GUN CONTROL BILL FILED IN HOUSE - 01/06/09

[DaveT]

Read it and take action.....

On January 6, 2009, Congressman Bobby Rush from Illinois introduced HR 45 to the 111th Congress. It is a sweeping bill requiring registration of all firearms (except antiques) and Federal level licensing of all gun owners.

Congressman Rush is the same Congressman from Illinois that was all over the media last week claiming that the U.S. Senate was racist because they did not seat Roland Burris.

Due to length, this is in 2 parts:

(Blair Holt was a kid killed on a bus with a firearm.)

Part 1 of HR 45 Text:

H.R.45
Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 (Introduced in House)

HR 45 IH

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 45
To provide for the implementation of a system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale system for those firearms, and for other purposes.


IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 6, 2009
Mr. RUSH (Bobby Rush from Illinois) [/I] introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL
To provide for the implementation of a system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale system for those firearms, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as `Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009'.

(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

TITLE I--LICENSING

Sec. 101. Licensing requirement.

Sec. 102. Application requirements.

Sec. 103. Issuance of license.

Sec. 104. Renewal of license.

Sec. 105. Revocation of license.

TITLE II--RECORD OF SALE OR TRANSFER

Sec. 201. Sale or transfer requirements for qualifying firearms.

Sec. 202. Firearm records.

TITLE III--ADDITIONAL PROHIBITIONS

Sec. 301. Universal background check requirement.

Sec. 302. Failure to maintain or permit inspection of records.

Sec. 303. Failure to report loss or theft of firearm.

Sec. 304. Failure to provide notice of change of address.

Sec. 305. Child access prevention.

TITLE IV--ENFORCEMENT

Sec. 401. Criminal penalties.

Sec. 402. Regulations.

Sec. 403. Inspections.

Sec. 404. Orders.

Sec. 405. Injunctive enforcement.

TITLE V--FIREARM INJURY INFORMATION AND RESEARCH

Sec. 501. Duties of the Attorney General.

TITLE VI--EFFECT ON STATE LAW

Sec. 601. Effect on State law.

Sec. 602. Certification of State firearm licensing systems and State firearm record of sale systems.

TITLE VII--RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW

Sec. 701. Subordination to Arms Export Control Act.

TITLE VIII--INAPPLICABILITY

Sec. 801. Inapplicability to governmental authorities.

TITLE IX--EFFECTIVE DATE

Sec. 901. Effective date of amendments.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) Findings- Congress finds that--

(1) the manufacture, distribution, and importation of firearms is inherently commercial in nature;

(2) firearms regularly move in interstate commerce;

(3) to the extent that firearms trafficking is intrastate in nature, it arises out of and is substantially connected with a commercial transaction, which, when viewed in the aggregate, substantially affects interstate commerce;

(4) because the intrastate and interstate trafficking of firearms are so commingled, full regulation of interstate commerce requires the incidental regulation of intrastate commerce;

(5) gun violence in the United States is associated with the majority of homicides, over half the suicides, and two-thirds of non-fatal violent injuries; and

(6) on the afternoon of May 10, 2007, Blair Holt, a junior at Julian High School in Chicago, was killed on a public bus riding home from school when he used his body to shield a girl who was in the line of fire after a young man boarded the bus and started shooting.

(b) Sense of the Congress- It is the sense of the Congress that--

(1) firearms trafficking is prevalent and widespread in and among the States, and it is usually impossible to distinguish between intrastate trafficking and interstate trafficking; and

(2) it is in the national interest and within the role of the Federal Government to ensure that the regulation of firearms is uniform among the States, that law enforcement can quickly and effectively trace firearms used in crime, and that firearms owners know how to use and safely store their firearms.

(c) Purposes- The purposes of this Act and the amendments made by this Act are--

(1) to protect the public against the unreasonable risk of injury and death associated with the unrecorded sale or transfer of qualifying firearms to criminals and youth;

(2) to ensure that owners of qualifying firearms are knowledgeable in the safe use, handling, and storage of those firearms;

(3) to restrict the availability of qualifying firearms to criminals, youth, and other persons prohibited by Federal law from receiving firearms; and

(4) to facilitate the tracing of qualifying firearms used in crime by Federal and State law enforcement agencies.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

(a) In General- In this Act:

(1) FIREARM; LICENSED DEALER; LICENSED MANUFACTURER; STATE- The terms `firearm', `licensed dealer', `licensed manufacturer', and `State' have the meanings given those terms in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code.

