HR 4818
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4818
To combat illegal gun trafficking, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 18, 2007
Mr. KING of New York (for himself and Mr. RANGEL) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To combat illegal gun trafficking, and for other purposes.
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 `Detectives Nemorin and Andrews Anti-Gun
Trafficking Act of 2008'.
SEC. 2. ILLEGAL GUN TRAFFICKING.
Section 924 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following:
`(q) Whoever, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce in violation
of subsection (a)(1)(A), (a)(3), (a)(6), (b)(2), (b)(3), (b)(5), (d),
(g), (i), (j), (k), (m), or (n) of section 922 or subsection (c) or (h)
of this section--
`(1) offers for sale, transfer, or barter 2 or more firearms, at least
2 of which are handguns, semiautomatic assault weapons, short-barreled
shotguns, short-barreled rifles, or machineguns; and
`(2) at least 1 of the firearms--
`(A) is transported, received, or possessed by the person, and--
`(ii) has had the importer's or manufacturer's serial number removed,
obliterated, or altered; or
`(B) is offered by the person for sale, transfer, or barter to another
person who--
`(i) is prohibited from possessing a firearm under subsection (g)
or (n) of section 922;
`(ii) is prohibited by State law from possessing a firearm;
`(iii) has not attained 18 years of age, except as otherwise allowed
under Federal or State law;
`(iv) is in a school zone; or
`(v) has travelled from any State into any other State, and acquires
or attempts to acquire the firearm otherwise in violation of Federal
or State law,
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or
both.'.
SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF PROJECT SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS.
Section 104 of the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization
Act (Public Law 107-273) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting `, illegal gun trafficking,' after
`violence' ; and
(2) in subsection (b), by striking `2002' and inserting `2008'.
SEC. 4. REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.
Beginning in calendar year 2008, the Attorney General shall submit biennially
to the Congress a written report, covering the preceding 2 years, which
specifies--
(1) the State of origin for each firearm, used in a crime, that was
traced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives,
and the State in which the firearm was recovered;
(2) the total number of firearms so traced, by manufacturer, model,
and type of firearm;
(3) the name of Federal firearms licensees who have had more than 5
firearms, used in a crime, traced back to them in a single year; and
(4) the number of prosecutions for each individual offense under sections
922, 923, and 924 of title 18, United States Code.
SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL PENALTY FOR POSSESSION OF A STOLEN FIREARM DURING
THE COMMISSION OF A FELONY.
Section 924 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by section 2 of
this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(r) Whoever, during and in relation to the commission of a crime punishable
by imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year, receives, possesses, conceals,
barters, sells, or disposes of any stolen firearm or stolen ammunition,
in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, whether or not the person
is aware that the firearm or ammunition is stolen, shall, in addition
to the punishment provided for the crime so punishable, be sentenced to
a term of imprisonment of not more than 5 years.'.
SEC. 6. NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION CENTER STOLEN GUN FILE.
(a) Availability- The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall make available
to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives the National
Crime Information Center Gun File for the purpose of enabling the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to access the file while
completing a crime gun trace.
(b) Use- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives shall
conduct a search of the National Crime Information Center Stolen Gun File
with respect to each firearm submitted to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms, and Explosives for tracing.
(c) Notification Regarding Stolen Firearms- If a law enforcement agency
requests the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to trace
a firearm, and the National Crime Information Center Stolen Gun File indicates
that the firearm is stolen, then the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms,
and Explosives shall notify the law enforcement agency of that information
and provide the law enforcement agency with any available information
regarding the owner of the firearm.
(d) Return of Stolen Firearms Possessed by BATFE- If the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives possesses a firearm which the National
Crime Information Center Stolen Gun File indicates is stolen, the Bureau
shall return the firearm to the person who reported the firearm stolen,
when the Bureau determines that--
(1) the firearm is no longer needed for Federal, State, or local criminal
investigation or evidentiary purposes; and
(2) the person is entitled to possess the firearm.
(e) National Instant Stolen Gun Check System-
(1) ESTABLISHMENT- Within 2 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Attorney General shall establish a national instant stolen
gun check system that any licensee may contact, by telephone or other
electronic means, for information to be supplied immediately on whether
a firearm to be received by the licensee is stolen.
(2) INSTANT CHECK OF STATUS OF FIREARMS TO BE TRANSFERRED TO CERTAIN
FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSEES BY NON-LICENSEES- If the national instant
stolen gun check system is contacted by a licensee for information on
whether a firearm to be received by the licensee is stolen, the system
shall, as soon as is practicable--
(A) conduct a search of the National Crime Information Center Stolen
Gun File for information about the firearm; and
(B) inform the licensee whether the information available to the system
indicates that the firearm is stolen.
(3) NOTIFICATION OF LICENSEES- On establishment of the national instant
stolen gun check system under this subsection, the Attorney General
shall notify each licensee and the chief law enforement officer of each
State of the existence and purpose of the system and the means to be
used to contact the system.
