fed firearms ref guide 2005

8/9/2019 Fed Firearms Ref Guide 2005

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U.S. Department of Justice

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Office of Enforcement Programs and Services, Firearms Programs Division

FEDERAL

FIREARMS

REGULATIONS

REFERENCE

GUIDE

2005

ATFBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,Firearms and Explosives

ATF Publication 5300.4

Revised September 2005

1972


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SPECIAL MESSAGE from the DirectorBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

WASHINGTON, DC 20226

Dear Federal Firearms Licensee:

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is the primary agency responsible forenforcing the Federal firearms laws. Our mission is to prevent terrorism, reduce violent crime, and protectthe public. With respect to firearms, ATF works to take armed, violent offenders off the streets and toensure criminals and other prohibited persons do not possess firearms.

Licensees play a critical role in protecting America from violent firearms crime through responsible andlawful distribution of firearms and accurate recordkeeping which assists ATF in tracing guns used tocommit crimes. By complying with Federal law, licensees prevented the sale of more than 870,000firearms to prohibited persons from November 1998 through September 2005. An untold number of liveshave been saved and countless crimes have been prevented by stopping such transactions from takingplace.

Dedicated licensees also make significant contributions to crime prevention efforts through active supportof such collaborative efforts as the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) campaign “Don’t Lie forthe Other Guy.” We are grateful to the scores of licensees who cooperate with ATF in preventing illegalstraw purchases, which helps to disrupt firearms trafficking organizations. We encourage your continuedsupport and we thank you for reporting suspicious criminal activity and firearms thefts to ATF. Pleasenote, to report a theft, you should call 1-888-930-9275, and to report other criminal activity, you shouldcall 1-800-ATF-GUNS.

The 2005 edition of the Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide provides information designed tohelp you comply with all of the laws and regulations governing the manufacture, importation, anddistribution of firearms and ammunition. Accordingly, it contains the relevant Federal firearms laws andregulations, some of which have changed since the 2000 edition. It also contains rulings, generalinformation, and questions and answers to give you further guidance on the Federal firearms laws. Thelaws and regulations are in a different order from previous versions so that this publication will be easierto use. This new edition also contains additional points of contact to help you get in touch with ATF moreeasily.

Since firearms laws can change over time, please be aware that the information in this book may changeafter the date of publication. The ATF Web site at www.atf.gov is an excellent source for up-to-dateinformation. As always, you are welcome to contact your local ATF field office for information orassistance.

Sincerely yours,

Carl J. TruscottDirector


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FEDERAL FIREARMS REGULATIONSREFERENCE GUIDE

2005

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Message from the Director .……………………...…………………………………………….. 1

II. Editor’s Note ...................................................................................................................... 3

III. Laws and Regulations

A. Gun Control Act

1. 18 U.S.C. Chapter 44 ............................................................................................ 42. 27 CFR Part 478..................................................................................................... 32

B. National Firearms Act

1. 26 U.S.C. Chapter 53 ............................................................................................ 74

2. 27 CFR Part 479 ..................................................................................................... 79

C. Arms Export Control Act

1. 22 U.S.C. Chapter 2778 ........................................................................................ 982. 27 CFR Part 447.....................................................................................................101

D. 28 CFR Part 25(National Instant Criminal Background Check System Regulations) ..........................111

E. (Nonmailable Firearms) 18 U.S.C. Section 1715 ........................................................118

IV. Additional Information

A. Rulings, Procedures, and Industry Circulars ................................................................119

B. General Information .....................................................................................................153C. Questions and Answers ...............................................................................................169

D. Key Information

1. ATF Points of Contact ............................................................................................2022. ATF Industry Operations Field Offices ..................................................................2033. Non-ATF Points of Contact ....................................................................................2134. State Attorney Generals .........................................................................................214

E. NICS Forms, Flyers, and Brochures

1. NICS Enrollment Form ...........................................................................................2162. A NICS Delay .........................................................................................................2183. What is a “business day” for NICS Purposes? .......................................................220

4. Reference Guide ....................................................................................................2215. NICS E-Check.........................................................................................................2226. Gun Buyer’s Resolution Guide ...............................................................................2257. Guide for Appealing a Firearm Transfer Denial .....................................................226

V. Index ..................................................................................................................................228


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EDITOR’S NOTE

The cross references, bracketed notes, and Editor’s notes seen in the laws and regulations are for guidance and as-sistance only and do not appear in the official United States Code and Code of Federal Regulations.


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THE GUN CONTROL ACT OF 1968

TITLE 18, UNITED STATE CODE, CHAPTER 44

TITLE I : STATE FIREARMSCONTROL ASSISTANCE

PURPOSE

Sec. 101. The Congress hereby de-clares that the purpose of this title is toprovide support to Federal, State, andlocal law enforcement officials in their fightagainst crime and violence, and it is notthe purpose of this title to place any un-due or unnecessary Federal restrictions orburdens on law-abiding citizens with re-spect to the acquisition, possession, oruse of firearms appropriate to the purposeof hunting, trapshooting, target shooting,personal protection, or any other lawful

activity, and that this title is not intendedto discourage or eliminate the privateownership or use of firearms by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes, orprovide for the imposition by Federalregulations of any procedures or require-ments other than those reasonably nec-essary to implement and effectuate theprovisions of this title.

Chapter 44 – Firearms

§ 921 Definitions.

§ 922 Unlawful acts.

§ 923 Licensing.

§ 924 Penalties.

§ 925 Exceptions: Relief from dis-abilities.

§ 925A Remedy for erroneous denialof firearms.

§ 926 Rules and regulations.

§ 926A Interstate transportation offirearms.

§ 926B Carrying of concealed fire-arms by qualified law en-forcement officers.

§ 926C Carrying of concealed fire-arms by qualified retired lawenforcement officers.

§ 927 Effect on State law.

§ 928 Separability.

§ 929 Use of restricted ammunition.

§ 930 Possession of firearms anddangerous weapons in Fed-eral facilities.

§ 931 Prohibition on purchase, own-ership, or possession of bodyarmor by violent felons.

Editor’s Note:

On September 13, 1994, Congress passed

the Violent Crime Control and Law En-

forcement Act of 1994, Public Law 103-322.

Title IX, Subtitle A, Section 110105 of this

Act generally made it unlawful to manufac-

ture, transfer and possess semiautomaticassault weapons (SAWs) and to transfer

and possess large capacity ammunition

feeding devices (LCAFDs). The law also

required importers and manufacturers to

place certain markings on SAWs and

LCAFDs, designating they were for export

or law enforcement/government use. Sig-nificantly, the law provided that it would

expire 10 years from the date of enactment.

Accordingly, effective 12:01 a.m. on Sep-

tember 13, 2004, the provisions of the law

ceased to apply. These provisions are

marked “repealed” in this publication.

§ 921 Definitions.

(a) As used in this chapter—

(1) The term "person" and the term "whoever" include any individual, cor-poration, company, association, firm,partnership, society, or joint stock com-pany.

(2) The term "interstate or foreigncommerce" includes commerce be-tween any place in a State and anyplace outside of that State, or withinany possession of the United States

(not including the Canal Zone) or theDistrict of Columbia, but such termdoes not include commerce betweenplaces within the same State butthrough any place outside of that State.The term "State" includes the Districtof Columbia, the Commonwealth ofPuerto Rico, and the possessions of theUnited States (not including the CanalZone).

(3) The term "firearm" means (A)

any weapon (including a starter gun)which will or is designed to or mayreadily be converted to expel a projec-tile by the action of an explosive; (B)the frame or receiver of any suchweapon; (C) any firearm muffler or fire-arm silencer; or (D) any destructive de-vice. Such term does not include anantique firearm.

(4) The term "destructive device" means—

(A) any explosive, incendiary, orpoison gas—

(i) bomb,

(ii) grenade,

(iii) rocket having a propellantcharge of more than four ounces,

(iv) missile having an explosiveor incendiary charge of more thanone-quarter ounce,

(v) mine, or

(vi) device similar to any of thedevices described in the precedingclauses;

(B) any type of weapon (other thana shotgun or a shotgun shell whichthe Attorney General finds is gener-ally recognized as particularly suit-able for sporting purposes) bywhatever name known which will, orwhich may be readily converted to,expel a projectile by the action of anexplosive or other propellant, andwhich has any barrel with a bore ofmore than one-half inch in diameter;and

(C) any combination of parts eitherdesigned or intended for use in con-verting any device into any destruc-

tive device described insubparagraph (A) or (B) and fromwhich a destructive device may bereadily assembled.

The term "destructive device" shall notinclude any device which is neither de-signed nor redesigned for use as aweapon; any device, although originallydesigned for use as a weapon, which isredesigned for use as a signaling, pyro-


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technic, line throwing, safety, or similardevice; surplus ordinance sold, loaned, orgiven by the Secretary of the Army pursu-ant to the provisions of section 4684(2),4685, or 4686 of title 10; or any otherdevice which the Attorney General finds isnot likely to be used as a weapon, is anantique, or is a rifle which the owner in-tends to use solely for sporting, recrea-tional or cultural purposes.

