Federal 113th Congress

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HOUSE BILLS

Bill: Federal H.R. 21 – Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA)
Summary: Requires all sales through dealers and reporting of thefts within 48 hours.
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 34 – Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL)
Summary: “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.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 35 – Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX)
Summary: “To restore safety to America’s schools.”
Position: SUPPORT
Bill: Federal H.R. 65 – Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
Summary: “Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act of 2013”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal HR 93 – Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI)
Summary: “The Fire Sale Loophole Closing Act”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 117 – Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ)
Summary: “To provide for the mandatory licensing and registration of handguns.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 133 – Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY)
Summary: “To repeal the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 and amendments to that Act.”
Position: SUPPORT
Bill: Federal H.R. 137 – Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
Summary: “To ensure that all individuals who should be prohibited from buying a firearm are listed in the national instant criminal background check system and require a background check for every firearm sale.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 138 – Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
Summary: “To prohibit the transfer or possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices, and for other purposes.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 141 – Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
Summary: “To require criminal background checks on all firearms transactions occurring at gun shows.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 142 – Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
Summary: “To require face to face purchases of ammunition, to require licensing of ammunition dealers, and to require reporting regarding bulk purchases of ammunition.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal HR 226 - Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
Summary: “To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against tax for surrendering to authorities certain assault weapons.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal HR 227 – Theodore Deutch (D-FL)
Summary: “To establish a gun buyback grant program.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal HR 236 - James Langevin (D-RI)
Summary: “To ensure greater accountability by licensed firearms dealers. ”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal HR 238 - Grace Meng (D-NY)
Summary: “To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to restrict the ability of a person whose Federal license to import, manufacture, or deal in firearms has been revoked, whose application to renew such a license has been denied, or who has received a license revocation or renewal denial notice, to transfer business inventory firearms, and for other purposes.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 321 – Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
Summary: H.R. 321 would essentially create an exception to the 2012 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 112-74)’s ban on National Institutes of Health funds being used to advocate or promote gun control in order to allowing funding of “research on firearms safety or gun violence.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 322 – Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL)
Summary: If passed, H.R. 322 would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to exempt “shot, bullets and other projectiles, propellants, and primers,”‘ and “any sport fishing equipment . . . and sport fishing equipment components” from the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Position: SUPPORT
Bill: Federal H.R. 332 – Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Summary: H.R. 332 essentially undoes the protections that the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act grants those in the firearms industry by declaring that “[a]n action against a manufacturer, seller, or trade association for damages or relief resulting from an alleged defect or alleged negligence with respect to a product, or conduct that would be actionable under State common or statutory law in the absence of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, shall not be dismissed by a court on the basis that the action is for damages resulting from, or for relief from, the criminal, unlawful, or volitional use of a qualified product.” The bill also makes the contents of the Firearms Trace System database discoverable and admissible in a civil action in any State (including the District of Columbia), federal court, or administrative proceeding.
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 339 – Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA)
Summary: If passed, H.R. 339 would require the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) to make video recordings of the examination and testing of firearms and ammunition when making a determination as to whether an item is a firearm (and if so, what type of firearm) or if an item is ammunition. BATFE would not be allowed to edit or erase these recordings, and the recordings would be made available on request of “a person who claims an ownership interest in an item with respect to which a recording is made” and to defendants in “criminal proceeding[s] involving an item with respect to which a recording is made.” Under certain circumstances, the recordings would be admissible as evidence in court.
Position: SUPPORT/WATCH
Bill: Federal H.R. 404 – Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Summary: H.R. 404, if passed, would increase the criminal penalties for violating the prohibitions against making false statements or misrepresenting identification regarding the acquisition of a firearm or ammunition when: (1) knowing that the violation will further the transfer of two or more firearms to a prohibited person; and, (2) with the intent to conceal the prohibited person’s identity from the transferor. H.R. 404 would also prohibit a court from placing any person convicted of violating the bill’s provisions on probation, and place limitations on a court’s ability to reduce prison sentences.
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 410 – Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX)
Summary: H.R. 410 would provide that any “existing or proposed executive action that infringes on the powers and duties of Congress under section 8 of article I of the Constitution or the Second Amendment to the Constitution shall have no force or effect” and prohibit funding of any such deficient executive action. H.R. 410 would also provide standing for any of the following persons to “bring an action in an appropriate United States court to challenge the validity of any executive action which infringes on the powers and duties of Congress under section 8 of article I of the Constitution or the Second Amendment to the Constitution”: (1) any member of Congress (or either or both chambers acting pursuant to a vote); (2) the highest governmental official of any State, commonwealth, district, territory or possession of the United States, or any political subdivision thereof (or their designee); or, (3) any person “aggrieved in a liberty or property interest adversely affected by the challenged executive action.”
