[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 397 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.397
One Hundred Ninth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the fourth day of January, two thousand and five
An Act
To prohibit civil liability actions from being brought or continued
against manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers of firearms
or ammunition for damages, injunctive or other relief resulting from the
misuse of their products by others.
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 ``Protection of Lawful Commerce in
Arms Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
provides that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall
not be infringed.
(2) The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
protects the rights of individuals, including those who are not
members of a militia or engaged in military service or training, to
keep and bear arms.
(3) Lawsuits have been commenced against manufacturers,
distributors, dealers, and importers of firearms that operate as
designed and intended, which seek money damages and other relief
for the harm caused by the misuse of firearms by third parties,
including criminals.
(4) The manufacture, importation, possession, sale, and use of
firearms and ammunition in the United States are heavily regulated
by Federal, State, and local laws. Such Federal laws include the
Gun Control Act of 1968, the National Firearms Act, and the Arms
Export Control Act.
(5) Businesses in the United States that are engaged in
interstate and foreign commerce through the lawful design,
manufacture, marketing, distribution, importation, or sale to the
public of firearms or ammunition products that have been shipped or
transported in interstate or foreign commerce are not, and should
not, be liable for the harm caused by those who criminally or
unlawfully misuse firearm products or ammunition products that
function as designed and intended.
(6) The possibility of imposing liability on an entire industry
for harm that is solely caused by others is an abuse of the legal
system, erodes public confidence in our Nation's laws, threatens
the diminution of a basic constitutional right and civil liberty,
invites the disassembly and destabilization of other industries and
economic sectors lawfully competing in the free enterprise system
of the United States, and constitutes an unreasonable burden on
interstate and foreign commerce of the United States.
(7) The liability actions commenced or contemplated by the
Federal Government, States, municipalities, and private interest
groups and others are based on theories without foundation in
hundreds of years of the common law and jurisprudence of the United
States and do not represent a bona fide expansion of the common
law. The possible sustaining of these actions by a maverick
judicial officer or petit jury would expand civil liability in a
manner never contemplated by the framers of the Constitution, by
Congress, or by the legislatures of the several States. Such an
expansion of liability would constitute a deprivation of the
rights, privileges, and immunities guaranteed to a citizen of the
United States under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution.
(8) The liability actions commenced or contemplated by the
Federal Government, States, municipalities, private interest groups
and others attempt to use the judicial branch to circumvent the
Legislative branch of government to regulate interstate and foreign
commerce through judgments and judicial decrees thereby threatening
the Separation of Powers doctrine and weakening and undermining
important principles of federalism, State sovereignty and comity
between the sister States.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are as follows:
(1) To prohibit causes of action against manufacturers,
distributors, dealers, and importers of firearms or ammunition
products, and their trade associations, for the harm solely caused
by the criminal or unlawful misuse of firearm products or
ammunition products by others when the product functioned as
designed and intended.
(2) To preserve a citizen's access to a supply of firearms and
ammunition for all lawful purposes, including hunting, self-
defense, collecting, and competitive or recreational shooting.
(3) To guarantee a citizen's rights, privileges, and
immunities, as applied to the States, under the Fourteenth
Amendment to the United States Constitution, pursuant to section 5
of that Amendment.
(4) To prevent the use of such lawsuits to impose unreasonable
burdens on interstate and foreign commerce.
(5) To protect the right, under the First Amendment to the
Constitution, of manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and
importers of firearms or ammunition products, and trade
associations, to speak freely, to assemble peaceably, and to
petition the Government for a redress of their grievances.
(6) To preserve and protect the Separation of Powers doctrine
and important principles of federalism, State sovereignty and
comity between sister States.
(7) To exercise congressional power under article IV, section 1
(the Full Faith and Credit Clause) of the United States
Constitution.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON BRINGING OF QUALIFIED CIVIL LIABILITY ACTIONS IN
FEDERAL OR STATE COURT.
(a) In General.--A qualified civil liability action may not be
brought in any Federal or State court.
