HR 1501
HR1501 Yates (D-IL) 03/25/93 (377 lines)
Introduced in House
To prohibit the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer,
receipt, or transportation of handguns, in any manner affecting
interstate or foreign commerce, except for or by members of the
Armed Forces, law enforcement officials, and, as authorized by the
Secretary of the Treasury, licensed importers, manufacturers,
dealers, and pistol clubs.
Special typefaces used in this bill version:
// \\ Italic
!! !! Bold roman
Item Key: 3129
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103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1501
To prohibit the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer,
receipt, or transportation of handguns, in any manner affecting
interstate or foreign commerce, except for or by members of the
Armed Forces, law enforcement officials, and, as authorized by the
Secretary of the Treasury, licensed importers, manufacturers,
dealers, and pistol clubs.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 25, 1993
Mr. YATES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
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A BILL
To prohibit the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer,
receipt, or transportation of handguns, in any manner affecting
interstate or foreign commerce, except for or by members of the
Armed Forces, law enforcement officials, and, as authorized by the
Secretary of the Treasury, licensed importers, manufacturers,
dealers, and pistol clubs.
//Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, \\ That this Act
may be cited as the "Handgun Control Act of 1993".
SECTION 1. The Congress hereby finds and declares--
(a) that the estimated total number of handguns in private
hands has more than doubled since 1978, bringing the total to
sixty-six million;
(b) that handguns play a major role, and a role
disproportionate to their number in comparison with long guns,
in the commission of homicide, aggravated assault, and armed
robbery, and that the percentage of violent crimes in which
handguns are used is increasing;
(c) that more than one-half of all handguns are acquired
secondhand and that licensing and restrictions on sale of new
handguns will not significantly reduce handgun crime and handgun
violence;
(d) that with few exceptions handguns are not used for
sporting or recreational purposes and that such purposes do not
require keeping of handguns in private homes;
(e) that handguns in the home are of less value than is
commonly thought in defending against intruders and that such
defensive purposes can be adequately accomplished by other
means;
(f) that violent crimes perpetrated with handguns
constitute a burden upon and interfere with interstate and
foreign commerce and threaten the internal security and domestic
tranquillity of the Nation; and
(g) that a national firearms policy which restricts the
availability of handguns for nonlaw enforcement and nonmilitary
purposes will significantly reduce violent crime, reduce deaths
from handguns, and reduce other handgun violence in the United
States.
SEC. 2. Title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting
immediately after chapter 50 thereof the following new chapter:
!!"CHAPTER 50A.--HANDGUNS!!
"Sec.
"1091. Unlawful acts.
"1092. Licensing.
"1093. Penalties.
"1094. Exceptions.
"1095. Voluntary delivery to law enforcement agency; reimbursement.
"1096. Rules and regulations.
"1097. Effect on State law.
"1098. Separability clause.
"1099. Appropriations.
"1100. Definitions.
!!"S 1091. Unlawful acts!!
"(a) Except as provided in section 1094 of this chapter and in
subsection (b) of this section, it shall be unlawful for any person
to import, manufacture, sell, buy, transfer, receive, or transport
any handgun.
"(b) The Secretary may, consistent with public safety and
necessity, exempt from the operation of subsection (a) of this
section such importation, manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer,
receipt, or transportation of handguns by importers, manufacturers,
or dealers, licensed under chapter 44 of this title, and by pistol
clubs licensed under this chapter, as may in his judgment be
required for the operation of such pistol clubs or for purposes
described in section 1094 of this chapter.
!!"S 1092. Licensing!!
"(a) A pistol club desiring to be licensed under this chapter
shall file an application for such license with the Secretary. The
application shall be in such form and contain such information as
the Secretary shall by regulation prescribe. The fee for such
license shall be $25 per year.
"(b) Any importer, manufacturer, or dealer desiring to be
licensed under this chapter shall apply as provided in chapter 44 of
this title.
"(c) Any application submitted under subsection (a) shall be
approved if--
"(1) all members of the pistol club are twenty-one years of
age or older;
"(2) no member of the pistol club is prohibited from
transporting, shipping, or receiving firearms or ammunition in
interstate or foreign commerce under section 922 (g) or (h) of
this title or under the law of the State in which the club will
be located or of the State in which the member is domiciled;
"(3) no member of the pistol club has willfully violated
any of the provisions of this chapter or of chapter 44 of this
title or any regulations issued thereunder;
"(4) the pistol club has not willfully failed to disclose
any material information required, or has not made any false
statement as to any material fact, in connection with his
application; and
"(5) the pistol club has premises from which it operates
and--
"(A) maintains possession and control of the handguns
used by its members, and
"(B) has procedures and facilities for keeping such
handguns in a secure place, under the control of the club's
chief officer, at all times when they are not being used for
target shooting or other sporting or recreational purposes.
