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S.397
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed by Senate)
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.
(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.
`(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-
`(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.'.
(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.'.
(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.
Passed the Senate July 29, 2005.
Attest:
Secretary.
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 397
AN ACTTo 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.
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S.397
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed by Senate)
So they snuck through some of that APA crap. Wonderful.
At least manufacturers have been protected from stupid lawsuits. Apparently that's the best we can get in this day and age; laws that protect us from judges that don't have common sense or have agendas.
`
(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
`(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.'.
Although the manufacturer, or dealer, must supply the trigger lock, which is a capitulation, and will increase costs, a light price to pay for getting the legislation past thre usual scumbags. The gist of the liability is on the owner, if the firearm gets used in an inappropriate manner, and said use stemmed from the trigger lock not being in place. I suspect most of the readers here, when their firearm is not in their possesion or control, it is secured by a lot more stuff than a trigger lock. The firearms that are in control of the owner, ie carried, or in the home (for immediate usage) in a place under direct control of the owner, do not need the trigger lock in place.
I personally detest such idiot control mechanisms, but after being defanged, the addition to the general bill really poses very little problem with me other than the overall idiocy of the rule. It helps get the legislation past the schumers et al. (ps, i think I may have cropped some of the original text, please check the original above )