H.R. 4173 — Preventing Pretrial Gun Purchases Act

This section amends the Gun Control Act of 1968 to (1) define "pretrial release order" in 18 U.S.C. §921(a) as an order of a Federal, State, Tribal, or local court governing the release of an arrested person pending trial; (2) prohibit in §922(d) licensed importers, manufacturers, and dealers from selling or disposing of firearms or ammunition to persons subject to such an order that prohibits purchasing, possessing, or receiving firearms (as a new prohibited category); and (3) make conforming amendments throughout §922(t) to national instant criminal background check requirements to reference knowing sales or dispositions that would violate the new prohibition (previously referenced only receipt in some instances). (Thus, licensed dealers must deny transfers to such persons after a background check denial or denial notice.)

This section makes conforming amendments to federal firearms laws to consistently reference prohibitions on the knowing sale or disposition of firearms or ammunition under 18 U.S.C. §922(d) (i.e., to fugitives from justice; unlawful users or addicts of controlled substances; persons adjudicated as mental defectives, committed to mental institutions, or subject to certain restraining orders; illegal or nonimmigrant aliens; dishonorably discharged military personnel; persons who have renounced U.S. citizenship; and domestic violence misdemeanants) alongside existing prohibitions under §922(g) (unlawful possession by prohibited persons, such as felons) and §922(n) (sales to persons under felony indictment). Specifically, the section: (1) amends 18 U.S.C. §923(d)(1)(B) to disqualify from federal firearms licenses persons prohibited by §922(g) or (n) and those to whom sales or dispositions are prohibited by §922(d); (2) amends 18 U.S.C. §925A(2) to require that firearms transferred by unlicensed persons via background checks be to recipients not prohibited by §922(d) or state law; (3) amends specified provisions of §103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (34 U.S.C. §40901) to expand background check requirements and denial categories to include §922(d) alongside (g) and/or (n); and (4) amends Title I of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (34 U.S.C. §40911 et seq.) to include §922(d) in state reporting requirements for prohibited persons and mental health adjudications, with additional clarifications on military pretrial release orders.

This section authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to states and Indian tribes to report covered pretrial release orders—i.e., state, tribal, or local court orders prohibiting firearm or ammunition possession (as defined in 18 U.S.C. §921) for individuals released pending trial—to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Such grants are in addition to funding under the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP, 34 U.S.C. §10132(c)(19)) or NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP, 34 U.S.C. §40913), with $25 million authorized for each of FY2026 through FY2030.