To amend title 18, United States Code, to require federally licensed firearms importers, manufacturers, and dealers to meet certain requirements with respect to securing their firearms inventory, business records, and business premises.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Schneider (for himself, Mr. Olszewski, Mr. Foster, Ms. Kelly …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill requires all federally licensed gun dealers, manufacturers, and importers to secure their firearms when their stores are closed. The law sets specific standards for how guns must be locked up - either using hardened steel rods through the trigger guard or storing them in safes, vaults, or locked gun cabinets. It also requires these businesses to keep their firearms transaction records in secure storage and gives the Attorney General power to set additional security requirements like alarm systems and security cameras.
Who Benefits and How
Security equipment companies benefit significantly because every gun store in America would need to purchase safes, vaults, steel locking rods, and potentially alarm systems and cameras to comply. Gun safety advocates and communities affected by gun violence benefit from reduced risk of gun store burglaries, which are a major source of firearms used in crimes - when guns are stolen from dealers, they often end up on the streets. Law enforcement agencies benefit from having fewer stolen firearms to track down and investigate.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federally licensed firearms dealers, especially small gun store owners, face new costs and compliance requirements. They must purchase expensive security equipment like fireproof safes (which can cost thousands of dollars), hardened steel locking systems for each firearm, and potentially alarm and camera systems. The bill establishes escalating penalties: first-time violations result in fines of $1,000 to $10,000, second violations trigger license suspension until the problem is fixed, and third violations mean permanent license revocation. These requirements could be particularly burdensome for smaller dealers operating on thin profit margins.
Key Provisions
- Mandates that all firearms in a dealer'''s inventory must be secured when the business is closed, using either hardened steel rods with locks or storage in safes/vaults
- Requires paper records of firearm sales and inventory to be stored in locked safes or vaults
- Authorizes the Attorney General to impose additional security requirements such as alarm systems, security cameras, and site hardening measures
- Creates a three-strike penalty system: $1,000-$10,000 fines for first violations, license suspension for second violations, and permanent license revocation for third violations
- Requires new license applicants to submit security plans showing how they will comply with these requirements
- Exempts gun shows from these requirements (they fall under different subsection)
- Sets staggered implementation: paper record storage requirements take effect 90 days after enactment, while firearm storage requirements take effect one year after enactment
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Establishes mandatory security requirements for federally licensed firearms dealers, manufacturers, and importers to prevent theft from their business premises
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Reduce gun store burglaries and thefts by mandating minimum security standards with escalating penalties for non-compliance"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Gun safety advocates
- Local law enforcement
- Security equipment manufacturers (safes, locks, alarm systems)
- Communities affected by gun violence
Likely Burden Bearers
- Federally licensed firearms dealers (FFLs)
- Small gun store owners
- Firearms manufacturers
- Firearms importers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_licensee"
- → Licensed firearms importer, manufacturer, or dealer (FFL holder)
- "the_attorney_general"
- → Attorney General of the United States (DOJ)
Note: No significant scope conflicts - 'the Attorney General' and 'the licensee' are consistently defined throughout the bill
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer under 18 USC 923, except as provided in subsection (j) governing gun shows
The time period during which security requirements for firearm and record storage apply
A 1/4 inch thick hardened steel rod through the trigger guard and frame/receiver, secured by hardened steel lock with shackle, protected from bolt cutters, and anchored to premises
Locked fireproof safe, locked gun cabinet (with steel rod if non-steel), or locked vault
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology