H.R. 6405

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6405 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6405

To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect more victims of 
domestic violence by preventing their abusers from possessing or 
receiving firearms and to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 to establish a grant program relating to the 
removal of firearms from adjudicated domestic violence offenders, and 
for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

November 14, 2023

Mr. Himes (for himself, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, 
Ms. Norton, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Castro of 
Texas, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. Morelle, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Neguse, 
Ms. Ross, Ms. Titus, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Pettersen, Mr. Peters, Ms. Clarke 
of New York, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Grijalva, and Mr. Crow) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect more victims of 
domestic violence by preventing their abusers from possessing or 
receiving firearms and to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 to establish a grant program relating to the 
removal of firearms from adjudicated domestic violence offenders, 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 ``Lori Jackson-Nicolette Elias 
Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) Congress has the responsibility to keep the populace of 
the United States safe, and domestic gun violence is a 
significant threat to the well-being of the United States.
(2) Each year in the United States, more than 800 women are 
shot and killed by an intimate partner. More women are killed 
in the United States by domestic partners than by any other 
type of assailant, and most of these homicides are committed 
with firearms.
(3) Approximately 4,500,000 women alive in the United 
States today report having been threatened with a gun by a 
domestic partner.
(4) Almost two-thirds of intimate partner homicides in the 
United States are committed with a firearm. If a woman has an 
abusive male partner who has access to a firearm, the woman is 
5 times more likely to be killed than she would be if the 
abusive male partner did not have access to a firearm, and 
domestic violence assaults involving a gun are 12 times more 
likely to result in death than domestic violence assaults 
involving other weapons or bodily force.
(5) Perpetrators of intimate partner violence are far more 
likely to commit additional acts of gun violence. Nearly half 
of all mass shooters have committed acts of domestic violence.
(6) Victims of intimate partner violence often pursue 
restraining orders as a means of protection in the immediate 
aftermath of, or in conjunction with, leaving dangerous 
partners and situations. This time period is especially 
dangerous for victims.
(7) Although individuals against whom there is a domestic 
violence restraining order are barred from purchasing a firearm 
under section 922(g)(8) of title 18, United States Code, 
various loopholes in that section allow perpetrators to 
purchase and maintain possession of firearms. For example, 
Federal law only protects domestic violence victims against 
spouses, former spouses, cohabitants, former cohabitants, and 
individuals with whom those victims have a child. Furthermore, 
under Federal law, protective orders issued against domestic 
violence abusers on an emergency or ex parte basis do not 
prohibit those abusers from possessing or purchasing firearms.
(8) Some States and local governments have passed laws that 
go beyond the Federal baseline by expanding the range of 
abusive partners included in firearm restrictions to encompass 
abusive dating partners. Numerous studies conducted between 
2000 and 2017 have shown that States that pass these laws 
experience a significant reduction in intimate partner 
homicides.
(9) States that restrict access to guns to individuals 
subject to active domestic violence restraining orders have 
experienced a 13-percent reduction in intimate partner 
homicides involving firearms.
(10) Congress has the power to set a national standard to 
protect domestic violence victims who seek restraining orders 
against abusive partners by preventing those abusive partners 
from possessing or purchasing firearms and ammunition while the 
restraining order is in effect.

SEC. 3. EXPANDED DEFINITIONS OF ``COVERED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COURT 
ORDER'' AND ``INTIMATE PARTNER''.

Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting before paragraph (32) the following:
``(31) The term `covered domestic violence court order' 
means a court order, with respect to a person--
``(A)(i) that was issued after a hearing of which 
the person received actual notice, and at which the 
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 the person from--
``(i) harassing, stalking, or threatening 
an intimate partner of the person or child of 
the 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 the person 
represents a credible threat to the physical 
safety of an individual described in 
subparagraph (B); or
``(ii) by its terms explicitly prohibits 
the use, attempted use, or threatened use of 
physical force against an individual described 
in subparagraph (B) that would reasonably be 
expected to cause bodily injury.'';
(2) 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 (as defined in section 2266) 
or former dating partner; and
``(ii) any other individual similarly situated to a 
spouse who is protected by the domestic or family 
violence laws of the State, local, or Tribal 
jurisdiction in which the injury occurred or where the 
victim resides.''; and
(3) in paragraph (33)(A)--
(A) in clause (i), by inserting after ``Federal, 
State,'' the following: ``municipal,''; and
(B) by amending clause (ii) to read as follows:
``(ii) has, as an element, the use or 
attempted use of physical force, or the 
threatened use of a deadly weapon, or that is 
classified as stalking, committed by--
``(I) a current or former spouse, 
parent, or guardian of the victim;
``(II) a person with whom the 
victim shares a child in common;
``(III) a person who is cohabiting 
with or has cohabited with the victim 
as a spouse, parent, or guardin;
``(IV) a person similarly situated 
to a spouse, parent, or guardian of the 
victim;
``(V) a person who is or was a 
dating partner of the victim; or
``(VI) a person who is or was a 
dating partner of the victim's parent 
or guardian.''.

SEC. 4. UNLAWFUL SALE OF FIREARM TO A PERSON SUBJECT TO COURT ORDER.

Section 922(d)(8) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
``(8) is subject to a covered domestic violence court 
order;''.

SEC. 5. LIST OF PERSONS SUBJECT TO A RESTRAINING OR SIMILAR ORDER 
PROHIBITED FROM POSSESSING OR RECEIVING A FIREARM 
EXPANDED.

Section 922(g)(8) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
``(8) who is subject to a covered domestic violence court 
order; or''.

SEC. 6. GRANT PROGRAM REGARDING THE REMOVAL OF FIREARMS FROM 
ADJUDICATED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PARTIES.

(a) Amendment.--Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:

``PART PP--GRANT PROGRAM REGARDING REMOVAL OF FIREARMS FROM ADJUDICATED 
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PARTIES

``SEC. 3061. DEFINITIONS.

``In this part:
``(1) Ammunition; firearm.--The terms `ammunition' and 
`firearm' have the meanings given those terms in section 921 of 
title 18, United States Code.
``(2) Covered entity.--The term `covered entity' means--
``(A) a State;
``(B) an Indian Tribe; or
``(C) a unit of local government.
``(3) Domestic violence protection order.--The term 
`domestic violence protection order' has the meaning given the 
term `covered domestic violence court order' in section 921 of 
title 18, United States Code.

``SEC. 3062. GRANT PROGRAM.

``(a) Authority To Make Grants.--The Attorney General may make 
grants to covered entities to assist the covered entities in carrying 
out the policies, procedures, protocols, laws, court rules, or 
regulations described in section 3063.
``(b) Eligible Covered Entity.--
``(1) In general.--A covered entity shall be eligible to 
receive a grant under this section on and after the date on 
which the Attorney General determines that the covered entity 
has in effect policies, procedures, protocols, laws, court 
rules, or regulations that are substantially similar to the 
policies, procedures, laws, court rules, or regulations 
described in section 3063.
``(2) Determination.--In making a determination under 
paragraph (1), the Attorney General may consider policies, 
procedures, protocols, laws, court rules, or regulations of a 
covered entity to be substantially similar to the policies, 
procedures, laws, courts rules, or regulations described in 
section 3063 even if the policies, procedures, protocols, laws, 
court rules, or regulations of the covered entity--
``(A) vary in scope;
``(B) prescribe different types of protective 
orders or firearm surrender orders; or
``(C) provide different timing requirements.
``(c) Use of Funds.--Grant funds awarded under this section may be 
used by a covered entity--
``(1) to assist law enforcement agencies or courts of the 
covered entity in carrying out the policies, procedures, 
protocols, laws, court rules, or regulations described in 
section 3063; and
``(2) in order to ensure the safety of domestic violence 
victims after a domestic violence protection order is issued in 
accordance with the policies, procedures, protocols, laws, 
court rules, or regulations described in section 3063, to 
partner with and provide support to not less than 1 domestic 
violence victim service provider, which may include an 
organization that is a culturally specific organization.
``(d) Application.--
``(1) In general.--A covered entity desiring a grant under 
this section shall submit to the Attorney General an 
application at such time, in such manner, and containing or 
accompanied by such information as the Attorney General may 
reasonably require.
``(2) Contents.--An application submitted under this 
subsection shall include a description of an action plan of the 
covered entity to establish a partnership described in 
subsection (c)(2).

``SEC. 3063. STATE AND TRIBAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.

