Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act
This bill amends several appropriations laws to remove limitations on the authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to conduct activities related to the administration of federal firearms laws.
Specifically, the bill removes provisions that
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2282 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2282
To repeal certain impediments to the administration of the firearms
laws.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 29, 2021
Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mrs. Kirkpatrick,
Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Carson, Ms.
Pressley, Mr. Meeks, Ms. Norton, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Hastings, Mr.
Gallego, Mr. Case, Ms. Schakowsky, and Mr. Blumenauer) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To repeal certain impediments to the administration of the firearms
laws.
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 ``Gun Records Restoration and
Preservation Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) The Tiahrt Amendments prevent the collection of
valuable information, and the establishment of effective
policies to prevent illegal guns from being used in crimes.
(2) The Tiahrt Amendments impede enforcement of the gun
laws by requiring most background check records to be destroyed
within 24 hours, and by barring the Federal Government from
requiring annual inventory audits by owners of gun shops.
(3) A 2012 study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health found that the Tiahrt Amendments
dramatically increased gun trafficking to the criminal market.
(4) A 2016 study from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate
School of Public Health found that in 2008, 79 percent of all
guns recovered by police from crime scenes belonged to someone
other than the perpetrator--30 percent had been stolen.
(5) Every year, more than 123,000 Americans are shot.
(6) 2020 was one of the deadliest years on record for the
United States, with an estimated 19,300 people killed in
firearm homicides or non-suicide related shootings, which is a
25-percent increase over 2019.
(7) In 2019, 58.9 percent of firearm homicide victims were
Black and 15.9 percent of firearm homicide victims were
Hispanic.
(8) In 2019, the National Tracing Center at the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives processed 450,000
trace requests on firearms from Federal, State, and local law
enforcement.
(9) Having effective policies to prevent illegal gun
trafficking makes our families and communities safer.
(10) Repealing the Tiahrt Amendments would support law
enforcement efforts and give the public vital information
needed to craft the most effective policies against illegal
guns.
SEC. 3. REPEAL OF CERTAIN LIMITATIONS ON THE USE OF DATABASE
INFORMATION OF THE BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS
AND EXPLOSIVES.
(a) The matter under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in title II of
division B of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations
Act, 2012 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public Law 112-55; 125 Stat. 609-610) is
amended by striking the 6th proviso.
(b) The 6th proviso under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in title II of
division B of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (18 U.S.C. 923
note; Public Law 111-117; 123 Stat. 3128-3129) is amended by striking
``beginning in fiscal year 2010 and thereafter'' and inserting ``in
fiscal year 2010''.
(c) The 6th proviso under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in title II of
division B of the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (18 U.S.C. 923 note;
Public Law 111-8; 123 Stat. 574-576) is amended by striking ``beginning
in fiscal year 2009 and thereafter'' and inserting ``in fiscal year
2009''.
(d) The 6th proviso under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in title II of
division B of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (18 U.S.C. 923
note; Public Law 110-161; 121 Stat. 1903-1904) is amended by striking
``beginning in fiscal year 2008 and thereafter'' and inserting ``in
fiscal year 2008''.
(e) The 6th proviso under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in title I of the
Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations
Act, 2006 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public Law 109-108; 119 Stat. 2295-2296)
is amended by striking ``under this or any other Act with respect to
any fiscal year''.
(f) The 6th proviso under the heading in title I of division B of
the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public
Law 108-447; 118 Stat. 2859-2860) is amended by striking ``under this
or any other Act with respect to any fiscal year''.
SEC. 4. ELIMINATION OF PROHIBITION ON PROCESSING OF FREEDOM OF
INFORMATION ACT REQUESTS ABOUT ARSON OR EXPLOSIVES
INCIDENTS OR FIREARM TRACES.
Section 644 of division J of the Consolidated Appropriations
Resolution, 2003 (5 U.S.C. 552 note; Public Law 108-7; 117 Stat. 473)
is repealed.
SEC. 5. REPEAL OF LIMITATIONS ON IMPOSITION OF REQUIREMENT THAT
FIREARMS DEALERS CONDUCT PHYSICAL CHECK OF FIREARMS
INVENTORY.
The 5th proviso under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in title II of
division B of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations
Act, 2013 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public Law 113-6; 127 Stat. 248) is
amended by striking ``and any fiscal year thereafter''.
SEC. 6. ELIMINATION OF PROHIBITION ON CONSOLIDATION OR CENTRALIZATION
IN THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OF FIREARMS ACQUISITION AND
DISPOSITION RECORDS MAINTAINED BY FEDERAL FIREARMS
LICENSEES.
The matter under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in title II of division B of
the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012 (18
U.S.C. 923 note; Public Law 112-55; 125 Stat. 609) is amended by
striking the 1st proviso.
SEC. 7. REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT TO DESTROY INSTANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND
CHECK RECORDS WITHIN 24 HOURS.
Section 511 of the Consolidated and Further Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2012 (18 U.S.C. 922 note; Public Law 112-55; 125
Stat. 632) is amended--
(1) by striking ``--'' and all that follows through
``(1)''; and
(2) by striking the semicolon and all that follows and
inserting a period.
<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.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line