(5) The term "shotgun" means aweapon designed or redesigned, madeor remade, and intended to be firedfrom the shoulder and designed or re-designed and made or remade to usethe energy of an explosive to firethrough a smooth bore either a numberof ball shot or a single projectile foreach single pull of the trigger.

(6) The term "short-barreled shot-gun" means a shotgun having one ormore barrels less than eighteen inchesin length and any weapon made from a

shotgun (whether by alteration, modifi-cation, or otherwise) if such weapon asmodified has an overall length of lessthan twenty-six inches.

(7) The term "rifle" means a weapondesigned or redesigned, made or re-made, and intended to be fired from theshoulder and designed or redesignedand made or remade to use the energyof an explosive to fire only a single pro-

jectile through a rifled bore for eachsingle pull of the trigger.

(8) The term "short-barreled rifle"means a rifle having one or more bar-

rels less than sixteen inches in lengthand any weapon made from a rifle(whether by alteration, modification, orotherwise) if such weapon, as modified,has an overall length of less thantwenty-six inches.

(9) The term "importer" means anyperson engaged in the business of im-porting or bringing firearms or ammuni-tion into the United States for purposesof sale or distribution; and the term "li-censed importer" means any suchperson licensed under the provisions ofthis chapter

(10) The term "manufacturer" means any person engaged in thebusiness of manufacturing firearms orammunition for purposes of sale or dis-tribution; and the term "licensedmanufacturer" means any such per-son licensed under the provisions ofthis chapter.

(11) The term "dealer" means (A)any person engaged in the business ofselling firearms at wholesale or retail,

(B) any person engaged in the businessof repairing firearms or of making or fit-ting special barrels, stocks, or triggermechanisms to firearms, or (C) anyperson who is a pawnbroker. The term"licensed dealer" means any dealerwho is licensed under the provisions ofthis chapter.

(12) The term "pawnbroker" meansany person whose business or occupa-tion includes the taking or receiving, byway of pledge or pawn, of any firearmas security for the payment or repay-ment of money.

(13) The term "collector" means anyperson who acquires, holds, or dis-poses of firearms as curios or relics, asthe Attorney General shall by regulationdefine, and the term "licensed collec-tor" means any such person licensedunder the provisions of this chapter.

(14) The term "indictment" includes

an indictment or information in anycourt under which a crime punishableby imprisonment for a term exceedingone year may be prosecuted.

(15) The term "fugitive from jus-tice" means any person who has fledfrom any State to avoid prosecution fora crime or to avoid giving testimony inany criminal proceeding.

(16) The term "antique firearm"means—

(A) any firearm (including any fire-arm with a matchlock, flintlock, per-

cussion cap, or similar type of ignitionsystem) manufactured in or before1898; or

(B) any replica of any firearm de-scribed in subparagraph (A) if suchreplica—

(i) is not designed or redesignedfor using rimfire or conventionalcenterfire fixed ammunition, or

(ii) uses rimfire or conventionalcenterfire fixed ammunition whichis no longer manufactured in theUnited States and which is notreadily available in the ordinarychannels of commercial trade; or

(C) any muzzle loading rifle, muz-zle loading shotgun, or muzzle load-ing pistol, which is designed to useblack powder, or a black powdersubstitute, and which cannot usefixed ammunition. For purposes ofthis subparagraph, the term "antiquefirearm" shall not include any weaponwhich incorporates a firearm frame or

receiver, any firearm which is con-verted into a muzzle loading weapon,or any muzzle loading weapon whichcan be readily converted to fire fixedammunition by replacing the barrel,bolt, breechblock, or any combinationthereof.

(17) (A) The term "ammunition" means ammunition or cartridge cases,primers, bullets, or propellant powderdesigned for use in any firearm.

(B) The term "armor piercingammunition" means—

(i) a projectile or projectile corewhich may be used in a handgunand which is constructed entirely(excluding the presence of tracesof other substances) from one or acombination of tungsten alloys,steel, iron, brass, bronze, berylliumcopper, or depleted uranium; or

(ii) a full jacketed projectile lar-ger than .22 caliber designed andintended for use in a handgun andwhose jacket has a weight of morethan 25 percent of the total weightof the projectile.

(C) The term "armor piercingammunition" does not include shot-gun shot required by Federal or Stateenvironmental or game regulationsfor hunting purposes, a frangible pro-

jectile designed for target shooting, aprojectile which the Attorney Generalfinds is primarily intended to be usedfor sporting purposes, or any other

projectile or projectile core which the Attorney General finds is intended tobe used for industrial purposes, in-cluding a charge used in an oil andgas well perforating device.

(18) The term “ Attorney General” means the Attorney General of theUnited States.

(19) The term "published ordi-nance" means a published law of anypolitical subdivision of a State which the

Attorney General determines to berelevant to the enforcement of thischapter and which is contained on a listcompiled by the Attorney General,which list shall be published in the Fed-eral Register, revised annually, and fur-nished to each licensee under thischapter.

(20) The term "crime punishable byimprisonment for a term exceedingone year" does not include—

(A) any Federal or State offensespertaining to antitrust violations, un-


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fair trade practices, restraints oftrade, or other similar offenses relat-ing to the regulation of businesspractices, or

(B) any State offense classified bythe laws of the State as a misde-meanor and punishable by a term ofimprisonment of two years or less.

What constitutes a conviction of such acrime shall be determined in accordancewith the law of the jurisdiction in which theproceedings were held. Any convictionwhich has been expunged, or set aside,or for which a person has been pardonedor has had civil rights restored, shall notbe considered a conviction for purposesof this chapter, unless such pardon, ex-pungement, or restoration of civil rightsexpressly provides that the person maynot ship, transport, possess, or receivefirearms.

(21) The term "engaged in the busi-

ness" means—

(A) as applied to a manufacturer offirearms, a person who devotes time,attention, and labor to manufacturingfirearms as a regular course of tradeor business with the principal objec-tive of livelihood and profit throughthe sale or distribution of the firearmsmanufactured;

(B) as applied to a manufacturer ofammunition, a person who devotestime, attention, and labor to manufac-turing ammunition as a regularcourse of trade or business with the

principal objective of livelihood andprofit through the sale or distributionof the ammunition manufactured;

(C) as applied to a dealer in fire-arms, as defined in section921(a)(11)(A), a person who devotestime, attention, and labor to dealingin firearms as a regular course oftrade or business with the principalobjective of livelihood and profitthrough the repetitive purchase andresale of firearms, but such termshall not include a person whomakes occasional sales, exchanges,or purchases of firearms for the en-hancement of a personal collection orfor a hobby, or who sells all or part ofhis personal collection of firearms;

(D) as applied to a dealer in fire-arms, as defined in section921(a)(11)(B), a person who devotestime, attention, and labor to engagingin such activity as a regular course oftrade or business with the principalobjective of livelihood and profit, butsuch term shall not include a person

who makes occasional repairs of fire-arms, or who occasionally fits specialbarrels, stocks, or trigger mecha-nisms to firearms;

(E) as applied to an importer offirearms, a person who devotes time,attention, and labor to importing fire-arms as a regular course of trade orbusiness with the principal objectiveof livelihood and profit through thesale or distribution of the firearmsimported; and

(F) as applied to an importer ofammunition, a person who devotestime, attention, and labor to importingammunition as a regular course oftrade or business with the principalobjective of livelihood and profitthrough the sale or distribution of theammunition imported.

(22) The term "with the principalobjective of livelihood and profit"

means that the intent underlying thesale or disposition of firearms is pre-dominantly one of obtaining livelihoodand pecuniary gain, as opposed toother intents, such as improving or liq-uidating a personal firearms collection:Provided, That proof of profit shall notbe required as to a person who en-gages in the regular and repetitive pur-chase and disposition of firearms forcriminal purposes or terrorism. For pur-poses of this paragraph, the term "ter-rorism" means activity, directedagainst United States persons, which—

(A) is committed by an individual

who is not a national or permanentresident alien of the United States;

(B) involves violent acts or actsdangerous to human life which wouldbe a criminal violation if committedwithin the jurisdiction of the UnitedStates; and

(C) is intended—

(i) to intimidate or coerce a civil-ian population;

(ii) to influence the policy of agovernment by intimidation or co-ercion; or

(iii) to affect the conduct of agovernment by assassination orkidnapping.

(23) The term "machinegun" hasthe meaning given such term in section5845(b) of the National Firearms Act(26 U.S.C. 5845(b)).

(24) The terms "firearm silencer"

and "firearm muffler" mean any de-vice for silencing, muffling, or diminish-ing the report of a portable firearm,including any combination of parts, de-signed or redesigned, and intended foruse in assembling or fabricating a fire-arm silencer or firearm muffler, and anypart intended only for use in such as-sembly or fabrication.