(2) QUALIFYING FIREARM- The term `qualifying firearm' has the meaning given the term in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, as amended by subsection (b) of this section.

(b) Amendment to Title 18, United States Code- Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(36) The term `qualifying firearm'--

`(A) means--

`(i) any handgun; or

`(ii) any semiautomatic firearm that can accept any detachable ammunition feeding device; and

`(B) does not include any antique.'.

TITLE I--LICENSING

SEC. 101. LICENSING REQUIREMENT.

Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(aa) Firearm Licensing Requirement-

`(1) IN GENERAL- It shall be unlawful for any person other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector to possess a qualifying firearm on or after the applicable date, unless that person has been issued a firearm license--

`(A) under title I of Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, which license has not been invalidated or revoked under that title; or

`(B) pursuant to a State firearm licensing and record of sale system certified under section 602 of Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, which license has not been invalidated or revoked under State law.

`(2) APPLICABLE DATE- In this subsection, the term `applicable date' means--

`(A) with respect to a qualifying firearm that is acquired by the person before the date of the enactment of Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, 2 years after such date of enactment; and

`(B) with respect to a qualifying firearm that is acquired by the person on or after the date of the enactment of Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, 1 year after such date of enactment.'.

Contd. in next post......

[DaveT]

Part 2 of HR 45 text:

SEC. 102. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.

(a) In General- In order to be issued a firearm license under this title, an individual shall submit to the Attorney General (in accordance with the regulations promulgated under subsection (b)) an application, which shall include--

(1) a current, passport-sized photograph of the applicant that provides a clear, accurate likeness of the applicant;

(2) the name, address, and date and place of birth of the applicant;

(3) any other name that the applicant has ever used or by which the applicant has ever been known;

(4) a clear thumb print of the applicant, which shall be made when, and in the presence of the entity to whom, the application is submitted;

(5) with respect to each category of person prohibited by Federal law, or by the law of the State of residence of the applicant, from obtaining a firearm, a statement that the individual is not a person prohibited from obtaining a firearm;

(6) a certification by the applicant that the applicant will keep any firearm owned by the applicant safely stored and out of the possession of persons who have not attained 18 years of age;

(7) a certificate attesting to the completion at the time of application of a written firearms examination, which shall test the knowledge and ability of the applicant regarding--

(A) the safe storage of firearms, particularly in the vicinity of persons who have not attained 18 years of age;

(B) the safe handling of firearms;

(C) the use of firearms in the home and the risks associated with such use;

(D) the legal responsibilities of firearms owners, including Federal, State, and local laws relating to requirements for the possession and storage of firearms, and relating to reporting requirements with respect to firearms; and

(E) any other subjects, as the Attorney General determines to be appropriate;

(8) an authorization by the applicant to release to the Attorney General or an authorized representative of the Attorney General any mental health records pertaining to the applicant;

(9) the date on which the application was submitted; and

(10) the signature of the applicant.

(b) Regulations Governing Submission- The Attorney General shall promulgate regulations specifying procedures for the submission of applications to the Attorney General under this section, which regulations shall--

(1) provide for submission of the application through a licensed dealer or an office or agency of the Federal Government designated by the Attorney General;

(2) require the applicant to provide a valid identification document (as defined in section 1028(d)(2) of title 18, United States Code) of the applicant, containing a photograph of the applicant, to the licensed dealer or to the office or agency of the Federal Government, as applicable, at the time of submission of the application to that dealer, office, or agency; and

(3) require that a completed application be forwarded to the Attorney General not later than 48 hours after the application is submitted to the licensed dealer or office or agency of the Federal Government, as applicable.

(c) Fees-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Attorney General shall charge and collect from each applicant for a license under this title a fee in an amount determined in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2) FEE AMOUNT- The amount of the fee collected under this subsection shall be not less than the amount determined by the Attorney General to be necessary to ensure that the total amount of all fees collected under this subsection during a fiscal year is sufficient to cover the costs of carrying out this title during that fiscal year, except that such amount shall not exceed $25.

