H.R. 127 – Bullet Points ;-)

First off, let me say I am not a lawyer and have no legal training. If you wish to read the new gun legislation proposed in the House you can click here. Just scroll down the page and read it online, or you can download it as well.

I spent a little time reading it this morning, and I’m just going to share the highlights. If you read through and see that I’ve made some error in my interpretation, please feel free to correct me. I am not including the denial of license section nor the termination/suspension of license sections. You can click the link and read those portions for yourself if you are interested. As I said, I’m not a lawyer. So here goes:

Registration

• Establishment of a federal gun registry by the Attorney General via the BATF with the goal of “registration with the Bureau of each firearm present in the United States.” This includes both newly purchased firearms after the legislation is enacted and every firearm already existing in the U.S. If you own it, you’ll be required to register it.
• Registration of a firearm happens at point of purchase, or you will be required to register your previously obtained firearms within three months of the legislation passing.
• The registration information will include the make, model, and serial number of the firearm, the identity of the owner, the date the owner took possession, and where the firearm will be stored. Registration also requires any information on to whom you may loan the firearm and the timeframe of that loan.
• The registration database will be available to the general public as well as federal and state government entities and their law enforcement agencies.

Licensing

• Establishes a licensing process for possession of a firearm and ammunition. If you possess a firearm or ammunition or want to possess a firearm or ammunition, you will be required to have a license to do so.
• There will be three kinds of firearm licenses, a “General License”, an “Antique Firearm Display License,” and a “Military-style Weapons License.”
• The requirements for a General License include being 21 or over, undergoing a background check, undergoing a psychological evaluation, successfully completing a training course which has been certified by the Attorney General and includes at least 24 hours of training, and obtaining a Firearm Insurance policy which is issued via the office of the Attorney General and includes an $800 fee.
• The requirements for an Antique Firearm Display License to display an antique firearm in your own house include obtaining a General License, supplying proof of ownership, describing how you will display the firearm in accordance with the Attorney General guidelines and certification as such, and demonstrating “that the individual has provided for storage of the firearm in a safe or facility approve by the Attorney General for the storage of firearms.”
• The requirements for a Military-style Weapons License include obtaining a General License, completing a training course for the weapon which includes at least 24 hours of training and live fire training.
• Psychological evaluations for licenses must be in compliance with the Attorney General standards, conducted by an Attorney General approved licensed psychologist, can include psych evaluations of other members of the household if the psychologist deems it necessary, and includes interviews with the applicants spouse, former spouse, and at least two other members of the applicant’s family or an associate to help determine the “mental, emotional, and relational stability of the individual in relation to firearms.”
• Licenses expire every year for the first five years and then every three years thereafter. So you will have to renew your license every year for the first five years.
• Renewal of a license requires a request for renewal within 60 days after the date the license expires, requires that a psychological evaluation has been completed per the Attorney General’s guidelines within the previous three years, requires another eight hours of AG certified training, requires that the individual has Firearm Insurance, and if the license is a Military-style Weapons license, an additional training course of at least 8 hours in use of the weapon has been completed within the last 2 years.
• Firearm Insurance, as mentioned above, is issued by the Attorney General and is good for one year at the cost of $800.
• Page 11 of the bill outlines what are considered “military weapons” which is too long for me to duplicate here. I suggest clicking the link above to read it in detail if you are curious.

Prohibitions and Penalties

• You will not be allowed to possess a firearm or ammunition without a license.
• You will not be able to borrow a firearm not registered in your name unless the AG has been notified of the loan by the firearm’s registered owner.
• You will not be able to transfer a firearm or ammunition to a person who does not have a license.
• You will not be able to sell OR give a firearm OR ammunition to another person without informing the Attorney General beforehand.
• You will not be able to loan a firearm OR ammunition to another person without informing the Attorney General beforehand including the identity of the person you are loaning the item to and the duration of the loan.
• You will not be able to transfer a firearm to anyone under 18.
• Possessing a firearm or ammunition when not licensed, possessing a firearm that is not registered, possessing a firearm registered to someone else without the Attorney General being notified beforehand results in a fine of not less than $75,000 and not more than $150,000, a 15 to 25 year prison sentence, or both.
• Transferring a firearm or ammunition to a person who is not licensed carries a fine not less than $50,000 and not more than $75,000, a prison sentence from 10 to 15 years, or both.
• Selling or giving a firearm or ammunition without notifying the Attorney General results in a minimum $30,000 fine up to $50,000, a 5-10 year prison sentence, or both.
• Loaning a firearm or ammunition to another person without notifying the Attorney General results in a minimum $5,000 fine up to $10,000.
• Transferring a firearm to someone under 18 results in a minimum $75,000 fine up to $100,000, a prison sentence with minimum of 15 years but not more than 25 years. If the underage person uses that firearm in a crime, unintentional shooting, or suicide, the transferor receives a minimum $100,000 fine up to $150,000, a minimum 25 years prison sentence up to 40 years maximum, or both.
• Possessing a firearm without the required Firearm Insurance results in a minimum $50,000 fine up to $100,000, a prison sentence of 10 years minimum to 20 years maximum, or both.
• Possessing ammunition that is 0.50 caliber or greater will be illegal. The resulting penalty is a minimum $50,000 fine up to $100,000, a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years, or both.
• Large capacity feeding devices will be illegal. This includes a device “that has a capacity of, or than can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition, but does not include an attached tubular devices designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.” The resulting penalty will be a fine of $10,000 minimum up to $25,000, a 1-5 year prison sentence, or both.