(25) The term "school zone" means—

(A) in, or on the grounds of, a pub-lic, parochial or private school; or

(B) within a distance of 1,000 feetfrom the grounds of a public, paro-chial or private school.

(26) The term "school" means aschool which provides elementary orsecondary education, as determinedunder State law.

(27) The term "motor vehicle" hasthe meaning given such term in section13102 of title 49, United States Code.

(28) The term "semiautomatic rifle" means any repeating rifle which utilizesa portion of the energy of a firing car-tridge to extract the fired cartridge caseand chamber the next round, and whichrequires a separate pull of the trigger tofire each cartridge.

(29) The term "handgun" means—

(A) a firearm which has a shortstock and is designed to be held and

fired by the use of a single hand; and

(B) any combination of parts fromwhich a firearm described in sub-paragraph (A) can be assembled.

(30) Repealed.

(31) Repealed.

(32) The term "intimate partner" means, with respect to a person, thespouse of the person, a former spouseof the person, an individual who is aparent of a child of the person, and anindividual who cohabitates or has co-habited with the person.

(33) (A) Except as provided in sub-paragraph (C), the term "misde-meanor crime of domestic violence" means an offense that—

(i) is a misdemeanor underFederal or State law; and

(ii) has, as an element, the useor attempted use of physical force, or


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the threatened use of a deadlyweapon, committed by a current orformer spouse, parent, or guardian ofthe victim, by a person with whomthe victim shares a child in common,by a person who is cohabiting with orhas cohabited with the victim as aspouse, parent, or guardian, or by aperson similarly situated to a spouse,parent, or guardian of the victim.

(B) (i) A person shall not be con-sidered to have been convicted ofsuch an offense for purposes of thischapter, unless—

(I) the person was representedby counsel in the case, or know-ingly and intelligently waived theright to counsel in the case; and

(II) in the case of a prosecutionfor an offense described in thisparagraph for which a person wasentitled to a jury trial in the jurisdic-

tion in which the case was tried, ei-ther

(aa) the case was tried by a jury, or

(bb) the person knowinglyand intelligently waived the rightto have the case tried by a jury,by guilty plea or otherwise.

(ii) A person shall not be con-sidered to have been convicted ofsuch an offense for purposes ofthis chapter if the conviction hasbeen expunged or set aside, or is

an offense for which the personhas been pardoned or has had civilrights restored (if the law of theapplicable jurisdiction provides forthe loss of civil rights under suchan offense) unless the pardon, ex-pungement, or restoration of civilrights expressly provides that theperson may not ship, transport,possess, or receive firearms.

Editor’s Note:

Subparagraph (C) referenced in

921(a)(33)(A) never was enacted. We pre-

sume the reference should have been tosubparagraph (B).

(34) The term "secure gun storageor safety device" means—

(A) a device that, when installedon a firearm, is designed to preventthe firearm from being operated with-out first deactivating the device;

(B) a device incorporated into thedesign of the firearm that is designed

to prevent the operation of the fire-arm by anyone not having access tothe device; or

(C) a safe, gun safe, gun case,lock box, or other device that is de-signed to be or can be used to storea firearm and that is designed to beunlocked only by means of a key, acombination, or other similar means.

(35) The term "body armor" meansany product sold or offered for sale, ininterstate or foreign commerce, as per-sonal protective body covering intendedto protect against gunfire, regardless ofwhether the product is to be worn aloneor is sold as a complement to anotherproduct or garment.

(b) For the purposes of this chapter, amember of the Armed Forces on activeduty is a resident of the State in which hispermanent duty station is located.

§ 922 Unlawful acts.

(a) It shall be unlawful—

(1) for any person—

(A) except a licensed importer, li-censed manufacturer, or licenseddealer, to engage in the business ofimporting, manufacturing, or dealingin firearms, or in the course of suchbusiness to ship, transport, or receiveany firearm in interstate or foreigncommerce; or

(B) except a licensed importer or

licensed manufacturer, to engage inthe business of importing or manu-facturing ammunition, or in thecourse of such business, to ship,transport, or receive any ammunitionin interstate or foreign commerce;

(2) for any importer, manufacturer,dealer, or collector licensed under theprovisions of this chapter to ship ortransport in interstate or foreign com-merce any firearm to any person otherthan a licensed importer, licensedmanufacturer, licensed dealer, or li-censed collector, except that—

(A) this paragraph and subsection(b)(3) shall not be held to preclude alicensed importer, licensed manufac-turer, licensed dealer, or licensed col-lector from returning a firearm orreplacement firearm of the same kindand type to a person from whom itwas received; and this paragraphshall not be held to preclude an indi-vidual from mailing a firearm ownedin compliance with Federal, State,and local law to a licensed importer,

licensed manufacturer, licenseddealer, or licensed collector;

(B) this paragraph shall not beheld to preclude a licensed importer,licensed manufacturer, or licenseddealer from depositing a firearm forconveyance in the mails to any offi-cer, employee, agent, or watchmanwho, pursuant to the provisions ofsection 1715 of this title, is eligible toreceive through the mails pistols, re-volvers, and other firearms capableof being concealed on the person, foruse in connection with his officialduty; and

(C) nothing in this paragraph shallbe construed as applying in any man-ner in the District of Columbia, theCommonwealth of Puerto Rico, orany possession of the United Statesdifferently than it would apply if theDistrict of Columbia, the Common-wealth of Puerto Rico, or the posses-

sion were in fact a State of the UnitedStates;

(3) for any person other than a li-censed importer, licensed manufac-turer, licensed dealer, or licensedcollector to transport into or receive inthe State where he resides (or if theperson is a corporation or other busi-ness entity, the State where it maintainsa place of business) any firearm pur-chased or otherwise obtained by suchperson outside that State, except thatthis paragraph (A) shall not precludeany person who lawfully acquires afirearm by bequest or intestate succes-

sion in a State other than his State ofresidence from transporting the firearminto or receiving it in that State, if it islawful for such person to purchase orpossess such firearm in that State, (B)shall not apply to the transportation orreceipt of a firearm obtained in confor-mity with subsection (b)(3) of this sec-tion, and (C) shall not apply to thetransportation of any firearm acquired inany State prior to the effective date ofthis chapter;

(4) for any person, other than a li-censed importer, licensed manufac-turer, licensed dealer, or licensedcollector, to transport in interstate orforeign commerce any destructive de-vice, machinegun (as defined in section5845 of the Internal Revenue Code of1954), short-barreled shotgun, or short-barreled rifle, except as specifically au-thorized by the Attorney General con-sistent with public safety and necessity;

(5) for any person (other than a li-censed importer, licensed manu-facturer, licensed dealer, or licensed


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collector) to transfer, sell, trade, give,transport, or deliver any firearm to anyperson (other than a licensed importer,licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer,or licensed collector) who the transferorknows or has reasonable cause to be-lieve does not reside in (or if the personis a corporation or other business en-tity, does not maintain a place of busi-ness in) the State in which thetransferor resides; except that thisparagraph shall not apply to (A) thetransfer, transportation, or delivery of afirearm made to carry out a bequest ofa firearm to, or an acquisition by intes-tate succession of a firearm by, a per-son who is permitted to acquire orpossess a firearm under the laws of theState of his residence, and (B) the loanor rental of a firearm to any person fortemporary use for lawful sporting pur-poses;

(6) for any person in connection withthe acquisition or attempted acquisition

of any firearm or ammunition from a li-censed importer, licensed manufac-turer, licensed dealer, or licensedcollector, knowingly to make any falseor fictitious oral or written statement orto furnish or exhibit any false, fictitious,or misrepresented identification, in-tended or likely to deceive such im-porter, manufacturer, dealer, orcollector with respect to any fact mate-rial to the lawfulness of the sale or otherdisposition of such firearm or ammuni-tion under the provisions of this chap-ter;

(7) for any person to manufacture or

import armor piercing ammunition,unless--

(A) the manufacture of such am-munition is for the use of the UnitedStates, any department or agency ofthe United States, any State, or anydepartment, agency, or political sub-division of a State;

(B) the manufacture of such am-munition is for the purpose of expor-tation; or

(C) the manufacture or importationof such ammunition is for the pur-pose of testing or experimentationand has been authorized by the At-torney General;

(8) for any manufacturer or importerto sell or deliver armor piercing ammu-nition, unless such sale or delivery--

(A) is for the use of the UnitedStates, any department or agency ofthe United States, any State, or anydepartment, agency, or political

sudivision of a State;

(B) is for the purpose of exporta-tion; or

(C) is for the purpose of testing orexperimentation and has been au-thorized by the Attorney General;

(9) for any person, other than a li-censed importer, licensed manu-facturer, licensed dealer, or licensedcollector, who does not reside in anyState to receive any firearms unlesssuch receipt is for lawful sporting pur-poses.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any licensedimporter, licensed manufacturer, licenseddealer, or licensed collector to sell or de-liver—