"(d)(1) The Secretary must approve or deny an application for a
license within the forty-five-day period beginning on the date it is
received. If the Secretary fails to act within such period, the
applicant may file an action under section 1361 of title 28 to
compel the Secretary to act. If the Secretary approves an
applicant's application, such applicant shall be issued a license
upon payment of the prescribed fee.
"(2) The Secretary may, after notice and opportunity for
hearing, revoke any license issued under this section if the holder
of such license has violated any provision of this chapter or of
chapter 44 of this title or any rule or regulation prescribed by the
Secretary under such chapters. The Secretary's action under this
paragraph may be reviewed only as provided in subsection (e) of this
section.
"(e)(1) Any person whose application for a license is denied
and any holder of a license which is revoked shall receive a written
notice from the Secretary stating specifically the grounds upon
which the application was denied or upon which the license was
revoked. Any notice of revocation of a license shall be given to the
holder of such license before the effective date of the revocation.
"(2) If the Secretary denies an application for, or revokes, a
license, he shall, upon request by the aggrieved party, promptly
hold a hearing to review his denial or revocation. In the case of a
revocation of a license, the Secretary shall upon the request of the
holder of the license stay the effective date of the revocation. A
hearing held under this paragraph shall be held at a location
convenient to the aggrieved party.
"(3) If after a hearing held under paragraph (2) the Secretary
decides not to reverse his decision to deny an application or revoke
a license, the Secretary shall give notice of his decision to the
aggrieved party. The aggrieved party may at any time within sixty
days after the date notice was given under this paragraph file a
petition with the United States District Court for the district in
which he resides or has his principal place of business for a
judicial review of such denial or revocation. In a proceeding
conducted under this subsection, the court may consider any evidence
submitted by the parties to the proceeding. If the court decides
that the Secretary was not authorized to deny the application or to
revoke the license, the court shall order the Secretary to take such
action as may be necessary to comply with the judgment of the court.
"(f) Each licensed pistol club shall maintain such records of
receipt, sale, or other disposition, of handguns at such place, for
such period, and in such form as the Secretary may by regulations
prescribe. Such pistol clubs shall make such records available for
inspection at all reasonable times, and shall submit to the
Secretary such reports and information with respect to such records
and the contents thereof as he shall by regulations prescribe. The
Secretary may enter at reasonable times the premises (including
places of storage) of any pistol club for the purpose of inspecting
or examining (1) any records of documents required to be kept by
such pistol club under the provisions of this chapter or chapter 44
of this title and regulations issued under such chapters, and (2)
any handguns or ammunition kept or stored by such pistol club at
such premises. Upon the request of any State or any political
subdivision thereof, the Secretary may make available to such State
or any political subdivision thereof any information which he may
obtain by reason of the provisions of this chapter with respect to
the identification of persons who are members of pistol clubs within
such State or political subdivision thereof, together with a
description of the handguns included in such pistol club's license.
"(g) Licenses issued under the provisions of subsection (c) of
this section shall be kept posted and kept available for inspection
on the premises covered by the license.
!!"S 1093. Penalties!!
"(a) Whoever violates any provision of this chapter or
knowingly makes any false statement or representation with respect
to the information required by the provisions of this chapter to be
kept in the records of a pistol club licensed under this chapter, or
in applying for any license under the provisions of this chapter,
shall be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than
five years, or both, and shall become eligible for parole as the
board of parole shall determine.
"(b) Any handgun involved or used in, or intended to be used in,
any violation of the provisions of this chapter or chapter 44 of
this title or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, or any
violation of any other criminal law of the United States, shall be
subject to seizure and forfeiture and all provisions of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1954 relating to the seizure, forfeiture, and
disposition of firearms shall, so far as applicable, extend to
seizures and forfeitures under the provisions of this chapter.
!!"S 1094. exceptions!!
"(a) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply with
respect to the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer,
receipt, or transportation of any handgun which the Secretary
determines is being imported or manufactured for, sold, or
transferred to, purchased, received, or transported by, or issued
for the use of, the United States or any department or agency
thereof or any State or any department, agency, or political
subdivision thereof.
"(b) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply with
respect to the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer,
receipt, or transportation of a handgun which the Secretary
determines is unserviceable, not restorable to firing condition, and
intended for use as a curio, museum piece, or collectors' item.
!!"S 1095. Voluntary delivery to law enforcement agency;
reimbursement!!
