To require lost or stolen firearms to be reported to law enforcement authorities within 48 hours, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Casten (for himself, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Ms. Norton, …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Gun Trafficker Detection Act requires firearm owners to report lost or stolen guns to law enforcement within 48 hours of discovering the loss or theft. The bill creates a federal web portal for reporting and establishes civil penalties for non-compliance, aiming to help law enforcement track firearms used in crimes and identify straw purchasers or gun traffickers.
Who Benefits and How
Law enforcement agencies benefit from improved tracking of firearms that may be used in crimes. Police departments would receive at least 5% of federal crime-fighting grants specifically for managing lost/stolen firearm data. The Attorney General gains new enforcement authority through civil penalties and the ability to temporarily ban repeat violators from purchasing new firearms.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Individual gun owners face new legal obligations to monitor and report lost or stolen firearms within 48 hours, or face fines of up to $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for subsequent violations. Repeat violators (two or more penalties) could be temporarily banned from receiving firearms for 1-5 years. Gun dealers must provide notice of these requirements to buyers.
Key Provisions
- Requires firearm owners to report lost or stolen guns to the Attorney General (via web portal) or local police within 48 hours
- Establishes civil penalties: up to $1,000 for first violation, up to $5,000 for repeat violations
- Creates temporary firearm purchase bans for repeat violators: 1 year after two violations, 5 years after three violations
- Mandates the Attorney General create a web portal for reporting within 180 days
- Requires 5% of federal crime-fighting grants be used for lost/stolen firearm data management
- Updates the national instant background check system to enforce the new purchase restrictions
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
To require individuals who discover their firearms lost or stolen to report it to law enforcement within 48 hours, and impose penalties for violations.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_attorney_general"
- → Attorney General
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Penalties imposed on individuals who violate the reporting requirements.
Mandates individuals to report lost or stolen firearms within 48 hours.
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