(1) any firearm or ammunition to anyindividual who the licensee knows orhas reasonable cause to believe is less

than eighteen years of age, and, if thefirearm or ammunition is other than ashotgun or rifle, or ammunition for ashotgun or rifle, to any individual whothe licensee knows or has reasonablecause to believe is less than twenty-oneyears of age;

(2) any firearm to any person in anyState where the purchase or posses-sion by such person of such firearmwould be in violation of any State law orany published ordinance applicable atthe place of sale, delivery or other dis-position, unless the licensee knows orhas reasonable cause to believe that

the purchase or possession would notbe in violation of such State law or suchpublished ordinance;

(3) any firearm to any person who thelicensee knows or has reasonablecause to believe does not reside in (or ifthe person is a corporation or otherbusiness entity, does not maintain aplace of business in) the State in whichthe licensee's place of business is lo-cated, except that this paragraph (A)shall not apply to the sale or delivery ofany rifle or shotgun to a resident of aState other than a State in which the li-censee's place of business is located ifthe transferee meets in person with thetransferor to accomplish the transfer,and the sale, delivery, and receipt fullycomply with the legal conditions of salein both such States (and any licensedmanufacturer, importer or dealer shallbe presumed, for purposes of this sub-paragraph, in the absence of evidenceto the contrary, to have had actualknowledge of the State laws and pub-lished ordinances of both States), and(B) shall not apply to the loan or rental

of a firearm to any person for temporaryuse for lawful sporting purposes;

(4) to any person any destructive de-vice, machinegun (as defined in section5845 of the Internal Revenue Code of1954), short-barreled shotgun, or short-barreled rifle, except as specifically au-thorized by the Attorney General con-sistent with public safety and necessity;

and(5) any firearm or armor-piercing

ammunition to any person unless the li-censee notes in his records, required tobe kept pursuant to section 923 of thischapter, the name, age, and place ofresidence of such person if the personis an individual, or the identity and prin-cipal and local places of business ofsuch person if the person is a corpora-tion or other business entity.

Paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of thissubsection shall not apply to transactionsbetween licensed importers, licensedmanufacturers, licensed dealers, and

licensed collectors. Paragraph (4) of thissubsection shall not apply to a sale ordelivery to any research organization des-ignated by the Attorney General.

(c) In any case not otherwise prohibitedby this chapter, a licensed importer, li-censed manufacturer, or licensed dealermay sell a firearm to a person who doesnot appear in person at the licensee'sbusiness premises (other than anotherlicensed importer, manufacturer, ordealer) only if—

(1) the transferee submits to thetransferor a sworn statement in the fol-

lowing form:"Subject to penalties provided bylaw, I swear that, in the case of anyfirearm other than a shotgun or a ri-fle, I am twenty-one years or more o fage, or that, in the case of a shotgunor a rifle, I am eighteen years ormore of age; that I am not prohibitedby the provisions of chapter 44 of ti-tle 18, United States Code, from re-ceiving a firearm in interstate orforeign commerce; and that my re-ceipt of this firearm will not be in vio-lation of any statute of the State andpublished ordinance applicable tothe locality in which I reside. Further,the true title, name, and address ofthe principal law enforcement officer

of the locality to which the firearmwill be delivered are _____________.

_______________________________.Signature


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Date _____________ . "

and containing blank spaces for the at-tachment of a true copy of any permit orother information required pursuant tosuch statute or published ordinance;

(2) the transferor has, prior to theshipment or delivery of the firearm, for-warded by registered or certified mail(return receipt requested) a copy of thesworn statement, together with a de-scription of the firearm, in a form pre-scribed by the Attorney General, to thechief law enforcement officer of thetransferee's place of residence, andhas received a return receipt evidenc-ing delivery of the statement or has hadthe statement returned due to the re-fusal of the named addressee to acceptsuch letter in accordance with UnitedStates Post Office Department regula-tions; and

(3) the transferor has delayed ship-

ment or delivery for a period of at leastseven days following receipt of the noti-fication of the acceptance or refusal ofdelivery of the statement.

A copy of the sworn statement and a copyof the notification to the local law en-forcement officer, together with evidenceof receipt or rejection of that notification,shall be retained by the licensee as a partof the records required to be kept undersection 923(g).

(d) It shall be unlawful for any person tosell or otherwise dispose of any firearm orammunition to any person knowing or

having reasonable cause to believe thatsuch person—

(1) is under indictment for, or hasbeen convicted in any court of, a crimepunishable by imprisonment for a termexceeding one year;

(2) is a fugitive from justice;

(3) is an unlawful user of or addictedto any controlled substance (as definedin section 102 of the Controlled Sub-stances Act (21 U.S.C. 802));

(4) has been adjudicated as a mentaldefective or has been committed to anymental institution;

(5) who, being an alien—

(A) is illegally or unlawfully in theUnited States; or

(B) except as provided in subsec-tion (y)(2), has been admitted to theUnited States under a nonimmigrantvisa (as that term is defined in sec-tion 101(a)(26) of the Immigrationand Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

1101(a)(26));

(6) who has been discharged fromthe Armed Forces under dishonorableconditions;

(7) who, having been a citizen of theUnited States, has renounced his citi-zenship;

(8) is subject to a court order that re-strains such person from harassing,stalking, or threatening an intimatepartner of such person or child of suchintimate partner or person, or engagingin other conduct that would place an in-timate partner in reasonable fear ofbodily injury to the partner or child, ex-cept that this paragraph shall only applyto a court order that—

(A) was issued after a hearing ofwhich such person received actualnotice, and at which such person hadthe opportunity to participate; and

(B) (i) includes a finding that suchperson represents a credible threat tothe physical safety of such intimatepartner or child; or

(ii) by its terms explicitly prohib-its the use, attempted use, orthreatened use of physical forceagainst such intimate partner orchild that would reasonably be ex-pected to cause bodily injury; or

(9) has been convicted in any courtof a misdemeanor crime of domesticviolence.

This subsection shall not apply with re-spect to the sale or disposition of a fire-arm or ammunition to a licensed importer,licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, orlicensed collector who pursuant to sub-section (b) of section 925 of this chapter isnot precluded from dealing in firearms orammunition, or to a person who has beengranted relief from disabilities pursuant tosubsection (c) of section 925 of this chap-ter.

(e) It shall be unlawful for any personknowingly to deliver or cause to be deliv-ered to any common or contract carrier fortransportation or shipment in interstate orforeign commerce, to persons other thanlicensed importers, licensed manufactur-ers, licensed dealers, or licensed collec-tors, any package or other container inwhich there is any firearm or ammunitionwithout written notice to the carrier thatsuch firearm or ammunition is beingtransported or shipped; except that anypassenger who owns or legally possessesa firearm or ammunition being transportedaboard any common or contract carrier for

movement with the passenger in inter-state or foreign commerce may deliversaid firearm or ammunition into the cus-tody of the pilot, captain, conductor oroperator of such common or contract car-rier for the duration of the trip without vio-lating any of the provisions of this chapter.No common or contract carrier shall re-quire or cause any label, tag, or otherwritten notice to be placed on the outsideof any package, luggage, or other con-tainer that such package, luggage, orother container contains a firearm.

(f) (1) It shall be unlawful for any com-mon or contract carrier to transport ordeliver in interstate or foreign commerceany firearm or ammunition with knowledgeor reasonable cause to believe that theshipment, transportation, or receiptthereof would be in violation of the provi-sions of this chapter.

(2) It shall be unlawful for any com-mon or contract carrier to deliver in in-

terstate or foreign commerce anyfirearm without obtaining written ac-knowledgement of receipt from the re-cipient of the package or othercontainer in which there is a firearm.

(g) It shall be unlawful for any person—

(1) who has been convicted in anycourt of, a crime punishable by impris-onment for a term exceeding one year;

(2) who is a fugitive from justice;

(3) who is an unlawful user of or ad-dicted to any controlled substance (as

defined in section 102 of the ControlledSubstances Act (21 U.S.C. 802));

(4) who has been adjudicated as amental defective or who has beencommitted to a mental institution;

(5) who, being an alien—

(A) is illegally or unlawfully in theUnited States; or

(B) except as provided in subsec-tion (y)(2), has been admitted to theUnited States under a nonimmigrantvisa (as that term is defined in sec-tion 101(a)(26) of the Immigrationand Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.1101(a)(26)));

(6) who has been discharged fromthe Armed Forces under dishonorableconditions;

(7) who, having been a citizen of theUnited States, has renounced his citi-zenship;


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(8) who is subject to a court orderthat—

(A) was issued after a hearing ofwhich such person received actualnotice, and at which such person hadan opportunity to participate;

(B) restrains such person fromharassing, stalking, or threatening anintimate partner of such person orchild of such intimate partner or per-son, or engaging in other conductthat would place an intimate partnerin reasonable fear of bodily injury tothe partner or child; and

(C) (i) includes a finding that suchperson represents a credible threat tothe physical safety of such intimatepartner or child; or

(ii) by its terms explicitly prohib-its the use, attempted use, orthreatened use of physical force

against such intimate partner orchild that would reasonably be ex-pected to cause bodily injury; or

(9) who has been convicted in anycourt of a misdemeanor crime of do-mestic violence, to ship or transport ininterstate or foreign commerce, or pos-sess in or affecting commerce, any fire-arm or ammunition; or to receive anyfirearm or ammunition which has beenshipped or transported in interstate orforeign commerce.