SEC. 103. ISSUANCE OF LICENSE.

(a) In General- The Attorney General shall issue a firearm license to an applicant who has submitted an application that meets the requirements of section 102 of this Act, if the Attorney General ascertains that the individual is not prohibited by subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United States Code, from receiving a firearm.

(b) Effect of Issuance to Prohibited Person- A firearm license issued under this section shall be null and void if issued to a person who is prohibited by subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United States Code, from receiving a firearm.

(c) Form of License- A firearm license issued under this section shall be in the form of a tamper-resistant card, and shall include--

(1) the photograph of the licensed individual submitted with the application;

(2) the address of the licensed individual;

(3) the date of birth of the licensed individual;

(4) a license number, unique to each licensed individual;

(5) the expiration date of the license, which shall be the date that is 5 years after the initial anniversary of the date of birth of the licensed individual following the date on which the license is issued (or in the case of a license renewal, following the date on which the license is renewed under section 104);

(6) the signature of the licensed individual provided on the application, or a facsimile of the application; and

(7) centered at the top of the license, capitalized, and in boldface type, the following:

`FIREARM LICENSE--NOT VALID FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE'.

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[Commander]

Sounds like one of those "Common Sense" gun laws we heard so much about in the campaign

Hold on guys, its going to be a rough ride....

[atxgun]

I think this is the 4th posting of this i've seen here (my own duplicate posting included). Good to see everyone's able to keep up & up w/ stuff like this on their own at least.

[Oldgringo]

Gun (even shotguns) registration (picture ID) was in effect in Illinois when I accepted a job there in 1968. They didn't call it registration but if it 'walks and talks like a duck, it must be a duck'. Hopefully, no prayerfully, there are enough right thinking democrats in Washington to keep the U.S. out of open revolt over the issue.

Stay alert and shoot low boys, they're riding Shetlands.

[TheArmedFarmer]

This is the kind of stuff that scares me. History says registration is the last step before confiscation.

Does this bill have any chance of being passed? Anybody know?

[Fangs]

I've said this before, and I pray that I'm right... I don't expect that Texas will put up with confiscation. We'll probably deal with some more regulation, but I want to believe that if the time comes that they try to take our guns, they'd be met with, "Come and take it."

[Kerbouchard]

I could have sworn registration was completely unconstitutional...If this does come to pass, hopefully I will win the lottery before it happens so I can afford the attorney bills. Some of my firearms have been in my family 100+ years. I seriously doubt I would participate in a national registration. As said before...The first step of confiscation is registration. I'll put on my tinfoil hat, but I do believe a 'gun-free' America is on the agenda for the next administration.

[Purplehood]

I am as likely to register my guns as I am likely to register my right to Freedom of Speech.

[TheArmedFarmer]

Here is a timely article from the current issue of Back Woods Home:

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/wood115.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Bury a gun and ammo for 15 years (and be assured everything still works when you dig it up)"

[DONT TREAD ON ME]

I am as likely to register my guns as I am likely to register my right to Freedom of Speech.

You mean you don't already have your Freedom of Speech License?

I have my freedom of speech, religion and press licenses.
I am in the waiting room for my Right to Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness Licenses. I hope they get here soon!

[maximus2161]

This kind of stuff is scary. I also pray this will never have the opportunity to pass.

I dont think the American people will put up with it if it comes down to it. (At least I hope they would not)

[boomerang]

You mean you don't already have your Freedom of Speech License?

I haven't had time to do the paperwork. I was busy registering all my bibles before the coronation next week.

I sent in my application for a CHSL (concealed holy symbol license) but there's a big backlog in processing.

[KaiserB]

You mean you don't already have your Freedom of Speech License?

I haven't had time to do the paperwork. I was busy registering all my bibles before the coronation next week.

I sent in my application for a CHSL (concealed holy symbol license) but there's a big backlog in processing.

Nice... this made me chuckle.

[anygunanywhere]

Here is a timely article from the current issue of Back Woods Home:

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/wood115.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Bury a gun and ammo for 15 years (and be assured everything still works when you dig it up)"

If the current state of affairs makes it prudent to bury firearms and ammo then it is not time to bury them, it is time to use them.

Anygunanywhere