[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3444 Introduced in House (IH)]
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3444
To repeal section 658 of Public Law 104-208, commonly referred to as
the Lautenberg amendment.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 18, 1999
Mrs. Chenoweth-Hage (for herself, Mr. Barr of Georgia, Mr. Watts of
Oklahoma, Mr. Doolittle, Mrs. Cubin, Mr. Gibbons, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Young
of Alaska, Mr. McIntosh, Mr. Paul, Mr. Goode, Mr. Hastings of
Washington, Mr. Cannon, Mr. Smith of Michigan, Mr. Skeen, Mr. Pickett,
Mr. Hill of Montana, Mr. Bateman, Mr. Ryun of Kansas, and Mr. Wicker)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To repeal section 658 of Public Law 104-208, commonly referred to as
the Lautenberg amendment.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``States' Rights and Second and Tenth
Amendment Restoration Act of 1999''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Congressional findings:
(1) Domestic Violence remains a very serious problem in the
United States. It is a dangerous crime and should be punished
as such, including, where appropriate, as a felony.
(2) Many States have classified Domestic Violence crimes as
misdemeanors, others as felonies. States are the proper
authority, rather than the Federal Government, to classify
Domestic Violence offenses.
(3) Where appropriate, States should classify Domestic
Violence offenses as a felony.
(4) Section 658 of Public Law 104-208, commonly referred to
as the Lautenberg amendment, oversteps Federal authority,
violating States' rights, because no nexus has been shown to
exist between Domestic Violence and interstate commerce.
(5) The Lautenberg amendment does not deal with a subject
delegated to Congress under article I, section 8 of the
Constitution of the United States and is therefore
unconstitutional under the tenth amendment to the Constitution,
as interpreted by United States v. Lopez.
(6) The Lautenberg amendment oversteps Congress's power to
regulate commerce as delineated by the Commerce Clause of the
United States Constitution.
(7) Some of the strictest gun control laws are found in
cities where the number of incidents of guns being used in
violent crimes is the highest. Therefore, the Lautenberg
amendment does not reduce incidents of domestic violence.
(8) State and Federal judges already have the power to deny
persons convicted of misdemeanors the right to possess firearms
as a condition of probation or parole.
(9) The Lautenberg amendment is an unfunded Federal mandate
because States are liable for the costs of monitoring those
citizens who have been banned for life from owning a firearm.
Many times this lifetime ban is a result of a misdemeanor, not
a felony.
(10) Section 658 of the Treasury-Postal portion of Public
Law 104-208 violates all notions of constitutional due process
and constitutes an ex post facto law because it imposes a
criminal penalty on crimes which were not subject to that
penalty at the time of the Act.
(11) Law-abiding citizens use guns to defend themselves
against criminals as many as 2.5 million times every year. Of
these self-defense cases, as many as 200,000 are by women
defending themselves against sexual assault.
(12) Section 658 of the Treasury-Postal portion of Public
Law 104-208 will, if allowed to stand, result in the disarming
of millions of citizens, including women, on account of
misdemeanor offenses which, in many cases, were committed long
before the effective date of that Act.
(13) Section 658 of the Treasury-Postal portion of Public
Law 104-208 will, in many cases, disarm battered women who need
access to firearms in order to protect themselves from their
battering spouses as well as from common criminals.
(14) Section 658 of the Treasury-Postal portion of Public
Law 104-208 will, if allowed to stand, impose a lifetime gun
ban on persons who committed acts so minor that they were not
even entitled to a jury trial prior to conviction.
(15) Section 658 of the Treasury-Postal portion of Public
Law 104-208, will, if allowed to stand, result in the disarming
and dismissal of a significant number of law enforcement
officers and American servicemen, on account of misdemeanors,
which in many cases, were committed long before the effective
date of that Act.
(16) Section 658 of the Treasury-Postal portion of Public
Law 104-208 ignores the real problem surrounding domestic
violence in that truly violent offenders are allowed to plea-
bargain down to misdemeanors.
(b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to restore States'
rights, the tenth amendment, and second amendment freedoms.
SEC. 3. REPEALER.
Section 658 of the Treasury-Postal portion of Public Law 104-208 is
repealed and is null and void as if it had not been enacted, and all
provisions of law amended by such section are restored as if section
658 had not been enacted.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall take effect immediately upon enactment.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime.
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