(h) It shall be unlawful for any individ-ual, who to that individual's knowledge

and while being employed for any persondescribed in any paragraph of subsection(g) of this section, in the course of suchemployment—

(1) to receive, possess, or transportany firearm or ammunition in or affect-ing interstate or foreign commerce; or

(2) to receive any firearm or ammuni-tion which has been shipped or trans-ported in interstate or foreigncommerce.

(i) It shall be unlawful for any person totransport or ship in interstate or foreigncommerce, any stolen firearm or stolenammunition, knowing or having reason-able cause to believe that the firearm orammunition was stolen.

(j) It shall be unlawful for any person toreceive, possess, conceal, store, barter,sell, or dispose of any stolen firearm orstolen ammunition, or pledge or accept assecurity for a loan any stolen firearm orstolen ammunition, which is moving as,which is a part of, which constitutes, or

which has been shipped or transported in,interstate or foreign commerce, eitherbefore or after it was stolen, knowing orhaving reasonable cause to believe thatthe firearm or ammunition was stolen.

(k) It shall be unlawful for any personknowingly to transport, ship, or receive, ininterstate or foreign commerce, any fire-arm which has had the importer's ormanufacturer's serial number removed,obliterated, or altered, or to possess orreceive any firearm which has had theimporter's or manufacturer's serial numberremoved, obliterated, or altered and has,at any time, been shipped or transportedin interstate or foreign commerce.

(l) Except as provided in section 925(d)of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for anyperson knowingly to import or bring intothe United States or any possessionthereof any firearm or ammunition; and itshall be unlawful for any person knowinglyto receive any firearm or ammunition

which has been imported or brought intothe United States or any possessionthereof in violation of the provisions of thischapter.

(m) It shall be unlawful for any licensedimporter, licensed manufacturer, licenseddealer, or licensed collector knowingly tomake any false entry in, to fail to makeappropriate entry in, or to fail to properlymaintain, any record which he is requiredto keep pursuant to section 923 of thischapter or regulations promulgated there-under.

(n) It shall be unlawful for any person

who is under indictment for a crime pun-ishable by imprisonment for a term ex-ceeding one year to ship or transport ininterstate or foreign commerce any fire-arm or ammunition or receive any firearmor ammunition which has been shipped ortransported in interstate or foreign com-merce.

(o) (1) Except as provided in paragraph(2), it shall be unlawful for any person totransfer or possess a machinegun.

(2) This subsection does not applywith respect to—

(A) a transfer to or by, or posses-sion by or under the authority of, theUnited States or any department oragency thereof or a State, or a de-partment, agency, or political subdi-vision thereof; or

(B) any lawful transfer or lawfulpossession of a machinegun thatwas lawfully possessed before thedate this subsection takes effect.

(p) (1) It shall be unlawful for any per-

son to manufacture, import, sell, ship,deliver, possess, transfer, or receive anyfirearm—

(A) that, after removal of grips,stocks, and magazines, is not as de-tectable as the Security Exemplar, bywalk-through metal detectors cali-brated and operated to detect theSecurity Exemplar; or

(B) any major component of which,when subjected to inspection by thetypes of x-ray machines commonlyused at airports, does not generatean image that accurately depicts theshape of the component. Barium sul-fate or other compounds may beused in the fabrication of the compo-nent.

(2) For purposes of this subsection—

(A) the term "firearm" does notinclude the frame or receiver of any

such weapon;

(B) the term "major component" means, with respect to a firearm, thebarrel, the slide or cylinder, or theframe or receiver of the firearm; and

(C) the term "Security Exemplar" means an object, to be fabricated atthe direction of the Attorney General,that is—

(i) constructed of, during the 12-month period beginning on thedate of the enactment of this sub-section, 3.7 ounces of material

type 17-4 PH stainless steel in ashape resembling a handgun; and

(ii) suitable for testing and cali-brating metal detectors:

Provided, however , That at the close ofsuch 12-month period, and at appropriatetimes thereafter the Attorney Generalshall promulgate regulations to permit themanufacture, importation, sale, shipment,delivery, possession, transfer, or receiptof firearms previously prohibited underthis subparagraph that are as detectableas a "Security Exemplar" which contains3.7 ounces of material type 17-4 PHstainless steel, in a shape resembling ahandgun, or such lesser amount as isdetectable in view of advances in state-of-the-art developments in weapons detec-tion technology.

(3) Under such rules and regulationsas the Attorney General shall prescribe,this subsection shall not apply to themanufacture, possession, transfer, re-ceipt, shipment, or delivery of a firearmby a licensed manufacturer or any per-


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son acting pursuant to a contract with alicensed manufacturer, for the purposeof examining and testing such firearmto determine whether paragraph (1) ap-plies to such firearm. The AttorneyGeneral shall ensure that rules andregulations adopted pursuant to thisparagraph do not impair the manufac-ture of prototype firearms or the devel-opment of new technology.

(4) The Attorney General shall permitthe conditional importation of a firearmby a licensed importer or licensedmanufacturer, for examination and test-ing to determine whether or not the un-conditional importation of such firearmwould violate this subsection.

(5) This subsection shall not apply toany firearm which—

(A) has been certified by the Sec-retary of Defense or the Director ofCentral Intelligence, after consulta-

tion with the Attorney General andthe Administrator of the Federal Avia-tion Administration, as necessary formilitary or intelligence applications;and

(B) is manufactured for and soldexclusively to military or intelligenceagencies of the United States.

(6) This subsection shall not applywith respect to any firearm manufac-tured in, imported into, or possessed inthe United States before the date of theenactment of the Undetectable Fire-arms Act of 1988.

(q) (1) The Congress finds and de-clares that—

(A) crime, particularly crime involv-ing drugs and guns, is a pervasive,nationwide problem;

(B) crime at the local level is exac-erbated by the interstate movementof drugs, guns, and criminal gangs;

(C) firearms and ammunition moveeasily in interstate commerce andhave been found in increasing num-bers in and around schools, asdocumented in numerous hearings inboth the Committee on the Judiciaryof the House of Representatives andthe Committee on the Judiciary of theSenate;

(D) in fact, even before the sale ofa firearm, the gun, its componentparts, ammunition, and the raw mate-rials from which they are made haveconsiderably moved in interstatecommerce;

(E) while criminals freely movefrom State to State, ordinary citizensand foreign visitors may fear to travelto or through certain parts of thecountry due to concern about violentcrime and gun violence, and parentsmay decline to send their children toschool for the same reason;

(F) the occurrence of violent crimein school zones has resulted in a de-cline in the quality of education in ourcountry;

(G) this decline in the quality ofeducation has an adverse impact oninterstate commerce and the foreigncommerce of the United States;

(H) States, localities, and schoolsystems find it almost impossible tohandle gun-related crime by them-selves--even States, localities, andschool systems that have made

strong efforts to prevent, detect, andpunish gun-related crime find their ef-forts unavailing due in part to the fail-ure or inability of other States orlocalities to take strong measures;and

(I) the Congress has the power,under the interstate commerceclause and other provisions of theConstitution, to enact measures toensure the integrity and safety of theNation's schools by enactment of thissubsection.

(2) (A) It shall be unlawful for any in-

dividual knowingly to possess a firearmthat has moved in or that otherwise af-fects interstate or foreign commerce ata place that the individual knows, orhas reasonable cause to believe, is aschool zone.

(B) Subparagraph (A) does notapply to the possession of a fire-arm—

(i) on private property not part ofschool grounds;

(ii) if the individual possessingthe firearm is licensed to do so bythe State in which the school zoneis located or a political subdivisionof the State, and the law of theState or political subdivision re-quires that, before an individualobtains such a license, the law en-forcement authorities of the Stateor political subdivision verify thatthe individual is qualified under lawto receive the license;

(iii) that is—

(I) not loaded; and

(II) in a locked container, or alocked firearms rack that is on amotor vehicle;

(iv) by an individual for use in aprogram approved by a school inthe school zone;

(v) by an individual in accor-dance with a contract entered intobetween a school in the schoolzone and the individual or an em-ployer of the individual;

(vi) by a law enforcement officeracting in his or her official capacity;or

(vii) that is unloaded and is pos-sessed by an individual while trav-ersing school premises for thepurpose of gaining access to pub-

lic or private lands open to hunting,if the entry on school premises isauthorized by school authorities.

(3) (A) Except as provided in sub-paragraph (B), it shall be unlawful forany person, knowingly or with recklessdisregard for the safety of another, todischarge or attempt to discharge afirearm that has moved in or that other-wise affects interstate or foreign com-merce at a place that the person knowsis a school zone.

