[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 9, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3695-S3696]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. Lautenberg, Mrs. Boxer, and 
        Mr. Schumer):
  S. 2525. A bill to provide for the implementation of a system of 
licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale 
system for those firearms, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
the Judiciary.


            firearm licensing and record of sale act of 2000

 Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, on any given day in the United 
States 80 people are killed by gun violence, 12 of them children. 
Seeking to bring an end to this senseless violence, supporters of 
sensible gun laws are coming together this Mothers' Day from all over 
the country to participate in the Million Mom March and say to 
Congress: ``Enough is Enough.''
  We share a common purpose: The passage of sensible gun laws that will 
hopefully help save lives.
  This common goal includes moving forward with the four, common-sense 
gun measures passed by this body almost a full year ago--trigger locks, 
closing the gun show loophole, banning the importation of large 
capacity ammunition magazines, and banning juvenile possession of 
assault weapons.
  And beyond those four common sense measures, the mothers flooding 
into Washington are calling for legislation to license gun owners and 
keep track of guns.
  Earlier today, I stood with some of those moms, with Donna Dees-
Thomases, the head of the Million Mom March, with Chief Ramsey of the 
District of Columbia Police Department, with representatives of Handgun 
Control and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, and with several of my 
colleagues to announce the introduction of a bill to take the next step 
in the fight to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and juveniles.
  And so I now rise to introduce the ``Firearm Licensing and Record of 
Sale Act of 2000,'' which I believe represents a common-sense approach 
to guns and gun violence in America.
  I am pleased to be joined in this effort by Senators Frank 
Lautenberg, Barbara Boxer and Charles Schumer. And I am pleased that 
Representative Marty Meehan from Massachusetts will soon be introducing 
this legislation in the House. I know that this will be an uphill 
battle, and I don't expect this bill to pass overnight. But it is my

[[Page S3696]]

hope that in the coming months, more of our colleagues in both Houses 
will join us and help us to move this bill forward until we succeed.
  Mr. President, in this country, when you want to hunt, you get a 
hunting license; when you want to fish, you get a fishing license. But 
when you want to buy a gun, no license is necessary. That makes no 
sense.
  We register cars and license drivers. We register pesticides and 
license exterminators. We register animal carriers and researchers, we 
register gambling devices. And we register a whole host of other goods 
and activities--even ``international expositions,'' believe it or not, 
must be registered with the Bureau of International Expositions!
  But when it comes to guns and gun owners--no license and no 
registration, despite the loss of more than 32,000 lives a year from 
gun violence.
  To this end, I have worked with law enforcement officials and other 
experts in drafting the bill we are introducing today.
  Upon enactment of this legislation, anyone purchasing a handgun or 
semi-automatic weapon that takes detachable ammunition magazines will 
be required to have a license. Shotguns and a large number of common 
hunting guns are not covered by the requirements of this bill.
  Current owners of these weapons will have up to 10 years to obtain a 
license.
  The bill sets up a federal system, but allows states to opt out if 
they adopt a system at least as effective as the federal program.
  Under this bill, anyone wishing to obtain a firearm license will need 
to go to a federally licensed firearms dealer. There are currently more 
than 100,000 such dealers across the country--to put that in some 
perspective, there are four times more gun dealers in America than 
there are McDonald's restaurants in the entire world. Operating the 
federal licensing system through these licensed dealers will minimize 
the burden on those wishing to obtain a license.
  If a state opts-out of the federal program, an individual will go to 
a State-designated entity, like a local sheriff, local police 
department, or even Department of Motor Vehicles. It will all depend on 
where the state feels is best.
  Either way, the purchaser will then need to:
  Provide information as to date and place of birth and name and 
address;
  Submit a thumb print;
  Submit a current photograph;
  Sign, under penalty of perjury, that all of the submitted information 
is true and that the applicant is qualified under federal law to 
possess a firearm; Pass a written firearms safety test, requiring 
knowledge of the safe storage and handling of firearms, the legal 
responsibilities of firearm ownership, and other factors as determined 
by the state or federal authority;
  Sign a pledge to keep any firearm safely stored and out of the hands 
of juveniles (this pledge will be backed up by criminal penalties of up 
to three years in jail for anyone failing to do so);

