To address gun violence, improve the availability of records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, address mental illness in the criminal justice system, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · April 10, 2024
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
# Summary
This bill aims to reduce gun violence while protecting Second Amendment rights through several coordinated approaches. It strengthens the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) by requiring federal agencies to share records that would disqualify people from purchasing firearms, authorizing $20 million annually through 2029 for this purpose. The legislation redefines mental health-related firearm prohibitions to establish clearer standards requiring judicial findings of danger, while allowing people to seek relief from gun restrictions and preventing involuntary psychiatric observations alone from triggering disqualifications.
The bill increases federal prosecution of firearms crimes by establishing a "Nationwide Project Exile Expansion" program in high-crime areas, authorizing $15 million annually through 2027 for federal prosecutors and agents to work with state and local law enforcement. It creates a task force to specifically target felons and fugitives attempting illegal firearm purchases and imposes stricter penalties for lying on firearm purchase forms, increasing maximum sentences from five to ten years. The legislation also modernizes interstate firearm commerce regulations, clarifies that unloaded firearms can be transported across state lines if properly secured, and establishes task forces in major cities to investigate illegal gun trafficking. Additionally, it authorizes studies on mass shooting causes and requires states to provide mental health records to NICS or face reductions in federal law enforcement grants.
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