(B) Subparagraph (A) does notapply to the discharge of a firearm—

(i) on private property not part ofschool grounds;

(ii) as part of a program ap-proved by a school in the schoolzone, by an individual who is par-ticipating in the program;

(iii) by an individual in accor-dance with a contract entered intobetween a school in a school zoneand the individual or an employerof the individual; or

(iv) by a law enforcement officeracting in his or her official capacity.

(4) Nothing in this subsection shall beconstrued as preempting or preventinga State or local government from enact-ing a statute establishing gun freeschool zones as provided in this sub-section.

(r) It shall be unlawful for any person toassemble from imported parts any semi-automatic rifle or any shotgun which is


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identical to any rifle or shotgun prohibitedfrom importation under section 925(d)(3)of this chapter as not being particularlysuitable for or readily adaptable to sport-ing purposes except that this subsectionshall not apply to—

(1) the assembly of any such rifle orshotgun for sale or distribution by a li-censed manufacturer to the UnitedStates or any department or agencythereof or to any State or any depart-ment, agency, or political subdivisionthereof; or

(2) the assembly of any such rifle orshotgun for the purposes of testing orexperimentation authorized by the At-torney General.

(s) (1) Beginning on the date that is 90days after the date of enactment of thissubsection and ending on the day beforethe date that is 60 months after such dateof enactment, it shall be unlawful for any

licensed importer, licensed manufacturer,or licensed dealer to sell, deliver, or trans-fer a handgun (other than the return of ahandgun to the person from whom it wasreceived) to an individual who is not li-censed under section 923, unless—

(A) after the most recent proposalof such transfer by the transferee—

(i) the transferor has—

(I) received from the trans-feree a statement of the trans-feree containing the informationdescribed in paragraph (3);

(II) verified the identity of thetransferee by examining theidentification document pre-sented;

(III) within 1 day after thetransferee furnishes the state-ment, provided notice of thecontents of the statement to thechief law enforcement officer ofthe place of residence of thetransferee; and

(IV) within 1 day after thetransferee furnishes the state-ment, transmitted a copy of thestatement to the chief law en-forcement officer of the place ofresidence of the transferee; and

(ii) (I) 5 business days (meaningdays on which State offices areopen) have elapsed from the datethe transferor furnished notice ofthe contents of the statement tothe chief law enforcement officer,during which period the transferor

has not received information fromthe chief law enforcement officerthat receipt or possession of thehandgun by the transferee wouldbe in violation of Federal, State, orlocal law; or

(II) the transferor has receivednotice from the chief law en-forcement officer that the officerhas no information indicatingthat receipt or possession of thehandgun by the transfereewould violate Federal, State, orlocal law;

(B) the transferee has presented tothe transferor a written statement, is-sued by the chief law enforcement of-ficer of the place of residence of thetransferee during the 10-day periodending on the date of the most recentproposal of such transfer by thetransferee, stating that the transfereerequires access to a handgun be-

cause of a threat to the life of thetransferee or of any member of thehousehold of the transferee;

(C) (i) the transferee has pre-sented to the transferor a permitthat—

(I) allows the transferee topossess or acquire a handgun;and

(II) was issued not more than5 years earlier by the State inwhich the transfer is to takeplace; and

(ii) the law of the State providesthat such a permit is to be issuedonly after an authorized govern-ment official has verified that theinformation available to such offi-cial does not indicate that posses-sion of a handgun by thetransferee would be in violation ofthe law;

(D) the law of the State requiresthat, before any licensed importer, li-censed manufacturer, or licenseddealer completes the transfer of ahandgun to an individual who is notlicensed under section 923, an au-thorized government official verifythat the information available to suchofficial does not indicate that posses-sion of a handgun by the transfereewould be in violation of law;

(E) the Attorney General has ap-proved the transfer under section5812 of the Internal Revenue Codeof 1954; or

(F) on application of the transferor,

the Attorney General has certifiedthat compliance with subparagraph(A)(i)(III) is impracticable because—

(i) the ratio of the number of lawenforcement officers of the State inwhich the transfer is to occur to thenumber of square miles of landarea of the State does not exceed0.0025;

(ii) the business premises of thetransferor at which the transfer isto occur are extremely remote inrelation to the chief law enforce-ment officer; and

(iii) there is an absence of tele-communications facilities in thegeographical area in which thebusiness premises are located.

(2) A chief law enforcement officer towhom a transferor has provided noticepursuant to paragraph (1)(A)(i)(III) shall

make a reasonable effort to ascertainwithin 5 business days whether receiptor possession would be in violation ofthe law, including research in whateverState and local recordkeeping systemsare available and in a national systemdesignated by the Attorney General.

(3) The statement referred to in para-graph (1)(A)(i)(I) shall contain only—

(A) the name, address, and date ofbirth appearing on a valid identifica-tion document (as defined in section1028(d)(1)) of the transferee contain-ing a photograph of the transferee

and a description of the identificationused;

(B) a statement that the trans-feree—

(i) is not under indictment for,and has not been convicted in anycourt of, a crime punishable by im-prisonment for a term exceeding 1year, and has not been convictedin any court of a misdemeanorcrime of domestic violence;

(ii) is not a fugitive from justice;

(iii) is not an unlawful user of oraddicted to any controlled sub-stance (as defined in section 102of the Controlled Substances Act);


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(iv) has not been adjudicated asa mental defective or been com-mitted to a mental institution;

(v) is not an alien who—

(I) is illegally or unlawfully inthe United States; or

(II) subject to subsection(y)(2), has been admitted to theUnited States under a nonimmi-grant visa (as that term is de-fined in section 101(a)(26) of theImmigration and Nationality Act(8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(26)));

(vi) has not been dischargedfrom the Armed Forces under dis-honorable conditions; and

(vii) is not a person who, havingbeen a citizen of the United States,has renounced such citizenship;

(C) the date the statement ismade; and

(D) notice that the transferee in-tends to obtain a handgun from thetransferor.

(4) Any transferor of a handgun who,after such transfer, receives a reportfrom a chief law enforcement officercontaining information that receipt orpossession of the handgun by thetransferee violates Federal, State, orlocal law shall, within 1 business day af-ter receipt of such request, communi-cate any information related to the

transfer that the transferor has aboutthe transfer and the transferee to—

(A) the chief law enforcement offi-cer of the place of business of thetransferor; and

(B) the chief law enforcement offi-cer of the place of residence of thetransferee.

(5) Any transferor who receives in-formation, not otherwise available to thepublic, in a report under this subsectionshall not disclose such information ex-cept to the transferee, to law enforce-ment authorities, or pursuant to thedirection of a court of law.

(6) (A) Any transferor who sells, de-livers, or otherwise transfers a handgunto a transferee shall retain the copy ofthe statement of the transferee with re-spect to the handgun transaction, andshall retain evidence that the transferorhas complied with subclauses (III) and(IV) of paragraph (1)(A)(i) with respectto the statement.

(B) Unless the chief law enforce-ment officer to whom a statement istransmitted under paragraph(1)(A)(i)(IV) determines that a trans-action would violate Federal, State,or local law—

(i) the officer shall, within 20business days after the date thetransferee made the statement onthe basis of which the notice wasprovided, destroy the statement,any record containing informationderived from the statement, andany record created as a result ofthe notice required by paragraph(1)(A)(i)(III);

(ii) the information contained inthe statement shall not be con-veyed to any person except a per-son who has a need to know inorder to carry out this subsection;and

(iii) the information contained inthe statement shall not be used forany purpose other than to carry outthis subsection.

(C) If a chief law enforcement offi-cer determines that an individual isineligible to receive a handgun andthe individual requests the officer toprovide the reason for such determi-nation, the officer shall provide suchreasons to the individual in writingwithin 20 business days after receiptof the request.

(7) A chief law enforcement officer or

other person responsible for providingcriminal history background informationpursuant to this subsection shall not beliable in an action at law for damages—

(A) for failure to prevent the sale ortransfer of a handgun to a personwhose receipt or possession of thehandgun is unlawful under this sec-tion; or

(B) for preventing such a sale ortransfer to a person who may lawfullyreceive or possess a handgun.

(8) For purposes of this subsection,the term "chief l aw enforcement offi-cer" means the chief of police, thesheriff, or an equivalent officer or thedesignee of any such individual.

(9) The Attorney General shall takenecessary actions to ensure that theprovisions of this subsection are pub-lished and disseminated to licenseddealers, law enforcement officials, andthe public.

