Directs the Attorney General to: (1) prescribe such regulations governing the design, manufacture, and performance of trigger lock devices as are necessary to reduce or prevent the unintentional discharge of handguns, including setting a minimum safety standard to prevent children who have not attained age 18 from operating a handgun; and (2) in developing the standard, to consider such devices that are not detachable.
Authorizes the Attorney General to issue an order prohibiting the manufacture, sale, transfer, or delivery of a trigger lock device which the Attorney General finds has been designed, manufactured, transferred, or distributed in violation of this Act. Grants the Attorney General specified authority regarding: (1) recall, repair, replacement, or refund with respect to such devices; and (2) inspections.
Authorizes the Attorney General to: (1) assess a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation; and (2) revoke a Federal firearms license for a violation of this Act. Imposes criminal penalties for knowingly violating this Act.
Directs that a portion of firearms tax revenue be used for public education programs on the safe storage and use of firearms.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 165 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 165
To improve the safety of firearms.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 4, 2005
Ms. Millender-McDonald introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the safety of firearms.
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 ``Child Safety Lock Act of 2005''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) according to statistics from the Centers for Disease
Control, more than 5,000 innocent children have lost their
lives due to unintentional deaths related to firearms;
(2) between 1983 and 1994, 5,523 males ranging in ages from
1 to 19, were killed by the unintentional discharge of a
firearm;
(3) a Federal study found that ignorance and carelessness
are the major causes of firearms accidents;
(4) 84 percent of firearms accidents involved people who
did not follow basic safety rules; and
(5) to help reduce the number of firearms accidents, it is
critical to practice and enforce firearms safety rules.
TITLE I--CRIMINAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 101. HANDGUN SAFETY.
(a) Definition of Locking Device.--Section 921(a) of title 18,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(36) The term `locking device' means--
``(A) a device which, if installed on a firearm and secured
by means of a key or a mechanically, electronically, or
electromechanically operated combination lock, prevents the
firearm from being discharged without first deactivating or
removing the device by means of a key or mechanically,
electronically, or electromechanically operated combination
lock; or
``(B) a locking mechanism incorporated into the design of a
firearm which prevents discharge of the firearm by any person
who does not have access to the key or other device designed to
unlock the mechanism and thereby allow discharge of the
firearm.''.
(b) Unlawful Acts.--Section 922 of such title is amended by
inserting after subsection (y) the following:
``(z) Locking Devices and Warnings.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2),
beginning 90 days after the date of the enactment of this
subsection, it shall be unlawful for any licensed manufacturer,
licensed importer, or licensed dealer to sell, deliver, or
transfer a handgun to any person, unless--
``(A) the transferee is provided with a locking
device for that handgun; and
``(B) the handgun is accompanied by the following
warning, which shall appear in conspicuous and legible
type in capital letters, and which shall be printed on
a label affixed to the handgun and on a separate sheet
of paper included in the packaging enclosing the
handgun:
`THE USE OF A LOCKING DEVICE OR SAFETY LOCK IS ONLY
ONE ASPECT OF RESPONSIBLE FIREARM STORAGE. HANDGUNS
SHOULD BE STORED UNLOADED AND LOCKED IN A LOCATION THAT
IS BOTH SEPARATE FROM THEIR AMMUNITION AND INACCESSIBLE
TO CHILDREN.
`FAILURE TO PROPERLY LOCK AND STORE YOUR HANDGUN
MAY RESULT IN CIVIL OR CRIMINAL LIABILITY UNDER STATE
LAW. FEDERAL LAW PROHIBITS THE POSSESSION OF A HANDGUN
BY A MINOR IN MOST CIRCUMSTANCES.'
``(2) Exceptions.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the
sale, delivery, or transfer of a handgun to--
``(A) the United States or a department or agency
of the United States, or a State or a department,
agency, or political subdivision of a State;
``(B) a law enforcement officer (whether on or off-
duty) who is employed by an entity referred to in
subparagraph (A), for law enforcement purposes; or
``(C) a rail police officer (whether on or off-
duty) who is employed by a rail carrier and is
certified or commissioned as a police officer under the
laws of a State, for law enforcement purposes.''.
(c) Civil Penalties.--Section 924 of such title is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``this subsection,
subsection (b), (c), or (f) of this section,'' and inserting
``this section''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(p) Penalties Relating to Locking Devices and Warnings.--
``(1) In general.--
``(A) Suspension or revocation of license; civil
penalties.--With respect to each violation of section
922(z)(1) by a licensee, the Attorney General may,
after notice and opportunity for hearing--
``(i) suspend or revoke any license issued
to the licensee under this chapter; or
``(ii) impose a civil penalty on the
licensee in an amount that is not more than
$10,000.
``(B) Review.--An action of the Attorney General
under this paragraph may be reviewed only as provided
in section 923(f).
``(2) Administrative remedies.--The taking of an action
under paragraph (1) with respect to conduct of a licensee shall
not affect the availability of any other administrative
authority with respect to the conduct.''.
TITLE II--REGULATORY PROVISIONS
SEC. 201. REGULATION OF TRIGGER LOCK DEVICES.
(a) General Authority.--The Attorney General shall prescribe such
regulations governing the design, manufacture, and performance of
trigger lock devices, as are necessary to reduce or prevent the
unintentional discharge of handguns.
