HR18-119

What This Bill Does

The Bipartisan Background Checks Act adds a new firearm-transfer rule to 18 U.S.C. 922. An unlicensed person generally may not transfer a firearm to another unlicensed person unless a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer first takes possession of the firearm and runs the normal background-check process under subsection (t). If the sale fails, return to the original transferor is not treated as a new transfer. The bill includes targeted exceptions for official law-enforcement, armed private security, and military duties; bona fide gifts or loans among close family members and domestic partners; estate or trust transfers by operation of law; temporary transfers to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm; Attorney General-approved National Firearms Act transfers; and temporary transfers at ranges, during hunting, trapping, farm pest control, fishing, or while the transferor remains present. Licensed dealers must provide notice forms, the Attorney General must make English and Spanish forms available, the criminal penalty cross-reference is updated, national firearms registry construction is barred, state law authority is preserved, and the rule takes effect after 180 days.

Who Benefits and How

Gun violence prevention advocates benefit because most private firearm transfers would require a licensed background-check intermediary. Firearm purchasers benefit from clearer transfer procedures and Spanish and English background-check forms. Licensed firearm dealers benefit from more transfer-service demand when private parties need background-check processing. State public safety officials benefit because the bill preserves state authority to enact related transfer laws.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Unlicensed firearm sellers must route most transfers through a licensed dealer rather than completing direct private transfers. Licensed firearm dealers must take possession, run background checks, provide notices, and document certifications. The Attorney General must prescribe forms and make English and Spanish versions available. Family members, hunters, and range users must verify that an exception applies before relying on informal transfers.

Key Provisions

• Requires licensed-dealer background checks for most firearm transfers between unlicensed people.
• Exempts close-family gifts, estates, law-enforcement duties, military duties, imminent-harm transfers, and specified temporary uses.
• Requires licensed dealers to provide transfer-prohibition notices and certifications.
• Bars construction of the bill as authorizing a national firearms registry and preserves state law authority.