(b) Dismissal of Pending Actions.--A qualified civil liability
action that is pending on the date of enactment of this Act shall be
immediately dismissed by the court in which the action was brought or
is currently pending.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Engaged in the business.--The term ``engaged in the
business'' has the meaning given that term in section 921(a)(21) of
title 18, United States Code, and, as applied to a seller of
ammunition, means a person who devotes time, attention, and labor
to the sale of ammunition as a regular course of trade or business
with the principal objective of livelihood and profit through the
sale or distribution of ammunition.
(2) Manufacturer.--The term ``manufacturer'' means, with
respect to a qualified product, a person who is engaged in the
business of manufacturing the product in interstate or foreign
commerce and who is licensed to engage in business as such a
manufacturer under chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code.
(3) Person.--The term ``person'' means any individual,
corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society,
joint stock company, or any other entity, including any
governmental entity.
(4) Qualified product.--The term ``qualified product'' means a
firearm (as defined in subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 921(a)(3)
of title 18, United States Code), including any antique firearm (as
defined in section 921(a)(16) of such title), or ammunition (as
defined in section 921(a)(17)(A) of such title), or a component
part of a firearm or ammunition, that has been shipped or
transported in interstate or foreign commerce.
(5) Qualified civil liability action.--
(A) In general.--The term ``qualified civil liability
action'' means a civil action or proceeding or an
administrative proceeding brought by any person against a
manufacturer or seller of a qualified product, or a trade
association, for damages, punitive damages, injunctive or
declaratory relief, abatement, restitution, fines, or
penalties, or other relief, resulting from the criminal or
unlawful misuse of a qualified product by the person or a third
party, but shall not include--
(i) an action brought against a transferor convicted
under section 924(h) of title 18, United States Code, or a
comparable or identical State felony law, by a party
directly harmed by the conduct of which the transferee is
so convicted;
(ii) an action brought against a seller for negligent
entrustment or negligence per se;
(iii) an action in which a manufacturer or seller of a
qualified product knowingly violated a State or Federal
statute applicable to the sale or marketing of the product,
and the violation was a proximate cause of the harm for
which relief is sought, including--
(I) any case in which the manufacturer or seller
knowingly made any false entry in, or failed to make
appropriate entry in, any record required to be kept
under Federal or State law with respect to the
qualified product, or aided, abetted, or conspired with
any person in making any false or fictitious oral or
written statement with respect to any fact material to
the lawfulness of the sale or other disposition of a
qualified product; or
(II) any case in which the manufacturer or seller
aided, abetted, or conspired with any other person to
sell or otherwise dispose of a qualified product,
knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe, that
the actual buyer of the qualified product was
prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm or
ammunition under subsection (g) or (n) of section 922
of title 18, United States Code;
(iv) an action for breach of contract or warranty in
connection with the purchase of the product;
(v) an action for death, physical injuries or property
damage resulting directly from a defect in design or
manufacture of the product, when used as intended or in a
reasonably foreseeable manner, except that where the
discharge of the product was caused by a volitional act
that constituted a criminal offense, then such act shall be
considered the sole proximate cause of any resulting death,
personal injuries or property damage; or
(vi) an action or proceeding commenced by the Attorney
General to enforce the provisions of chapter 44 of title 18
or chapter 53 of title 26, United States Code.
(B) Negligent entrustment.--As used in subparagraph
(A)(ii), the term ``negligent entrustment'' means the supplying
of a qualified product by a seller for use by another person
when the seller knows, or reasonably should know, the person to
whom the product is supplied is likely to, and does, use the
product in a manner involving unreasonable risk of physical
injury to the person or others.
(C) Rule of construction.--The exceptions enumerated under
clauses (i) through (v) of subparagraph (A) shall be construed
so as not to be in conflict, and no provision of this Act shall
be construed to create a public or private cause of action or
remedy.
(D) Minor child exception.--Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to limit the right of a person under 17 years of age
to recover damages authorized under Federal or State law in a
civil action that meets 1 of the requirements under clauses (i)
through (v) of subparagraph (A).