(t) (1) Beginning on the date that is 30days after the Attorney General notifieslicensees under section 103(d) of theBrady Handgun Violence Prevention Actthat the national instant criminal back-ground check system is established, alicensed importer, licensed manufacturer,or licensed dealer shall not transfer afirearm to any other person who is notlicensed under this chapter, unless—

(A) before the completion of thetransfer, the licensee contacts thenational instant criminal backgroundcheck system established under sec-tion 103 of that Act;

(B) (i) the system provides the li-censee with a unique identificationnumber; or

(ii) 3 business days (meaning aday on which State offices are open)have elapsed since the licensee con-tacted the system, and the system

has not notified the licensee that thereceipt of a firearm by such otherperson would violate subsection (g)or (n) of this section; and

(C) the transferor has verified theidentity of the transferee by examin-ing a valid identification document(as defined in section 1028(d) of thistitle) of the transferee containing aphotograph of the transferee.

(2) If receipt of a firearm would notviolate section 922 (g) or (n) or Statelaw, the system shall—

(A) assign a unique identificationnumber to the transfer;

(B) provide the licensee with thenumber; and

(C) destroy all records of the sys-tem with respect to the call (otherthan the identifying number and thedate the number was assigned) andall records of the system relating tothe person or the transfer.

(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to afirearm transfer between a licensee andanother person if—

(A) (i) such other person has pre-sented to the licensee a permit that—

(I) allows such other person topossess or acquire a firearm; and

(II) was issued not more than5 years earlier by the State inwhich the transfer is to take place;and


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(ii) the law of the State providesthat such a permit is to be issuedonly after an authorized govern-ment official has verified that theinformation available to such offi-cial does not indicate that posses-sion of a firearm by such otherperson would be in violation of law;

(B) the Attorney General has ap-proved the transfer under section5812 of the Internal Revenue Codeof 1954; or

(C) on application of the transferor,the Attorney General has certifiedthat compliance with paragraph(1)(A) is impracticable because—

(i) the ratio of the number of lawenforcement officers of the State inwhich the transfer is to occur to thenumber of square miles of landarea of the State does not exceed0.0025;

(ii) the business premises of thelicensee at which the transfer is tooccur are extremely remote in rela-tion to the chief law enforcementofficer (as defined in subsection(s)(8)); and

(iii) there is an absence of tele-communications facilities in thegeographical area in which thebusiness premises are located.

(4) If the national instant criminalbackground check system notifies thelicensee that the information available

to the system does not demonstratethat the receipt of a firearm by suchother person would violate subsection(g) or (n) or State law, and the licenseetransfers a firearm to such other per-son, the licensee shall include in the re-cord of the transfer the uniqueidentification number provided by thesystem with respect to the transfer.

(5) If the licensee knowingly transfersa firearm to such other person andknowingly fails to comply with para-graph (1) of this subsection with respectto the transfer and, at the time suchother person most recently proposedthe transfer, the national instant crimi-nal background check system was op-erating and information was available tothe system demonstrating that receiptof a firearm by such other person wouldviolate subsection (g) or (n) of this sec-tion or State law, the Attorney Generalmay, after notice and opportunity for ahearing, suspend for not more than 6months or revoke any license issued tothe licensee under section 923, andmay impose on the licensee a civil fine

of not more than $5,000.

(6) Neither a local government nor anemployee of the Federal Governmentor of any State or local government, re-sponsible for providing information tothe national instant criminal backgroundcheck system shall be liable in an ac-tion at law for damages –

(A) for failure to prevent the sale ortransfer of a firearm to a personwhose receipt or possession of thefirearm is unlawful under this section;or

(B) for preventing such a sale ortransfer to a person who may lawfullyreceive or possess a firearm.

(u) It shall be unlawful for a person tosteal or unlawfully take or carry away fromthe person or the premises of a personwho is licensed to engage in the businessof importing, manufacturing, or dealing in

firearms, any firearm in the licensee'sbusiness inventory that has been shippedor transported in interstate or foreign com-merce.

(v) Repealed.

(w) Repealed.

(x) (1) It shall be unlawful for a person tosell, deliver, or otherwise transfer to aperson who the transferor knows or hasreasonable cause to believe is a juve-nile—

(A) a handgun; or

(B) ammunition that is suitable foruse only in a handgun.

(2) It shall be unlawful for any personwho is a juvenile to knowingly pos-sess—

(A) a handgun; or

(B) ammunition that is suitable foruse only in a handgun.

(3) This subsection does not applyto—

(A) a temporary transfer of ahandgun or ammunition to a juvenileor to the possession or use of ahandgun or ammunition by a juvenileif the handgun and ammunition arepossessed and used by the juve-nile—

(i) in the course of employment,in the course of ranching or farm-ing related to activities at the resi-

dence of the juvenile (or onproperty used for ranching or farm-ing at which the juvenile, with thepermission of the property owneror lessee, is performing activitiesrelated to the operation of the farmor ranch), target practice, hunting,or a course of instruction in thesafe and lawful use of a handgun;

(ii) with the prior written consentof the juvenile's parent or guardianwho is not prohibited by Federal,State, or local law from possessinga firearm, except—

(I) during transportation by the juvenile of an unloaded handgunin a locked container directlyfrom the place of transfer to aplace at which an activity de-scribed in clause (i) is to takeplace and transportation by the

juvenile of that handgun,unloaded and in a locked con-

tainer, directly from the place atwhich such an activity took placeto the transferor; or

(II) with respect to ranching orfarming activities as described inclause (i), a juvenile may pos-sess and use a handgun orammunition with the prior writtenapproval of the juvenile's parentor legal guardian and at the di-rection of an adult who is notprohibited by Federal, State orlocal law from possessing a fire-arm;

(iii) the juvenile has the priorwritten consent in the juvenile'spossession at all times when ahandgun is in the possession ofthe juvenile; and

(iv) in accordance with Stateand local law;

(B) a juvenile who is a member ofthe Armed Forces of the UnitedStates or the National Guard whopossesses or is armed with a hand-gun in the line of duty;

(C) a transfer by inheritance of title(but not possession) of a handgun orammunition to a juvenile; or

(D) the possession of a handgunor ammunition by a juvenile taken indefense of the juvenile or other per-sons against an intruder into theresidence of the juvenile or a resi-dence in which the juvenile is an in-vited guest.

(4) A handgun or ammunition, the


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possession of which is transferred to a juvenile in circumstances in which thetransferor is not in violation of this sub-section shall not be subject to perma-nent confiscation by the Government ifits possession by the juvenile subse-quently becomes unlawful because ofthe conduct of the juvenile, but shall bereturned to the lawful owner when suchhandgun or ammunition is no longer re-quired by the Government for the pur-poses of investigation or prosecution.

(5) For purposes of this subsection,the term "juvenile" means a personwho is less than 18 years of age.

(6) (A) In a prosecution of a violationof this subsection, the court shall re-quire the presence of a juvenile defen-dant's parent or legal guardian at allproceedings.

(B) The court may use the con-tempt power to enforce subpara-

graph (A).

(C) The court may excuse atten-dance of a parent or legal guardian ofa juvenile defendant at a proceedingin a prosecution of a violation of thissubsection for good cause shown.

(y) Provisions relating to aliens admit-ted under nonimmigrant visas.

(1) Definitions. In this subsection—

(A) the term "alien" has the samemeaning as in section 101(a)(3) of

the Immigration and Nationality Act(8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(3)); and

(B) the term "nonimmigr ant visa" has the same meaning as in sec-tion 101(a)(26) of the Immigrationand Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.1101(a)(26)).

(2) _ Exceptions. _ Subsections (d)(5)(B), (g)(5)(B), and (s)(3)(B)(v)(II) do notapply to any alien who has been law-fully admitted to the United States un-der a nonimmigrant visa, if that alienis—

(A) admitted to the United Statesfor lawful hunting or sporting pur-poses or is in possession of a hunt-ing license or permit lawfully issuedin the United States;

(B) an official representative of aforeign government who is—

(i) accredited to the UnitedStates Government or the Gov-ernment's mission to an interna-

tional organization having itsheadquarters in the United States;or

(ii) en route to or from anothercountry to which that alien is ac-credited;

(C) an official of a foreign govern-ment or a distinguished foreign visitorwho has been so designated by theDepartment of State; or

(D) a foreign law enforcement offi-cer of a friendly foreign governmententering the United States on officiallaw enforcement business.(3) Waiver.

(A) Conditions for waiver. Any in-dividual who has been admitted tothe United States under a nonimmi-grant visa may receive a waiver fromthe requirements of subsection(g)(5), if—

(i) the individual submits to the Attorney General a petition thatmeets the requirements of sub-paragraph (C); and

(ii) the Attorney General ap-proves the petition.

(B) Petition. Each petition undersubparagraph (B) shall—

(i) demonstrate that the peti-tioner has resided in the UnitedStates for a continuous period ofnot less than 180 days before the

date on which the petition is sub-mitted under this paragraph; and

(ii) include a written statementfrom the embassy or consulate ofthe petitioner, authorizing the peti-tioner to acquire a firearm or am-munition and certifying that thealien would not, absent the appli-cation of subsection (g)(5)(B), oth-erwise be prohibited from suchacquisition under subsection (g).

