[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 840 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 840
To protect the rights of the people of the United States under the
Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 16, 2023
Mr. Graham (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Lee, Mr. Cruz,
Mr. Hawley, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Tillis, and Mrs. Blackburn)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect the rights of the people of the United States under the
Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
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 ``Respect for the Second Amendment
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United
States protects the individual right to keep and bear arms
independent of service in an organized militia.
(2) The Supreme Court of the United States held in District
of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 595 (2008) that ``[t]here
seems to us no doubt, on the basis of both text and history,
that the Second Amendment conferred an individual right to keep
and bear arms.''.
(3) The Supreme Court further held in New York State Rifle
& Pistol Association v. Bruen, 142 S. Ct. 2111, 2126 (2022)
that the Second Amendment requires the government to
demonstrate that a law regulating firearms ``is consistent with
this Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation''.
(4) The right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental
individual right guaranteed by the Constitution and a
cornerstone of the liberties that every United States citizen
enjoys.
(5) The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution grants
Congress the authority to enforce, by appropriate legislation,
that Amendment's command that ``[n]o State shall make or
enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or
immunities of citizens of the United States''.
(6) Certain States have enacted or are seeking to enact gun
control laws that are inconsistent with the United States'
historical tradition of firearm regulation, including bans on
the carrying of firearms by residents of other States and bans
on large categories of firearms that are in common use for
lawful purposes.
(7) It is therefore necessary for Congress to exercise its
authority under the Fourteenth Amendment to ensure that the
Second Amendment rights of all people of the United States are
protected from infringement by the States.
(8) Congress has also exercised authority under the Taxing
Clause and Commerce Clause of section 8 of article I of the
Constitution to regulate the interstate market in firearms and
ammunition.
SEC. 3. LIMITATIONS ON REGULATION OF FIREARMS.
(a) Definition of ``Firearm''.--In this section, the term
``firearm''--
(1) has the meaning given the term in section 921 of title
18, United States Code; and
(2) includes--
(A) an antique firearm, as defined in section 921
of title 18, United States Code (notwithstanding
paragraph (1) of this subsection);
(B) an assembled or unassembled firearm; and
(C) any part of a firearm, including any integrated
or detachable magazine or ammunition feeding device.
(b) No Enforcement or Implementation of Laws in Violation of Second
Amendment Rights.--No person acting under color of any statute,
ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of the Federal Government, of
any State or territory, of any locality, or of the District of Columbia
may enforce or implement any Federal, State, or local law, rule,
ordinance, or regulation that prohibits, limits, places requirements or
conditions upon, or otherwise regulates the right of an individual to
lawfully manufacture for personal use, acquire, possess, own, carry,
transport, ship, or use a privately owned firearm or privately owned
ammunition unless the law, rule, ordinance, or regulation is consistent
with the United States' historical tradition of firearm regulation.
(c) Enforcement.--
(1) Public right of action.--The Attorney General may bring
a civil action for declaratory or injunctive relief in an
appropriate district court of the United States against any
person who violates subsection (b).
(2) Private right of action.--
(A) In general.--Any person who is harmed by a
violation of subsection (b), or any membership
organization that represents such a person, may bring a
civil action for declaratory or injunctive relief in an
appropriate district court of the United States against
the person who committed the violation.
(B) Costs and fees.--The court shall award costs
and reasonable attorney fees to any plaintiff who
prevails in an action brought under subparagraph (A),
including if the action is resolved by a negotiated
settlement or mooted by repeal or amendment of the
offending law, rule, regulation, prohibition, policy,
or practice.
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to--
(1) preempt any provision of State law that provides
greater protections to the individual right to keep and bear
arms than those provided under this section; or
(2) limit any other remedy available under the laws of a
State or the United States for infringement of the right to
lawfully manufacture for personal use, acquire, possess, own,
carry, transport, ship, or use a privately owned firearm or
privately owned ammunition.
SEC. 4. REPEALER.
Chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking section 927; and
(2) in the table of sections, by striking the item relating
to section 927.
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