(6) Seller.--The term ``seller'' means, with respect to a
qualified product--
(A) an importer (as defined in section 921(a)(9) of title
18, United States Code) who is engaged in the business as such
an importer in interstate or foreign commerce and who is
licensed to engage in business as such an importer under
chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code;
(B) a dealer (as defined in section 921(a)(11) of title 18,
United States Code) who is engaged in the business as such a
dealer in interstate or foreign commerce and who is licensed to
engage in business as such a dealer under chapter 44 of title
18, United States Code; or
(C) a person engaged in the business of selling ammunition
(as defined in section 921(a)(17)(A) of title 18, United States
Code) in interstate or foreign commerce at the wholesale or
retail level.
(7) State.--The term ``State'' includes each of the several
States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American
Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and
any other territory or possession of the United States, and any
political subdivision of any such place.
(8) Trade association.--The term ``trade association'' means--
(A) any corporation, unincorporated association,
federation, business league, professional or business
organization not organized or operated for profit and no part
of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any
private shareholder or individual;
(B) that is an organization described in section 501(c)(6)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under
section 501(a) of such Code; and
(C) 2 or more members of which are manufacturers or sellers
of a qualified product.
(9) Unlawful misuse.--The term ``unlawful misuse'' means
conduct that violates a statute, ordinance, or regulation as it
relates to the use of a qualified product.
SEC. 5. CHILD SAFETY LOCKS.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Child Safety
Lock Act of 2005''.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
(1) to promote the safe storage and use of handguns by
consumers;
(2) to prevent unauthorized persons from gaining access to or
use of a handgun, including children who may not be in possession
of a handgun; and
(3) to avoid hindering industry from supplying firearms to law
abiding citizens for all lawful purposes, including hunting, self-
defense, collecting, and competitive or recreational shooting.
(c) Firearms Safety.--
(1) Mandatory transfer of secure gun storage or safety
device.--Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by
inserting at the end the following:
``(z) Secure Gun Storage or Safety Device.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided under paragraph (2), it
shall be unlawful for any licensed importer, licensed manufacturer,
or licensed dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer any handgun to any
person other than any person licensed under this chapter, unless
the transferee is provided with a secure gun storage or safety
device (as defined in section 921(a)(34)) for that handgun.
``(2) Exceptions.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to--
``(A)(i) the manufacture for, transfer to, or possession
by, the United States, a department or agency of the United
States, a State, or a department, agency, or political
subdivision of a State, of a handgun; or
``(ii) the transfer to, or possession by, a law enforcement
officer employed by an entity referred to in clause (i) of a
handgun for law enforcement purposes (whether on or off duty);
or
``(B) the transfer to, or possession by, a rail police
officer employed by a rail carrier and certified or
commissioned as a police officer under the laws of a State of a
handgun for purposes of law enforcement (whether on or off
duty);
``(C) the transfer to any person of a handgun listed as a
curio or relic by the Secretary pursuant to section 921(a)(13);
or
``(D) the transfer to any person of a handgun for which a
secure gun storage or safety device is temporarily unavailable
for the reasons described in the exceptions stated in section
923(e), if the licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or
licensed dealer delivers to the transferee within 10 calendar
days from the date of the delivery of the handgun to the
transferee a secure gun storage or safety device for the
handgun.
``(3) Liability for use.--
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, a person who has lawful possession and control of a
handgun, and who uses a secure gun storage or safety device
with the handgun, shall be entitled to immunity from a
qualified civil liability action.
``(B) Prospective actions.--A qualified civil liability
action may not be brought in any Federal or State court.
``(C) Defined term.--As used in this paragraph, the term
`qualified civil liability action'--
``(i) means a civil action brought by any person
against a person described in subparagraph (A) for damages
resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of the
handgun by a third party, if--
``(I) the handgun was accessed by another person
who did not have the permission or authorization of the
person having lawful possession and control of the
handgun to have access to it; and
``(II) at the time access was gained by the person
not so authorized, the handgun had been made inoperable
by use of a secure gun storage or safety device; and
``(ii) shall not include an action brought against the
person having lawful possession and control of the handgun
for negligent entrustment or negligence per se.''.
