sell dangerous weapons without any 
record of the sale, and without any background checks.
  Let me outline the scope of the problem.
  Since the Brady Act went into effect in 1994, more than 242,000 
handgun purchases have been denied to convicted felons, fugitives, drug 
addicts and other dangerous persons. The Domestic Violence Gun Ban in 
the Brady Act, which I sponsored, went into effect in 1996 and has 
prevented more than 6,800 firearms sales to people convicted of abusing 
a spouse or child.
  However, because of a loophole in our laws, those same people merely 
need to drive to a gun show and they can buy as many weapons as they 
want. Just walk in with cash and walk out with a weapon--no waiting, no 
background check, and no record of the transaction.
  Simply put, gun shows are firearm flea markets for felons.
  Because gun shows are largely unregulated, no one knows for sure how 
many gun shows are held each year, or how many guns are sold at them. 
Estimates range from 2,000 to 5,200 shows a year. These shows generate 
billions of dollars in gun sales and put thousands of guns into the 
hands of people who would be stopped from buying a gun if a background 
check were done.
  The system is perfectly geared to the anonymity criminals crave. 
Tommy Dillon, a serial killer in Ohio, used gun shows to both buy and 
sell his murder weapons without a trace--even though police suspected 
he was the killer. Dillon was so sure he found a perfect system that he 
taunted police with an anonymous letter promising he would never be 
caught. He was caught after killing five people, but only because of a 
freak coincidence. After Dillon was picked up on an unrelated weapons 
charge, someone he had sold one of his murder weapons to recognized 
Dillon from a newspaper photo, and called the police when he realized 
he had one of the murder weapons police sought.
  One California gun dealer used the unregulated flea-market atmosphere 
of gun shows to sell 1,700 guns in a four-year period. Some of these 
guns made their way to gang members and juveniles. Of the guns that 
could be traced, at least 30 were used in crimes, including three 
murders and a shoot out with police.
  The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that 341,000 guns a year 
were stolen from private citizens between 1987 and 1992. Because there 
is no requirement to keep records, gun shows provide a safe haven to 
dispose of these weapons.
  How did it come to be like this?
  Back in 1986, under intense pressure from the gun lobby, Congress 
passed and President Reagan signed into law the Firearm Owners' 
Protection Act. The law substantially weakened the Gun Control Act of 
1968, which was passed after the assassinations of Sen. Robert F. 
Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.
  Among the changes was a loosening of the law regarding who needs a 
license to sell firearms and what records must be kept. Under the new 
law, anyone selling from their ``private collection'' or who is engaged 
in ``occasional sales'' was made exempt from federal record-keeping.
  But the law does not define ``occasional sales'' or precisely what 
constitutes a ``personal collection.'' And, to make matters worse, the 
law prohibits agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms 
from even entering a gun show unless they are there on a specific case.
  This has to stop. This bill would bring these weapons sales into the 
light and strip criminals of their government-granted anonymity. Under 
this bill, gun show operators would be required to obtain a license 
from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and meet the same 
standards as federally licensed gun dealers--they must be more than 21 
years of age and have no convictions for gun-law violations.
  Any person selling a firearm at a gun show would be required to 
notify the gun-show operator. The gun-show operator would then conduct 
a background check of the purchaser using the Instant Check system, 
just as a licensed gun dealer is required to do. The gun-show operator 
would also be required to keep the same records as a licensed gun 
dealer, including the name and address of the purchaser, the type of 
gun and its serial number. The operator would also be required to 
submit to the ATF a list of the serial numbers of all guns sold at the 
show so that if these guns are later recovered at a crime scene, the 
ATF will be able to trace the gun.
  This bill simply takes the laws that already apply to licensed gun 
dealers,

[[Page S11126]]

and applies them to the thousands of transactions conducted by 
unlicensed sellers at gun shows.
  Mr. President, we must do more to stop the gun violence on our 
streets. Firearms are involved in 35,000 deaths a year. That's more 
American killed than in the entire Korean War.
  I urge my colleagues to help cut this weapons supply line that fuels 
an arms race on our streets. Let's work together to pass the Gun Show 
Sunshine Act and keep guns out of the hands of criminals.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2527

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. REGULATION OF GUN SHOWS.