``The policies, procedures, protocols, laws, court rules, or 
regulations described in this section are policies, procedures, 
protocols, laws, court rules, or regulations relating to the possession 
of a firearm or ammunition that--
``(1) direct a court, upon the issuance of a domestic 
violence protection order, to issue an additional order 
(referred to in this section as a `firearm surrender order') 
that--
``(A) is in effect for the duration of the domestic 
violence protection order;
``(B) automatically terminates upon the expiration 
of the domestic violence protection order;
``(C) requires--
``(i) the individual subject to the firearm 
surrender order to, not later than 24 hours 
after the firearm surrender order is served, 
surrender physical possession of all firearms 
and ammunition in the possession, care, 
custody, or control of the individual, 
including any firearm that the individual has 
entrusted or lent to a third party, by either--
``(I) surrendering the firearms and 
ammunition to the chief law enforcement 
officer of the district in which the 
individual resides or a law enforcement 
agency designated by the State or 
Indian Tribe to receive and store 
firearms and ammunition; or
``(II) selling the firearms and 
ammunition to a licensed dealer (as 
defined in section 921 of title 18, 
United States Code); or
``(ii) the chief law enforcement officer of 
the district in which the individual resides or 
a law enforcement agency designated by the 
State or Indian Tribe to receive and store 
firearms and ammunition to, not later than 24 
hours after the firearm surrender order is 
served, request the surrender of and remove and 
store any firearm or ammunition in the 
possession, care, custody, or control of the 
individual, including firearms and ammunition 
that the individual has entrusted or lent to a 
third party;
``(D) prohibits the individual from purchasing, 
possessing, or receiving, or attempting to purchase or 
receive, a firearm or ammunition for the period of time 
during which the firearm surrender order is in effect;
``(E) revokes any permit or license of the 
individual to purchase, possess or carry a firearm or 
ammunition for the period of time during which the 
firearm surrender order is in effect; and
``(F) requires the individual subject to the 
firearm surrender order to, not later than 48 hours 
after the firearm surrender order is served by a court, 
file with the court--
``(i) a declaration under penalty of 
perjury that--
``(I) the individual has made the 
surrender described in subparagraph 
(C)(i);
``(II) the chief law enforcement 
officer of the district in which the 
individual resides has conducted the 
removal described in subparagraph 
(C)(ii); or
``(III) the individual did not 
possess any firearm or ammunition at 
the time of the issuance and service of 
the firearm surrender order and 
continues to not possess any firearms 
or ammunition; and
``(ii) an itemized receipt of any firearms 
or ammunition surrendered by the individual 
subject to the firearm surrender order under 
subparagraph (C)(i), or removed by a chief law 
enforcement officer from that individual under 
subparagraph (C)(ii), that is signed by the 
individual who took possession of those 
firearms or ammunition;
``(2) in the case of an individual who does not comply with 
paragraph (1)(C)(i), and where there are reasonable grounds to 
believe that the individual possesses or has purchased a 
firearm, require the chief law enforcement officer or 
designated law enforcement agency described in paragraph 
(1)(C)(ii) to remove any firearm or ammunition from the 
individual;
``(3) requires a chief law enforcement officer or 
designated law enforcement agency that conducts a removal under 
paragraph (1)(C)(ii) or (2) or receives a firearm or ammunition 
surrendered by an individual under paragraph (1)(C)(i)(I) to, 
not later than 48 hours after conducting the removal or 
receiving the surrendered firearm or ammunition, notify the 
court of the removal or surrender;
``(4) with respect to a firearm or ammunition that is 
surrendered under paragraph (1)(C)(i) or any firearm or 
ammunition removed under paragraph (1)(C)(ii) or (2), require 
the law enforcement agency to which the firearm or ammunition 
is surrendered or that removes any firearm or ammunition to--
``(A) safely store the firearm or ammunition; and
``(B) at the request of the individual subject to 
the firearm surrender order, not later than 7 days 
after the date on which the domestic violence 
protection order described in paragraph (1) expires or 
is removed--
``(i) perform a background check on the 
individual subject to the firearm surrender 
order to determine whether the individual is 
prohibited from possessing or receiving a 
firearm under Federal or State law; and
``(ii) return the firearm or ammunition to 
the individual subject to the firearm surrender 
order if the individual is not prohibited from 
possessing or receiving a firearm under 
Federal, State, or Tribal law; and
``(5) require the courts and relevant law enforcement 
agencies to partner with and provide support for local domestic 
violence programs in order to ensure the safety of victims of 
domestic violence after the issuance of a firearm surrender 
order.''.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 1001(a) of title I of 
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
10261) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(29) There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are 
necessary to carry out part PP.''.

SEC. 7. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (34 U.S.C. 40902 et 
seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 3(1) (34 U.S.C. 40903(1)), by striking 
``court order (as described in section 922(g)(8)'' and 
inserting ``covered domestic violence court order (as defined 
in section 921(a)''; and
(2) in section 102(b)(1)(C)(v) (34 U.S.C. 
40912(b)(1)(C)(v)), by striking ``court order described in 
section 922(g)(8)'' and inserting ``covered domestic violence 
court order, as defined in section 921(a)''.
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