  Undergo state and federal background checks.
  Licenses will be renewable every five years, and can be revoked at 
any time if the licensee becomes disqualified under federal law from 
owning or possessing a gun.
  And the fee for a license cannot exceed $25.
  Once the bill takes effect, all future sales and transfers of 
firearms falling within the scope of the bill will have to be recorded 
through a federally licensed firearms dealer, with an accompanying NICS 
background check. That way, law enforcement agencies will have easier 
access to information leading to the arrest of persons who use guns in 
crime.
  The bill covers both handguns and other guns that are semi-automatic 
and can accept detachable magazines.
  The legislation covers handguns because statistically, these guns are 
used in more crimes than any other. In fact, approximately 85 percent 
of all firearm homicides involve a handgun.
  And the legislation also covers semi-automatic firearms that can 
accept detachable magazines, because these are the kind of assault 
weapons that have the potential to destroy the largest number of lives 
in the shortest period of time.
  A gun that can take a detachable magazine can also take a large 
capacity magazine. Combine that with semi-automatic, rapid fire, and 
you have a deadly combination--as we have seen time and again in recent 
years.
  Put simply, this legislation will cover those firearms that represent 
the greatest threat to the safety of innocent men, women and children 
in this nation.
  Common hunting rifles, shotguns and other firearms that cannot accept 
detachable magazines will remain exempt.
  This represents a compromise between those who would rather not have 
this bill at all, and those of us who believe that universal coverage 
of all firearms would be appropriate.
  Penalties will vary depending on the severity of the violation. But 
in no case will gun owners face jail time simply because they forgot to 
get a license:
  Those who fail to get a license will face fines of between $500 (for 
a first offense) and $5,000 for subsequent offenses.
  Failing to report a change of address or the loss of a firearm will 
also result in penalties between $500 and $5,000, because this system 
works best for law enforcement when the perpetrators of gun crime can 
be quickly traced and arrested;
  Dealers who fail to maintain adequate records will face up to 2 years 
in prison--dealers know their responsibilities, and this will give law 
enforcement the tools necessary to root out bad dealers and prevent the 
straw purchases and other violations of law that allow criminals easy 
access to a continuing flow of guns;
  And adults who recklessly or knowingly allow a child access to a 
firearm face up to three years in prison if the child uses the gun to 
kill or seriously injure another person. In this way, the bill truly 
puts a new sense of responsibility onto gun owners in America.
  Mr. President, law enforcement in California tells me that a 
licensing and record of sale system like the one I am introducing today 
will help law enforcement, upon recovery of a firearm used in crime, to 
track the gun down to the person who sold it, and then to the person 
who bought it.

  And this legislation also sets in place a method through which we can 
better attempt to ensure that gun owners are responsible and trained in 
the use and care of their dangerous possessions.
  We have tried to minimize the burden of this bill at every turn:

       The licensing process will take place through federally 
     licensed firearms dealers--as I mentioned earlier, there are 
     currently more than 100,000 in this country;
       The fee for a license will be only $25;
       Current gun owners will have ten years to get a license, 
     and guns now in homes will not have to be registered.
       Future gun transfers will simply be recorded by licensed 
     dealers--as they are now--and a system will be put in place 
     to allow the quick tracing of guns used in crime. Gun owners 
     themselves will not have to register their old guns or send 
     any paperwork to the government.
  Mr. President, this nation is awash in guns--there are more than 200 
million of them in the United States. The problem of gun violence is 
not going away, and accidental deaths from firearms rob us of countless 
innocents each year.
  Too many lives are lost every year simply because gun owners do not 
know how to use or store their firearms--particularly around children. 
In fact, according to a study released early last year, in 1996 alone 
there were more than 1,100 unintentional shooting deaths and more than 
18,000 firearm suicides--many of which might have been prevented if the 
person intent on suicide did not have easy access to a gun owned by 
somebody else. It is my hope that the provisions of this bill, 
particularly with regard to child access prevention, will begin the 
process of making it harder for children and others to gain easy access 
to firearms.
  I know that this bill will not pass overnight. We have a long process 
of education ahead of us. But the American people are with us. The 
facts are with us. And common sense is with us.
  I thank the Senate for its consideration of this measure, and I look 
forward to working with each of my colleagues to move this bill forward 
in the coming months.
                                 ______