(4) PERMANENT RETENTION OF RECORDS- The national instant stolen gun
check system shall create and maintain permanently a record of each
contact of the system, and all information provided to or by the system
during the contact.
(5) DEFINITIONS- In this section:
(A) LICENSEE- The term `licensee' means a licensed dealer (as defined
in section 921(a)(11) of title 18, United States Code), licensed importer
(as defined in section 921(a)(9) of such title), or licensed manufacturer
(as defined in section 921(a)(10) of such title).
(B) FIREARM- The term `firearm' has the meaning given in section 921(a)(3)
of title 18, United States Code.
(f) Federal Firearms Licensee Required To Contact National Instant Stolen
Gun Check System Before Receiving Firearm From Non-Licensee-
(1) IN GENERAL- Section 922(s) of title 18, United States Code, is amended
to read as follows:
`(s)(1) Beginning on the date that is 30 days after the Attorney General
notifies licensees under section 6(e)(3) of the Detectives Nemorin and
Andrews Anti-Gun Trafficking Act of 2008 that the national instant stolen
gun check system is established, a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer,
or licensed dealer shall not receive a firearm from any person who is
not licensed under this chapter, unless--
`(A) the licensee has verified the identity of the person by examining
a valid identification document (as defined in section 1028(d) of this
title) of the person that satisfies the requirements of section 202
of the REAL ID Act of 2005;
`(B) the licensee has contacted the national instant stolen gun check
system established under subsection (e) of such section 6, and provided
the system with--
`(i) the name and address of the person;
`(ii) a description of the identification document referred to in
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, including the number appearing
on the document; and
`(iii) the name of the manufacturer, and the caliber and serial number,
of the firearm; and
`(C)(i) the system has provided the licensee with a unique identification
number; or
`(ii) 3 business days (meaning a day on which State offices are open)
have elapsed since the licensee contacted the system, and the system
has not notified the licensee that the firearm is stolen.
`(2) If the system determines that the information available to the system
does not indicate that the firearm is stolen, the system shall--
`(A) assign a unique identification number to the transaction; and
`(B) provide the licensee with the number.
`(3) If the system notifies the licensee that the information available
to the system indicates that the firearm is stolen, the licensee shall
contact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives or another
law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over possession of stolen firearms
in the dealer's location and shall comply with the instructions of any
such agency concerning the disposition of the firearm, the gathering of
information relating to the offeror of the firearm, and other assistance
in the removal of the firearm from the stream of commerce.
`(4) If the licensee knowingly receives the firearm from the person and
knowingly fails to comply with paragraph (1) with respect to the receipt
and, at the time of the receipt, the system was operating and information
was available to the system indicating that the firearm was stolen, the
Attorney General may, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, suspend
for not more than 6 months or revoke any license issued to the licensee
under section 923, and may impose on the licensee a civil fine of not
more than $5,000.
`(5)(A) This subsection shall not be interpreted to limit any exercise
of authority under subsection (d)(1)(C) or (e) of section 923.
`(B) In the event of a conflict between the provisions of this subsection
and a rule or regulation issued under section 923(j), the provisions of
this subsection shall control.'.
(2) RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENT- Section 923(g)(1)(A) of such title is
amended by inserting after the 1st sentence the following: `In the case
of the receipt of a firearm pursuant to section 922(s), in addition
to the requirements of such regulations, the importer, manufacturer,
or dealer shall retain a record of the information described in section
922(s)(1)(B), a copy of the identification document referred to in section
922(s)(1)(A), and a record of the unique identification number provided
to the licensee pursuant to section 922(s)(1)(C), with respect to the
transaction.'.
SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL PENALTY FOR POSSESSION OF A FIREARM WITH AN OBLITERATED
SERIAL NUMBER DURING THE COMMISSION OF A FELONY.
Section 924 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by sections 2
and 5 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(s) Whoever, during and in relation to the commission of a crime punishable
by imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year, transports, possesses, or
receives, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, a firearm which
has had the importer's or manufacturer's serial number removed, obliterated,
or altered, regardless of whether or not the person is aware of the removal,
obliteration, or alteration, shall, in addition to the punishment provided
for the crime so punishable, be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of
not more than 5 years.'.
SEC. 8. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR THE USE OF A STOLEN FIREARM OR A FIREARM
WITH AN OBLITERATED SERIAL NUMBER DURING THE COMMISSION OF A CRIME OF
VIOLENCE OR DRUG TRAFFICKING CRIME.
Section 924(c)(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in clause (i), by inserting `, or if the firearm was stolen or had
the manufacturer's serial number removed, obliterated, or altered, not
less than 7 years' after `years';
(2) in clause (ii), by inserting `, or if the firearm was stolen or
had the manufacturer's serial number removed, obliterated, or altered,
not less than 9 years' after `years'; and
(3) in clause (iii), by inserting `, or if the firearm was stolen or
had the manufacturer's serial number removed, obliterated, or altered,
not less than 12 years' after `years'.
END