       (a) In General.--Section 923 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(m)(1) No person shall hold a gun show, unless--
       ``(A) the person is licensed to hold a gun show under this 
     subsection; and
       ``(B) not less than 30 days have elapsed since the person, 
     using a form which shall be prescribed by the Secretary, has 
     notified the Secretary and the chief law enforcement officer 
     of the appropriate jurisdiction of the postal address and the 
     dates and times at which the gun show is to be held.
       ``(2) In order to be licensed to hold a gun show under this 
     subsection, a person shall submit to the Secretary an 
     application that--
       ``(A) contains a certification by the applicant that--
       ``(i) the applicant meets the requirements of subparagraphs 
     (A) through (D) of subsection (d)(1); and
       ``(ii) any gun show to be conducted under the license is 
     not prohibited under State or local law, and will be 
     conducted in accordance with all applicable State and local 
     laws;
       ``(B) contains a photograph and fingerprints of the 
     applicant; and
       ``(C) is in such form as the Secretary shall prescribe by 
     regulation.
       ``(3)(A) Not later than 60 days after the date on which the 
     Secretary receives an application under paragraph (2), the 
     Secretary shall approve or deny the application. The 
     Secretary shall approve an application submitted pursuant to 
     paragraph (2) if the application meets the requirements of 
     that paragraph.
       ``(B) If the Secretary fails to approve or deny an 
     application submitted under paragraph (2) before the 
     expiration of the 60-day period described in subparagraph 
     (A), the applicant may bring an action under section 1361 of 
     title 28 to compel the Secretary to either approve or deny 
     the application in accordance with this subsection.
       ``(C) Upon approval of an application submitted under 
     paragraph (2) by the Secretary and payment by the applicant 
     of such fee as the Secretary shall establish to ensure that 
     the fees collected under this subsection are sufficient to 
     cover the costs of issuing licenses under this subsection, 
     the Secretary shall issue to the applicant a license that, 
     subject to this chapter and other applicable provisions of 
     law, entitles the licensee to hold gun shows in interstate or 
     foreign commerce during the 3-year period beginning on the 
     date on which the license is issued.
       ``(4)(A) Before any person who is not licensed under this 
     subsection may transfer any firearm at a gun show--
       ``(i) the person shall provide to the holder of the gun 
     show written notice of--
       ``(I) the name, age, and address of the person and of the 
     prospective transferee (or, in the case of a party who is a 
     corporation or other business entity, the identity and 
     principal and local places of business of such party);
       ``(II) the serial number, make, and model of the firearm; 
     and
       ``(III) the date and location of the transfer; and
       ``(ii) the holder of a gun show shall comply with the 
     requirements imposed on licensed dealers by section 922(t) 
     and subsections (g)(1)(A) and (g)(3)(A) of this section with 
     respect to the transfer.
       ``(B) Not later than 30 days after the end of a gun show 
     for which a license is issued under this subsection, the 
     licensee shall deliver to the Secretary all records or 
     documents collected by the licensee pursuant to subparagraph 
     (A) with respect to that gun show.
       ``(5) In this subsection, the term `gun show' means an 
     event or function that is--
       ``(A) sponsored by--
       ``(i) a national, State, or local organization devoted to 
     the collection, competitive use, or other sporting use of 
     firearms; or
       ``(ii) an organization or association that sponsors 
     functions devoted to the collection, competitive use, or 
     other sporting use of firearms in the community; and
       ``(B) held at a location--
       ``(i) that is not specified in any license issued under 
     subsection (b) or (c);
       ``(ii) at which a firearm is offered for sale or transfer; 
     and
       ``(iii) at which not less than 50 firearms are present, not 
     less than 1 of which has been shipped or transported in 
     interstate or foreign commerce.''.
       (b) Penalties.--Section 924(a) of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(7)(A) Whoever knowingly violates section 923(m)(1) shall 
     be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, 
     or both.
       ``(B) Whoever knowingly violates subparagraph (A)(i) or (B) 
     of section 923(m)(4) shall be fined under this title, 
     imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.
       ``(C) Whoever violates section 923(m)(4)(A)(ii) by 
     knowingly failing to comply with a provision of law specified 
     in that section shall be punished as otherwise provided under 
     this section for knowingly violating that provision of 
     law.''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to any conduct engaged in after the expiration of 
     the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this 
     Act.
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