Position: SUPPORT
Bill: Federal H.R. 427 – Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL)
Summary: The full text of H.R. 427 is not available yet, but according to its title, if passed, H.R. 427 would “prevent the illegal sale of firearms, and for other purposes.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 431 – Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA)
Summary: H.R. 431 would allow the contents of the Firearms Trace System database maintained by the National Trace Center of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to be admissible as evidence (or the basis of evidence) in civil legal actions in state or Federal court or in an administrative proceeding. If passed, the bill would also: (1) require that instant criminal background check records be kept for 90 days; (2) eliminate the limitation on appropriating funds to implement rules requiring firearms dealers to conduct a physical check if firearms inventory; (3) increase the penalties for willfully violating an inventory reporting order; and, (4) makes a person whose federal firearms license has been revoked ineligible to apply for another license.
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 437 – Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
Summary: H.R. 437 is the House version of Senator Feinstein’s assault weapons ban (H.R. 437). If passed, H.R. 437, among other things, would ban the sale, transfer, manufacturing and importation of: (1) All semiautomatic rifles that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one “feature” (i.e., pistol grip; forward grip; folding, telescoping, or detachable stock; grenade launcher or rocket launcher; barrel shroud; or threaded barrel); (2) All semiautomatic pistols that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one “feature” (i.e., threaded barrel; second pistol grip; barrel shroud; capacity to accept a detachable magazine at some location outside of the pistol grip) or that are the semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm); (3) All semiautomatic rifles and handguns that have a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds, except for an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition; (4) All semiautomatic shotguns that have a folding, telescoping, or detachable stock; pistol grip; fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 5 rounds; ability to accept a detachable magazine; forward grip; grenade launcher or rocket launcher; or shotguns with a revolving cylinder; (5) All ammunition feeding devices (means a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device) capable of accepting more than 10 rounds; and (6) Over 100 specifically-named firearms. Unlike the 1994 assault weapons ban, H.R. 437 does not include a sunset possession that allowed the original federal ban to expire. The bill also requires a background check on all sales or transfers of grandfathered firearms; prohibits the sale or transfer of large-capacity ammunition feeding devices lawfully possessed on the date of enactment of the bill; allows state and local governments to use federal funding to buyback grandfathered assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition feeding devices; imposes a safe storage requirement for grandfathered firearms; and requires that assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition feeding devices manufactured after the date of the bill’s enactment be engraved with the serial number and date of manufacture of the weapon. Assault weapons used by military, law enforcement, and retired law enforcement; antique weapons, and firearms manually operated by a bolt, pump, lever or slide action are exempted from the H.R. 437.
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 449 – Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL)
Summary: The full text of H.R. 449 is not available yet, but according to its title, if passed, H.R. 449 would “provide an amnesty period during which veterans and their family members can register certain firearms in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.”
Position: SUPPORT
Bill: Federal H.R. 452 – Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
Summary: H.R. 452 would increase the penalties for straw purchases/gun trafficking. A person would face up to 20 years for the “purchase, attempt to purchase, or transfer a firearm, with the intent to deliver the firearm to another person who the transferor knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is prohibited by Federal or State law from possessing a firearm;” “intentionally provide false or misleading material information on a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) firearms transaction record form” when “purchasing, attempting to purchase, or transferring a firearm;” or to “knowingly direct, promote, or facilitate conduct that violates” either of the aforementioned provisions. H.R. 452 would exempt gifts to individuals who are not prohibited persons and for firearms lawfully acquired via operation of law. If a person were to violate H.R. 452’s provisions, depending on the circumstances and number of individuals involved, sentencing enhancements might apply.
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 577 – Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX)
Summary: H.R. 577 prohibits, in cases arising out of the administration of laws and benefits by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), a person who is mentally incapacitated, deemed mentally incompetent, or experiencing an extended loss of consciousness from being considered adjudicated as a mental defective for purposes of federal firearms rights without the order or finding of a judge, magistrate, or other judicial authority of competent jurisdiction that the person is a danger to himself or herself or others.
Position: SUPPORT
Bill: Federal H.R. 578 – Rep. Marlin A. Stutzman (R-IN)
Summary: H.R. 578, if passed, will allow national reciprocity for the carrying of certain concealed firearms.
Position: SUPPORT
Federal H.R. 602 – Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL)
Summary: H.R. 602 prohibits, in cases arising out of the administration of laws and benefits by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), a person who is mentally incapacitated, deemed mentally incompetent, or experiencing an extended loss of consciousness from being considered adjudicated as a mental defective for purposes of federal firearms rights without the order or finding of a judge, magistrate, or other judicial authority of competent jurisdiction that the person is a danger to himself or herself or others.
