119-s123

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 123 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 123

 To authorize for a grant program for handgun licensing programs, and 
 for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 January 16, 2025

Mr. Van Hollen (for himself, Mr. Murphy, and Mr. Blumenthal) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
 on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To authorize for a grant program for handgun licensing programs, and 
 for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Handgun Permit to Purchase Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds as follows:

    (1) in 2023, gun violence claimed 46,728 lives, marking the 
 third-highest number of gun-related deaths ever recorded in the 
 United States in a single year.

    (2) Between 2018 and 2022, approximately 90 percent of the 
 firearm violence committed in the United States for which a 
 firearm type was specified involved a handgun.

    (3) During the 5-year period described in paragraph

    (2) , 
 35,959 people in the United States were killed with a handgun.

    (4) Research by top national experts shows that--
        (A) the adoption of handgun purchaser licensing 
 laws is associated with significant reductions in 
 firearm-related homicides; and
        (B) the repeal of handgun purchaser licensing laws 
 is associated with significant increases in firearm-
 related homicides.

    (5) Research on the effects of the adoption of a handgun 
 purchaser licensing law in Connecticut in 1995 showed--
        (A) a 27.8-percent reduction in the rate of firearm 
 homicide; and
        (B) a 32.8-percent reduction in firearm suicide 
 rates.

    (6) Published research has shown that the repeal of a 
 handgun purchaser licensing law in Missouri in 2007 was 
 associated with--
        (A) a 47.3-percent increase in the rate of firearm 
 homicide; and
        (B) a 23.5-percent increase in firearm suicide 
 rates.

    (7) Research on the impact of the adoption of a handgun 
 purchaser licensing law in Maryland in 2013 found--
        (A) that the adoption was associated with an 82-
 percent reduction in the Baltimore Police Department's 
 recovery of handguns with key indications of diversion 
 for criminal use; and
        (B) that 41 percent of prohibited purchasers 
 surveyed in Baltimore reported greater difficulty in 
 obtaining a handgun.

    (8) Research on the effects of firearm purchaser licensing 
 laws throughout 3 decades found that--
        (A) in urban counties between 1984 and 2015, 
 firearm purchaser licensing laws were associated with 
 an 11 percent reduction in firearm homicides; and
        (B) between 1984 and 2017, States with strong 
 firearm purchaser licensing laws were associated with 
 56 percent lower rates of fatal mass shooting incidents 
 and 67 percent fewer mass shooting victims.

    (9) In States that have had effective handgun purchaser 
 licensing laws for decades, such as Connecticut, Massachusetts, 
 New Jersey, and New York, the vast majority of firearms traced 
 to crimes originated in States that do not have handgun 
 purchaser licensing laws, which supports the need for handgun 
 purchaser licensing laws in every State.

    (10) Research has shown that States with handgun purchaser 
 licensing laws export far fewer firearms for criminal use in 
 other States than States that lack handgun purchaser licensing 
 laws.

    (11) On January 13, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United 
 States declined to hear a challenge to Maryland's handgun 
 licensing law, allowing the ruling of the United States Court 
 of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which upheld the 
 constitutionality of the law, to stand.

SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED FOR HANDGUN LICENSING.

    (a) In General.--Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:

 ``PART PP--HANDGUN LICENSING GRANT PROGRAM

``

SEC. 3061. DEFINITION.

 ``In this part, the term `handgun' has the meaning given the term 
in 

section 921

    (a) of title 18, United States Code.

``

SEC. 3062. GRANT PROGRAM.

 ``

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General may award grants to States, 
units of local government, and Indian tribes for the development, 
implementation, and evaluation of handgun purchaser licensing 
requirements.
 ``

    (b) Program Authorized.--From the amounts appropriated to carry 
out this part, and not later than 90 days after such amounts are 
appropriated, the Attorney General shall award grants, on a competitive 
basis, to eligible applicants whose applications are approved under 
subsection
            (c) to assist such applicants in implementing and improving 
handgun purchaser licensing programs.
 ``
            (c) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
part, a State, unit of local government, or Indian tribe shall submit 
to the Attorney General an application at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the Attorney General may require, 
including--
 ``

    (1) a description of the law that the applicant has 
 enacted to require a license for any purchase of a handgun, 
 including a description of any exemptions to such law; and
 ``

    (2) a description of how the applicant will use the grant 
 to carry out or improve its handgun purchaser licensing 
 program.
 ``
            (d) Eligibility Requirements.--To be eligible for a grant under 
this part, an applicant shall have in effect a handgun purchaser 
licensing law that includes the following requirements:
 ``

    (1) With respect to an individual applying for a handgun 
 license or permit--
 ``
        (A) the individual shall be--
 ``
            (i) not less than 21 years old; and
 ``
            (ii) a citizen or national of the United 
 States or an alien lawfully admitted for 
 permanent residence (as those terms are defined 
 in 

section 101

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

    (a) ));
 ``
        (B) the individual shall apply for the handgun 
 purchaser license or permit at a law enforcement agency 
 in the State in which the individual resides;
 ``
            (C) the individual shall reapply for the handgun 
 purchaser license or permit after a period not longer 
 than 5 years; and
 ``
            (D) the individual shall, in connection with the 
 application for the handgun purchaser license or 
 permit--
 ``
            (i) submit to a background investigation 
 and a criminal history check, as established by 
 the State, which shall ensure, at a minimum, 
 that the individual is not prohibited from 
 possessing a firearm under 

section 922

    (g) of 
 title 18, United States Code; and
 ``
            (ii) submit fingerprints and photographs.
 ``

    (2) An individual who is prohibited from possessing a 
 firearm under 

section 922

    (g) of title 18, United States Code, 
 may not be issued a handgun purchasing license or permit.
 ``

    (e) Use of Funds.--Grant funds awarded under this part shall be 
used to improve the handgun purchaser licensing program of the grant 
recipient.''.

    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--

Section 1001

    (a) of title I of 
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
10261

    (a) ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
 ``

    (29) There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out part PP.''.
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