“A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to require licenses to acquire or receive firearms, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes a federal licensing system, administered by the Attorney General, requiring individuals to obtain a Federal Firearm Purchasing License to purchase, receive, or possess a firearm (except as provided in subsection (d)). The system requires applicants to (1) complete firearms safety training, including a written test on applicable laws and hands-on firing proficiency testing; (2) submit proof of identity, fingerprints, and identifying information for the specific firearm (i.e., make, model, serial number, and seller/transferor); and (3) undergo a background investigation, with licenses issued or denied within 30 days, available at local urban and rural offices, valid for purchase of one firearm within 30 days of issuance, and expiring five years after issuance. The Attorney General must deny a license if the applicant violates prohibitions in 18 U.S.C. §922(d), (g), or (n) or state law, or poses a significant danger of bodily injury to self or others (considering factors such as violent history, domestic violence orders, animal cruelty, or unsafe firearm handling), with input permitted from state/local officials and judicial review available for danger-based denials. The section further authorizes license revocation for the same reasons, with notice, a hearing within 30 days in federal district court for danger-based revocations, and procedures for firearm removal (potentially returnable to the individual).
This section prohibits any person who is not a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer from transferring a firearm to another such unlicensed person unless a licensee first takes possession of the firearm to comply with background check requirements under 18 U.S.C. 922(t). (As background, subsection (t) requires licensees to conduct National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) checks before most firearm transfers.) Upon taking possession, the licensee must comply with all applicable requirements as if transferring the firearm from its inventory, and if the transfer does not proceed (including due to a failed background check), the licensee's return of the firearm to the transferor does not constitute a transfer under this chapter. (Thus, all private firearm transfers between unlicensed persons must be routed through a federal firearms licensee.)
This section prohibits any person from (1) selling or otherwise disposing of a firearm to any person lacking a license under section 935 or a substantially similar state law (as determined by the Attorney General) issued during the previous 30 days, or (2) failing to report such a sale or disposal to relevant law enforcement agencies.