(b) Minimum Safety Standard.--The regulations required by
subsection (a) shall, at a minimum, set forth a minimum safety standard
that trigger lock devices must meet in order to be manufactured, sold,
transferred, or delivered consistent with this title. In developing the
standard, the Attorney General shall give appropriate consideration to
trigger lock devices that are not detachable, but are permanently
installed and incorporated into the design of a handgun. The standard
shall include provisions to ensure that any trigger lock device that
meets the standard is of adequate quality and construction to prevent
children who have not attained 18 years of age from operating a
handgun, and to ensure that such a product cannot be removed from a
handgun except through the use of a key, combination, or other method
of access provided in the design specifications of the manufacturer of
the device.
(c) Deadline for Issuance of Standard.--Within 12 months after the
date of the enactment of this title, the Attorney General shall issue
in final form the standard required by subsection (b).
(d) Effective Date of Standard.--The standard issued under
subsection (b) shall take effect 6 months after the date of issuance.
SEC. 202. ORDERS; INSPECTIONS.
(a) In General.--The Attorney General may issue an order
prohibiting the manufacture, sale, transfer, or delivery of a trigger
lock device which the Attorney General finds has been designed, or has
been or is intended to be manufactured, transferred, or distributed in
violation of this title or a regulation prescribed under this title.
(b) Authority to Require the Recall, Repair, or Replacement of, or
the Provision of Refunds.--The Attorney General may issue an order
requiring the manufacturer of, and any dealer in, a trigger lock device
which the Attorney General finds has been designed, manufactured,
transferred, or delivered in violation of this title or a regulation
prescribed under this title, to--
(1) provide notice of the risks associated with the device,
and of how to avoid or reduce the risks, to--
(A) the public;
(B) in the case of the manufacturer of the device,
each dealer in the device; and
(C) in the case of a dealer in the device, the
manufacturer of the device and the other persons known
to the dealer as dealers in the device;
(2) bring the device into conformity with the regulations
prescribed under this title;
(3) repair the device;
(4) replace the device with a like or equivalent device
which is in compliance with such regulations;
(5) refund the purchase price of the device, or, if the
device is more than 1 year old, a lesser amount based on the
value of the device after reasonable use;
(6) recall the device from the stream of commerce; or
(7) submit to the Attorney General a satisfactory plan for
implementation of any action required under this subsection.
(c) Inspections.--In order to ascertain compliance with this title
and the regulations and orders issued under this title, the Attorney
General may, at reasonable times--
(1) enter any place in which trigger lock devices are
manufactured, stored, or held, for distribution in commerce,
and inspect those areas where the devices are manufactured,
stored, or held; and
(2) enter and inspect any conveyance being used to
transport for commercial purposes a trigger lock device.
SEC. 203. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Civil Penalties.--The Attorney General may assess a civil money
penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each violation of this title.
(b) Revocation of Federal Firearms License.--Section 923(e) of
title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the 2nd
sentence the following: ``The Attorney General may, after notice and
opportunity for hearing, revoke any license issued under this section
if the holder of the license violates any provision of title II of the
Child Safety Lock Act of 2005 or any rule or regulation prescribed
under such title.''.
(c) Criminal Penalties.--Any person who has received from the
Attorney General a notice that the person has violated a provision of
this title or of a regulation prescribed under this title with respect
to a trigger lock device, and who subsequently knowingly violates such
provision with respect to the device shall be fined under title 18,
United States Code, imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.
SEC. 204. NO EFFECT ON STATE LAW.
This title does not annul, alter, impair, or affect, or exempt any
person subject to the provisions of this title from complying with, any
provision of the law of any State or any political subdivision thereof,
except to the extent that such provisions of State law are inconsistent
with any provision of this title, and then only to the extent of the
inconsistency. A provision of State law is not inconsistent with this
title if such provision affords greater protection in respect of
trigger lock devices than is afforded by this title.
SEC. 205. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) The term ``trigger lock device'' means any device that
is designed, manufactured, or represented in commerce, as a
means of preventing the unintentional discharge of a handgun.
(2) The terms ``licensed importer'', ``licensed
manufacturer'', ``licensed dealer'', ``Attorney General'', and
``handgun'' have the meanings given in paragraphs (9), (10),
(11), (18), and (29), respectively, of section 921(a) of title
18, United States Code.
TITLE III--EDUCATION PROVISIONS
SEC. 301. PORTION OF FIREARMS TAX REVENUE TO BE USED FOR PUBLIC
EDUCATION ON SAFE STORAGE OF FIREARMS.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an
amount equal to 2 percent of the net revenues received in the Treasury
from the tax imposed by section 4181 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 (relating to firearms) for each of the first 5 fiscal years
beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act shall be
available, as provided in appropriation Acts, to the Secretary of the
Treasury to carry out public education programs on the safe storage and
use of firearms. Amounts otherwise transferred or made available for
any other purpose by reason of such tax shall be reduced by the amounts
made available to such Secretary under the preceding sentence.
(b) Net Revenues.--For purposes of subsection (a), the term ``net
revenues'' means, with respect to the tax imposed by such section 4181,
the amount estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury based on the
excess of--
(1) the taxes received in the Treasury under such section,
over
(2) the decrease in the tax imposed by chapter 1 of such
Code resulting from such tax.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
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