Position: SUPPORT
Bill: Federal H.R. 619 – Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
Summary: The full text of H.R. 619 is not yet available, however, according to its title, if passed, H.R. 619 will seek to “to amend title 18, United States Code, to place limitations on the possession, sale, and other disposition of a firearm by persons convicted of misdemeanor sex offenses against children.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 661 – Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Summary: The full text of H.R. 661 is not yet available, however, according to its title, if passed, H.R. 661 will seek to “repeal certain impediments to the administration of the firearms laws.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 720 – Rep. Peter T. King (R-NY)
Summary: The full text of H.R. 720 is not available yet, but according to its title, if passed, H.R. 720 would “increase public safety by permitting the Attorney General to deny the transfer of a firearm or the issuance of firearms or explosives licenses to a known or suspected dangerous terrorist.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 722 – Rep. Peter T. King (R-NY)
Summary: The full text of H.R. 722 is not available yet, but according to its title, if passed, H.R. 722 would “combat illegal gun trafficking.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal H.R. 793 – Rep. Linda T. Sanchez (D-CA)
Summary: The full text of H.R. 793 is not available yet, but according to its title, if passed, H.R. 793 would “amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose an excise tax on concealable firearms and to require the Attorney General to establish a firearms buyback grant program.”
Position: OPPOSE
Resolution: Federal H.Res. 35 – Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ)
Summary: H.Res. 35 expresses the House of Representatives’ lack of confidence in United States Attorney General Eric Holder and calls for his immediate resignation over a number of factors, including the fact that Holder presided over the Department of Justice as it conducted Operation Fast and Furious’ which was “ill[-]conceived at the outset and mismanaged for its duration” and the fact that he was found in contempt of Congress in June 2012.
Position: SUPPORT
Resolution: Federal H.Res. 40 – Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA)
Summary: H.Res. 40 expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that active duty military personnel who are stationed or residing in the District of Columbia should be permitted to exercise fully their rights under the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and therefore should be exempt from the District of Columbia’s restrictions on the possession of firearms.
Position: SUPPORT
Bill: Federal H.Res. 55 – Rep. Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL)
Summary: H.Res. 55 condemns unfounded reliance on Stand Your Ground laws to protect actions that extend far beyond historical use of self-defense; (2) urges state legislatures to reject or repeal Stand Your Ground legislation; commits to developing incentives for states to find alternatives to Stand Your Ground legislation such as grants for community policing; encourages states to create penalties for individuals found to have caused substantive harm through racial profiling; and urges the United States Commission on Civil Rights to “seek to elevate the social status of Black men and boys by undertaking studies to understand and correct the underlying causes of higher rates of school expulsions and suspensions, homicides, incarceration, poverty, violence, drug abuse, as well as income, health, and educational disparities among Black males.”
Position: OPPOSE
SENATE BILLS

Bill: Federal S. 2 – Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)
Summary: S. 2 currently appears to be a spot bill, however, once it is more fleshed out, S. 2 will seek to “reduce violence and protect the citizens of the United States.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: S. 22 – Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Summary: S. 22 would introduce new restrictions on gun shows and their operators/promoters, including, but not limited to: requiring gun show promoters to register with and pay a fee to the Attorney General in order to hold a gun show; requiring that gun show promoters verify the identity of each vendor participating in the gun show by examining a valid identification document containing a photograph of the vendor; requiring certain documents to be signed by each vendor before commencement of the gun show; and, new record keeping requirements for gun show operators. S. 22 would also require that all firearm transactions taking place at gun shows go through a licensed firearms dealer, that a background check take place with each transaction, and that firearm dealers conducting firearms transfers at gun shows follow certain record keeping requirements.
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: S. 33 – Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Summary: S. 33 would prohibit the transfer, possession, and importation into the United States of any “large capacity ammunition feeding device.” The bill defines “large capacity ammunition feeding device” as “a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device, including any such device joined or coupled with another in any manner, that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition; and … does not include an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: S. 34 – Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Summary: If passed, S. 34 would allow the Attorney General to deny the transfer of a firearm or deny a firearm (or explosives) permit to persons known or suspected of terrorist acts. It would also allow the Attorney General to withhold “any information which the Attorney General relied on for this determination may be withheld from the petitioner if the Attorney General determines that disclosure of the information would likely compromise national security” under certain circumstances if the denial of a permit was challenged.
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: S. 35 – Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Summary: S. 35 would require face to face purchases of ammunition, licensing of ammunition dealers, and the reporting of multiple sales or other dispositions of more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition to an unlicensed person at one time or during any five (5) consecutive business days.
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: S. 54 – Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
Summary: With certain exceptions, S. 54 would increase the penalties for straw purchases/gun trafficking. A person would face up to 30 years in jail if the person (other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer) were to knowingly purchase, or attempt or conspire to purchase, “any firearm for, on behalf of, or with intent to transfer it to, any other person, if that firearm has moved in or otherwise affected interstate or foreign commerce.” Upon violation of those provisions, S. 54 also provides for the forfeiture of “any property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds the person obtained, directly or indirectly, as the result of such violation” as well as any property “used, or intended to be used, in any manner or part, to commit, or to facilitate the commission of, such violation.” S. 54 also makes smuggling or knowingly bringing into (or taking out of) the United States, a firearm or ammunition, or attempting or conspiring to do so, a felony, when the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the firearm or ammunition will be used to commit a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime.