(2) Civil penalties.--Section 924 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``or (f)'' and
inserting ``(f), or (p)''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(p) Penalties Relating To Secure Gun Storage or Safety Device.--
``(1) In general.--
``(A) Suspension or revocation of license; civil
penalties.--With respect to each violation of section 922(z)(1)
by a licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed
dealer, the Secretary may, after notice and opportunity for
hearing--
``(i) suspend for not more than 6 months, or revoke,
the license issued to the licensee under this chapter that
was used to conduct the firearms transfer; or
``(ii) subject the licensee to a civil penalty in an
amount equal to not more than $2,500.
``(B) Review.--An action of the Secretary under this
paragraph may be reviewed only as provided under section
923(f).
``(2) Administrative remedies.--The suspension or revocation of
a license or the imposition of a civil penalty under paragraph (1)
shall not preclude any administrative remedy that is otherwise
available to the Secretary.''.
(3) Liability; evidence.--
(A) Liability.--Nothing in this section shall be construed
to--
(i) create a cause of action against any Federal
firearms licensee or any other person for any civil
liability; or
(ii) establish any standard of care.
(B) Evidence.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
evidence regarding compliance or noncompliance with the
amendments made by this section shall not be admissible as
evidence in any proceeding of any court, agency, board, or
other entity, except with respect to an action relating to
section 922(z) of title 18, United States Code, as added by
this subsection.
(C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this paragraph shall
be construed to bar a governmental action to impose a penalty
under section 924(p) of title 18, United States Code, for a
failure to comply with section 922(z) of that title.
(d) Effective Date.--This section and the amendments made by this
section shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 6. ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION.
(a) Unlawful Acts.--Section 922(a) of title 18, United States Code,
is amended by striking paragraphs (7) and (8) and inserting the
following:
``(7) for any person to manufacture or import armor piercing
ammunition, unless--
``(A) the manufacture of such ammunition is for the use of
the United States, any department or agency of the United
States, any State, or any department, agency, or political
subdivision of a State;
``(B) the manufacture of such ammunition is for the purpose
of exportation; or
``(C) the manufacture or importation of such ammunition is
for the purpose of testing or experimentation and has been
authorized by the Attorney General;
``(8) for any manufacturer or importer to sell or deliver armor
piercing ammunition, unless such sale or delivery--
``(A) is for the use of the United States, any department
or agency of the United States, any State, or any department,
agency, or political subdivision of a State;
``(B) is for the purpose of exportation; or
``(C) is for the purpose of testing or experimentation and
has been authorized by the Attorney General;''.
(b) Penalties.--Section 924(c) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Except to the extent that a greater minimum sentence is
otherwise provided under this subsection, or by any other provision of
law, any person who, during and in relation to any crime of violence or
drug trafficking crime (including a crime of violence or drug
trafficking crime that provides for an enhanced punishment if committed
by the use of a deadly or dangerous weapon or device) for which the
person may be prosecuted in a court of the United States, uses or
carries armor piercing ammunition, or who, in furtherance of any such
crime, possesses armor piercing ammunition, shall, in addition to the
punishment provided for such crime of violence or drug trafficking
crime or conviction under this section--
``(A) be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than
15 years; and
``(B) if death results from the use of such ammunition--
``(i) if the killing is murder (as defined in section
1111), be punished by death or sentenced to a term of
imprisonment for any term of years or for life; and
``(ii) if the killing is manslaughter (as defined in
section 1112), be punished as provided in section 1112.''.
(c) Study and Report.--
(1) Study.--The Attorney General shall conduct a study to
determine whether a uniform standard for the testing of projectiles
against Body Armor is feasible.
(2) Issues to be studied.--The study conducted under paragraph
(1) shall include--
(A) variations in performance that are related to the
length of the barrel of the handgun or center-fire rifle from
which the projectile is fired; and
(B) the amount of powder used to propel the projectile.
(3) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit a report containing
the results of the study conducted under this subsection to--
(A) the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on the
Judiciary of the Senate; and
(B) the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on the
Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.