(C) Approval of petition. The Attor-ney General shall approve a petitionsubmitted in accordance with thisparagraph, if the Attorney Generaldetermines that waiving the require-ments of subsection (g)(5)(B) withrespect to the petitioner—

(i) would be in the interests of justice; and

(ii) would not jeopardize thepublic safety.

Editor’s Note:

18 U.S.C. § 922(z) was added to

the Gun Control Act as part of the

“Protection of Lawful Commerce in

Arms Act” enacted on October 26,

2005. It is effective April 24, 2006.

(z) SECURE GUN STORAGE ORSAFTEY DEVICE—

(1) IN GENERAL- Except asProvided under paragraph (2), it shallbe unlawful for any licensedimporter, licensed manufacturer, orlicensed dealer to sell, deliver, ortransfer any handgun to any personother than any person licensed underthis chapter, unless the transferee isprovided with a secure gun storageor safety device (as defined in section 921(a)(34)) for than handgun.

(2) EXCEPTIONS – Paragraphshall not apply to--

(A)(i) the manufacture for, transferto, or possession by, the UnitedStates, a department or agency of theUnited States, a State, or a department, agency, or political subdivisionof a State, of a handgun; or

(ii) the transfer to, or possessionby, a law enforcement officer employed by an entity referred to inclause (i) of a handgun for law enforcement purposes (whether on oroff duty); or

(B) the transfer to, or possession by

a rail police officer employed by a railcarrier and certified or commissionedas a police officer under the laws of aState of a handgun for purposes of lawenforcement (whether on or off duty);

(C) the transfer to any person of ahandgun listed as a curio or relic bythe Secretary pursuant to section921(a)(13); or

(D) the transfer to any person of ahandgun for which a secure gun storage or safety device is temporarilyunavailable for the reasons describedin the exceptions stated in section923(e), if the licensed manufacturer,licensed importer, or licensed dealerdelivers to the transferee within 10calendar days from the date of thedelivery of the handgun to the transferee a secure gun storage or safetydevice for the handgun.

(3) LIABILITY FOR USE –

(A) IN GENERAL – Nothwithstandingany other provision of law, a person


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who has lawful possession and control ofa handgun, and who uses a secure gunstorage or safety device with the hand-gun, shall be entitled to immunity from aqualified civil liability action.

(B) PROSPECTIVE ACTIONS- A quali-fied civil liability action may not be broughtin any Federal or State court.

(C) DEFINED TERM – As used in thisparagraph, the term qualified civil liabilityaction--

(i) means a civil action brought byany person against a persondescribed in subparagraph (A) fordamages resulting from the criminalor unlawful misuse of the handgunby a third party, if—

(I) the handgun was accessed byanother person who did not have thepermission or authorization of theperson having lawful possession and

control of the handgun to have ac-cess to it; and

(II) at the time access was gainedby the person not so authorized,the handgun had been madein operable by use of a secure gunstorage or safety device; and

(ii) shall not include an action broughtagainst the person having lawfulpossession and control of the handgunfor negligent entrustment or negligenceper se.

APPENDIX A – Repealed.

§ 923 Licensing.

(a) No person shall engage in the busi-ness of importing, manufacturing, or deal-ing in firearms, or importing ormanufacturing ammunition, until he hasfiled an application with and received alicense to do so from the Attorney Gen-eral. The application shall be in such formand contain only that information neces-sary to determine eligibility for licensing asthe Attorney General shall by regulationprescribe and shall include a photographand finger-prints of the applicant. Eachapplicant shall pay a fee for obtainingsuch a license, a separate fee being re-quired for each place in which the appli-cant is to do business, as follows:

(1) If the applicant is a manufac-turer—

(A) of destructive devices, ammu-nition for destructive devices or ar-mor piercing ammunition, a fee of$1,000 per year;

(B) of firearms other than destruc-tive devices, a fee of $50 per year; or

(C) of ammunition for firearms,other than ammunition for destructivedevices or armor piercing ammuni-tion, a fee of $10 per year.

(2) If the applicant is an importer—

(A) of destructive devices, ammu-nition for destructive devices or ar-mor piercing ammunition, a fee of$1,000 per year; or

(B) of firearms other than destruc-tive devices or ammunition for fire-arms other than destructive devices,or ammunition other than armorpiercing ammunition, a fee of $50 peryear.

(3) If the applicant is a dealer—

(A) in destructive devices or am-

munition for destructive devices, afee of $1,000 per year; or

(B) who is not a dealer in destruc-tive devices, a fee of $200 for 3years, except that the fee for renewalof a valid license shall be $90 for 3years.

(C) Repealed by Pub. L. 103-159,Title III, 303(4), Nov. 30, 1993, 107Stat. 1546.

(b) Any person desiring to be licensedas a collector shall file an application forsuch license with the Attorney General.

The application shall be in such form andcontain only that information necessary todetermine eligibility as the Attorney Gen-eral shall by regulation prescribe. The feefor such license shall be $10 per year.

Any license granted under this subsectionshall only apply to transactions in curiosand relics.

(c) Upon the filing of a proper applica-tion and payment of the prescribed fee,the Attorney General shall issue to aqualified applicant the appropriate licensewhich, subject to the provisions of thischapter and other applicable provisions oflaw, shall entitle the licensee to transport,ship, and receive firearms and ammuni-tion covered by such license in interstateor foreign commerce during the periodstated in the license. Nothing in this chap-ter shall be construed to prohibit a li-censed manufacturer, importer, or dealerfrom maintaining and disposing of a per-sonal collection of firearms, subject onlyto such restrictions as apply in this chap-ter to dispositions by a person other thana licensed manufacturer, importer, ordealer. If any firearm is so disposed of by

a licensee within one year after its transferfrom his business inventory into suchlicensee's personal collection or if suchdisposition or any other acquisition ismade for the purpose of willfully evadingthe restrictions placed upon licensees bythis chapter, then such firearm shall bedeemed part of such licensee's businessinventory, except that any licensed manu-facturer, importer, or dealer who hasmaintained a firearm as part of a personalcollection for one year and who sells orotherwise disposes of such firearm shallrecord the description of the firearm in abound volume, containing the name andplace of residence and date of birth of thetransferee if the transferee is an individ-ual, or the identity and principal and localplaces of business of the transferee if thetransferee is a corporation or other busi-ness entity: Provided , That no other re-cordkeeping shall be required.

(d) (1) Any application submitted undersubsection (a) or (b) of this section shall

be approved if—

(A) the applicant is twenty-oneyears of age or over;

(B) the applicant (including, in thecase of a corporation, partnership, orassociation, any individual possess-ing, directly or indirectly, the power todirect or cause the direction of themanagement and policies of the cor-poration, partnership, or association)is not prohibited from transporting,shipping, or receiving firearms orammunition in interstate or foreigncommerce under section 922(g) and

(n) of this chapter;(C) the applicant has not willfully

violated any of the provisions of thischapter or regulations issued there-under;

(D) the applicant has not willfullyfailed to disclose any material infor-mation required, or has not made anyfalse statement as to any materialfact, in connection with his applica-tion;

(E) the applicant has in a State (i)premises from which he conductsbusiness subject to license under thischapter or from which he intends toconduct such business within a rea-sonable period of time, or (ii) in thecase of a collector, premises fromwhich he conducts his collecting sub-

ject to license under this chapter orfrom which he intends to conductsuch collecting within a reasonableperiod of time;

(F) the applicant certifies that—


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(i) the business to be conductedunder the license is not prohibitedby State or local law in the placewhere the licensed premise is lo-cated;

(ii)(I) within 30 days after theapplication is approved the busi-ness will comply with the require-ments of State and local lawapplicable to the conduct of thebusiness; and

(II) the business will not beconducted under the license un-til the requirements of State andlocal law applicable to the busi-ness have been met; and

(iii) that the applicant has sentor delivered a form to be pre-scribed by the Attorney General, tothe chief law enforcement officer ofthe locality in which the premisesare located, which indicates that

the applicant intends to apply for aFederal firearms license; and

(G) in the case of an application tobe licensed as a dealer, the applicantcertifies that secure gun storage orsafety devices will be available at anyplace in which firearms are sold un-der the license to persons who arenot licensees (subject to the excep-tion that in any case in which a se-cure gun storage or safety device istemporarily unavailable because oftheft, casualty loss, consumer sales,backorders from a manufacturer, orany other similar reason beyond the

control of the licensee, the dealershall not be considered to be in viola-tion of the requirement under thissubparagraph to make available sucha device).

(2) The Attorney General must ap-prove or deny an application for a li-cense within the 60-day periodbeginning on the date it is received. Ifthe Attorney General fails to act withinsuch period, the applicant may file anaction under section 1361 of title 28 tocompel the Attorney General to act. Ifthe Attorney General approves an ap-plicant's application, such applicantshall be issued a license upon thepayment of the prescribed fee.

(e) The Attorney General may, after no-tice and opportunity for hearing, revokeany license issued under this section

fed firearms ref guide 2005

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