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: S. 82 – Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
Summary: S. 82 would provide that any “existing or proposed executive action that infringes on the powers and duties of Congress under section 8 of article I of the Constitution or the Second Amendment to the Constitution shall have no force or effect” and prohibit funding of any such deficient executive action. S. 82 would also provide standing for any of the following persons to “bring an action in an appropriate United States court to challenge the validity of any executive action which infringes on the powers and duties of Congress under section 8 of article I of the Constitution or the Second Amendment to the Constitution”: (1) any member of Congress (or either or both chambers acting pursuant to a vote); (2) the highest governmental official of any State, commonwealth, district, territory or possession of the United States, or any political subdivision thereof (or their designee); or, (3) any person “aggrieved in a liberty or property interest adversely affected by the challenged executive action.”
Position: SUPPORT
Bill: Federal S. 147 – Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Summary: The full text of S. 147 is not yet available, however, according to its title, if passed, S. 147 will seek to “establish minimum standards for States that allow the carrying of concealed firearms.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal S. 174 – Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Summary: The full text of S. 174 is not yet available, however, according to its title, if passed, S. 174 will seek to “appropriately restrict sales of ammunition.”
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal S. 179 – Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Summary: With certain exceptions for gifts, S. 179 would increase the penalties for straw purchases/gun trafficking. A person would face up to 20 years if he or she were to: (1) to ship, transport, transfer, or otherwise dispose to a person, 2 or more firearms if the transferor knows or has reasonable cause to believe that such use, carry, possession, or disposition of the firearm would be in violation of, or would result in a violation of any Federal, State, or local law punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding 1 year; (2) receive from a person, 2 or more firearms in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, if the recipient knows or has reasonable cause to believe that such receipt would be in violation of, or would result in a violation of any Federal, State, or local law punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding 1 year; (3) make false statements regarding an actual buyer to a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer, relating to the purchase, receipt, or acquisition from a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer of 2 or more firearms that have moved in or affected interstate or foreign commerce; or (4) to direct, promote, or facilitate any of the aforementioned conduct.
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: S. 150 – Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA)
Summary: S. 150, among other things, would ban the sale, transfer, manufacturing and importation of:

  • All semiautomatic rifles that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one “feature” (i.e., pistol grip; forward grip; folding, telescoping, or detachable stock; grenade launcher or rocket launcher; barrel shroud; or threaded barrel);
  • All semiautomatic pistols that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one “feature” (i.e., threaded barrel; second pistol grip; barrel shroud; capacity to accept a detachable magazine at some location outside of the pistol grip) or that are the semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm);
  • All semiautomatic rifles and handguns that have a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds, except for an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition;
  • All semiautomatic shotguns that have a folding, telescoping, or detachable stock; pistol grip; fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 5 rounds; ability to accept a detachable magazine; forward grip; grenade launcher or rocket launcher; or shotguns with a revolving cylinder;
  • All ammunition feeding devices (means a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device) capable of accepting more than 10 rounds; and
  • Over 100 specifically-named firearms.

Unlike the 1994 assault weapons ban, S. 150 does not include a sunset possession that allowed the original federal ban to expire. The bill also requires a background check on all sales or transfers of grandfathered firearms; prohibits the sale or transfer of large-capacity ammunition feeding devices lawfully possessed on the date of enactment of the bill; allows state and local governments to use federal funding to buyback grandfathered assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition feeding devices; imposes a safe storage requirement for grandfathered firearms; and requires that assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition feeding devices manufactured after the date of the bill’s enactment be engraved with the serial number and date of manufacture of the weapon. Assault weapons used by military, law enforcement, and retired law enforcement; antique weapons, and firearms manually operated by a bolt, pump, lever or slide action are exempted from S. 150.
Position: OPPOSE
Bill: Federal S. 261 – Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Summary: The full text of S. 261 is not yet available, however, according to its title, if passed, S. 261 will seek to “establish and clarify that Congress does not authorize persons convicted of dangerous crimes in foreign courts to freely possess firearms in the United States.”
Position: OPPOSE
Federal S. 374 – Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY)
Summary: The full text of S. 374 is not yet available, however, according to its title, if passed, S. 374 will seek to “ensure that all individuals who should be prohibited from buying a firearm are listed in the national instant criminal background check system and require a background check for every firearm sale.”
Position: OPPOSE
Federal 113th Congress | Firearms Policy Coalition