[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1906 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1906
To amend title 18, United States Code to prohibit persons convicted of
misdemeanor crimes against dating partners and persons subject to
protection orders from possessing firearms, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 16, 2021
Mr. Brown introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
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A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code to prohibit persons convicted of
misdemeanor crimes against dating partners and persons subject to
protection orders from possessing firearms, 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 ``Protecting Domestic Violence and
Stalking Victims Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITING PERSONS CONVICTED OF MISDEMEANOR CRIMES AGAINST
DATING PARTNERS AND PERSONS SUBJECT TO PROTECTION ORDERS.
Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (32), by striking all that follows after
``The term `intimate partner''' and inserting the following:
``--
``(A) means, with respect to a person, the spouse
of the person, a former spouse of the person, an
individual who is a parent of a child of the person,
and an individual who cohabitates or has cohabited with
the person; and
``(B) includes--
``(i) a dating partner or former dating
partner (as defined in section 2266); and
``(ii) any other person similarly situated
to a spouse who is protected by the domestic or
family violence laws of the State or Tribal
jurisdiction in which the injury occurred or
where the victim resides.'';
(2) in paragraph (33)(A)--
(A) in clause (i), by inserting after ``Federal,
State,'' the following: ``municipal,''; and
(B) in clause (ii), by inserting ``intimate
partner,'' after ``spouse,'' each place it appears;
(3) by redesignating paragraphs (34) and (35) as paragraphs
(35) and (36) respectively; and
(4) by inserting after paragraph (33) the following:
``(34)(A) The term `misdemeanor crime of stalking' means an offense
that--
``(i) is a misdemeanor crime of stalking under Federal,
State, Tribal, or municipal law; and
``(ii) is a course of harassment, intimidation, or
surveillance of another person that--
``(I) places that person in reasonable fear of
material harm to the health or safety of--
``(aa) that person;
``(bb) an immediate family member (as
defined in section 115) of that person;
``(cc) a household member of that person;
or
``(dd) a spouse or intimate partner of that
person; or
``(II) causes, attempts to cause, or would
reasonably be expected to cause emotional distress to a
person described in item (aa), (bb), (cc), or (dd) of
subclause (I).
``(B) A person shall not be considered to have been convicted of
such an offense for purposes of this chapter, unless--
``(i) the person was represented by counsel in the case, or
knowingly and intelligently waived the right to counsel in the
case; and
``(ii) in the case of a prosecution for an offense
described in this paragraph for which a person was entitled to
a jury trial in the jurisdiction in which the case was tried,
either--
``(I) the case was tried by a jury; or
``(II) the person knowingly and intelligently
waived the right to have the case tried by a jury, by
guilty plea or otherwise.
``(C) A person shall not be considered to have been convicted of
such an offense for purposes of this chapter if the conviction has been
expunged or set aside, or is an offense for which the person has been
pardoned or has had civil rights restored (if the law of the applicable
jurisdiction provides for the loss of civil rights under such an
offense) unless the pardon, expungement, or restoration of civil rights
expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or
receive firearms.''.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITING STALKERS AND INDIVIDUALS SUBJECT TO COURT ORDER
FROM POSSESSING A FIREARM.
Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (8), by striking ``that restrains
such person'' and all that follows, and inserting
``described in subsection (g)(8);'';
(B) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; or''; and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (9) the following:
``(10) who has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor
crime of stalking.''; and
(2) in subsection (g)--
(A) by amending paragraph (8) to read as follows:
``(8) who is subject to a court order--
``(A) that was issued--
``(i) after a hearing of which such person
received actual notice, and at which such
person had an opportunity to participate; or
``(ii) in the case of an ex parte order,
relative to which notice and opportunity to be
heard are provided--
``(I) within the time required by
State, Tribal, or territorial law; and
``(II) in any event within a
reasonable time after the order is
issued, sufficient to protect the due
process rights of the person;
``(B) that restrains such person from--
``(i) harassing, stalking, or threatening
an intimate partner of such person or child of
such intimate partner or person, or engaging in
other conduct that would place an intimate
partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to
the partner or child; or
``(ii) intimidating or dissuading a witness
from testifying in court; and
``(C) that--
``(i) includes a finding that such person
represents a credible threat to the physical
safety of such individual described in
subparagraph (B); or
``(ii) by its terms explicitly prohibits
the use, attempted use, or threatened use of
physical force against such individual
described in subparagraph (B) that would
reasonably be expected to cause bodily
injury;'';
(B) in paragraph (9), by striking the comma at the
end and inserting ``; or''; and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (9) the following:
``(10) who has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor
crime of stalking,''.
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