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Bill
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Child Handgun Safety Act

H.R. 2567 · 113th Congress · Jun 27, 2013 · Lineage

A BILL

To require that all handguns manufactured, sold in, or imported into, the United States incorporate technology that precludes the average five year old child from operating the handgun when it is ready to fire.

Section 1 Short title

This Act may be cited as the “Child Handgun Safety Act”.

Sec. 2 Consumer product safety standard for child-resistant handguns

(a)
Establishment of standard— Notwithstanding section 3(a)(5)(E) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)(5)(E)), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Director of the National Institute of Justice, shall promulgate a consumer product safety standard under section 7(a) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 2056(a)) for handguns.
(b)
Standard Requirements—
(1)
In general— The standard established under subsection (a) shall require that—
(A)
effective 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, any handgun manufactured in the United States must be child-resistant and include a mechanism such as one described in paragraph (2) that effectively precludes an average five year old child from operating the handgun when it is ready to fire; and
(B)
effective 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, any handgun sold, offered for sale, traded, transferred, shipped, leased, or distributed in the United States must be—
(i)
child-resistant, if manufactured on or after the effective date in subparagraph (A); or
(ii)
a retrofitted child-resistant handgun, if manufactured before the effective date in paragraph (1).
(2)
Mechanisms described— The mechanisms described in paragraph (1)(A) include—
(A)
raising trigger resistance to at least a ten-pound pull;
(B)
altering the firing mechanism so that an average five year old child’s hands are too small to operate the handgun; or
(C)
requiring a series of multiple motions in order to fire the handgun.
(c)
Exemptions—
(1)
Antique firearms— The standard established under this section shall not require retrofitting of antique firearms.
(2)
Military firearms— The standard established under this section shall not apply to a firearm that is owned by the Department of Defense.
(d)
Cost of retrofitting—
(1)
In general— Except as provided in paragraph (2), the cost of retrofitting a handgun as required under subsection (b) shall be borne by the manufacturer of the handgun if the manufacturer is operational at the time the retrofit is required.
(2)
Reimbursement— Section 524(c) of title 28, United States Code, is amended—
(A)
in subparagraph (H), by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon;
(B)
in subparagraph (I), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
(C)
by inserting after subparagraph (I) the following:

“(J) payments to reimburse manufacturers of handguns for the costs of retrofitting handguns as required by section 201(b)(2)(B) of the Child Handgun Safety Act.”

Sec. 3 Definitions

In this title:
(1)
Handgun and antique firearm— The terms handgun and antique firearm have the meanings given such terms in section 921 of title 18, United States Code.
(2)
child-resistant handgun— The term child-resistant handgun means a handgun that—
(A)
prevents a child from being able to fire the handgun; and
(B)
was manufactured in such a manner that the firing restriction described in subparagraph (A)—
(i)
is incorporated into the design of the handgun; and
(ii)
cannot be readily removed or deactivated.
(3)
Retrofitted personalized handgun— The term retrofitted child-resistant handgun means a handgun fitted with a device that—
(A)
precludes an average five year old child from operating the handgun when it is ready to fire; and
(B)
attaches to the handgun in a manner such that the device cannot be readily removed or deactivated.