"(a) A person may at any time deliver to any Federal, State, or
local law enforcement agency designated by the Secretary a handgun
owned or possessed by such person. The Secretary shall arrange with
each agency designated to receive handguns for the transfer,
destruction, or other disposition of all handguns delivered under
this section.
"(b) Upon proof of lawful acquisition and ownership by a person
delivering a handgun to a law enforcement agency under this section,
the owner of the handgun shall be entitled to receive from the
United States a payment equal to the fair market value of the
handgun or $25, whichever is more. The Secretary shall provide for
the payment, directly or indirectly, through Federal, State, and
local law enforcement agencies, of the amounts to which owners of
handguns delivered under this section are entitled.
"(c) The amounts authorized in subsection (b) of this section
shall be paid out of the fees collected under section 1092(a) of
this chapter to the extent that such fees are sufficient for this
purpose. The remainder of amounts authorized in subsection (b) of
this section shall be paid out of general revenues.
!!"S 1096. Rules and regulations!!
"(a) The Secretary may prescribe such rules and regulations as
he deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter,
including--
"(1) regulations providing that a person licensed under
this chapter, when dealing with another person so licensed or
with a person licensed under chapter 44 of this title, shall
provide such other licensed person a certified copy of his
license; and
"(2) regulations providing for the issuance, at a
reasonable cost, to a person licensed under this chapter, of
certified copies of his license for use as provided under
regulations issued under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
"(b) The Secretary shall give reasonable public notice, and
afford to interested parties opportunity for hearing, prior to
prescribing rules and regulations authorized by this section.
!!"S 1097. Effect on State law!!
"No provision of this chapter shall be construed as indicating
an intent on the part of the Congress to occupy the field in which
such provision operates to the exclusion of the law of any State on
the same subject, unless there is a direct and positive conflict
between such provision and the law of the State so that the two
cannot be reconciled or consistently stand together.
!!"S 1098. Separability!!
"If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to
any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the
chapter and the application of such provision to other persons not
similarly situated or to other circumstances shall not be affected
thereby.
!!"S 1099. Appropriations!!
"There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are
necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
!!"S 1100. Definitions!!
"As used in this chapter--
"(1) The term `person' and the term `whoever' include any
individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership,
club, society, or joint-stock company.
"(2) The term `importer' means any person engaged in the
business of importing or bringing handguns into the United
States for purposes of sale or distribution; and the term
`licensed importer' means any such person licensed under the
provisions of chapter 44 of this title.
"(3) The term `manufacturer' means any person engaged in
the manufacture or assembly of handguns for the purposes of sale
or distribution; and the term `licensed manufacturer' means any
such person licensed under the provisions of chapter 44 of this
title.
"(4) The term `dealer' means (A) any person engaged in the
business of selling handguns at wholesale or retail, (B) any
person engaged in the business of repairing handguns or of
making or fitting special barrels, or trigger mechanisms to
handguns, or (C) any person who is a pawnbroker. The term
`licensed dealer' means any dealer who is licensed under the
provisions of chapter 44 of this title.
"(5) The term `collector' means any person who acquires,
holds, or disposes of handguns as curios, or relics, as the
Secretary shall by regulation define, and the term `licensed
collector' means any such person licensed under the provisions
of chapter 44 of this title.
"(6) The term `Secretary' or `Secretary of the Treasury'
means the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate.
"(7) The term `handgun' means any weapon--
"(A) designed or redesigned, or made, or remade, and
intended to be fired while held in one hand;
"(B) having a barrel less than ten inches in length;
and
"(C) designed or redesigned, or made or remade, to use
the energy of an explosive to expel a projectile or
projectiles through a smooth or rifled bore.
"(8) The term `pistol club' means a club organized for
target shooting with handguns or to use handguns for sporting or
other recreational purposes and which--
"(A) maintains possession and control of the handguns
used by its members, and
"(B) has procedures and facilities for keeping such
handguns in a secure place, under the control of the club's
chief officer, at all times when they are not being used for
target shooting, sporting, or other recreational purposes.
The term `licensed pistol club' means any pistol club which
is licensed under this chapter.".
SEC. 3. The enforcement and administration of the amendment
made by this Act shall be vested in the Secretary of the Treasury.
SEC. 4. Nothing in this Act or the amendment made thereby shall
be construed as modifying or affecting any provision of--
(a) the National Firearms Act (chapter 53 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1954);
(b) section 414 of the Mutual Security Act of 1954 (22
U.S.C. 1934), as amended, relating to munitions control; or
(c) section 1715 of title 18, United States Code, relating
to nonmailable firearms.
SEC. 5. The provisions of this Act shall take effect one year
from the date of enactment.