Sponsors (66)
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Sets a new federal regime for regulating firearm sellers: it tightens licensing rules, raises and changes licensing fees, requires written security plans and quarterly inventories, mandates more frequent inspections (annual for high‑risk dealers, 5‑year for others), creates new recordkeeping and electronic databases, and expands civil and criminal penalties for improper sales or recordkeeping. It also creates rules for online marketplaces (new “facilitator” category), requires broader background‑check procedures, funds hiring of hundreds of ATF investigators, and directs the Attorney General to issue implementing regulations and regular inspection reports to Congress.
Amend Section 922(z) of title 18, United States Code by inserting after (text not shown in this excerpt). (The excerpt shows an insertion instruction but does not include the inserted text.)
Amend Section 922(z) of title 18, United States Code by striking each place it appears and inserting the word "firearm".
Licensed dealers operating a physical retail location must conspicuously post within the licensed premises all warnings that State and local law require be provided to firearms purchasers.
The Attorney General must develop materials about (1) suicide prevention, (2) securing firearms from loss, theft, or access by a minor or prohibited person, and (3) straw purchasing, and must provide those materials to each licensed dealer.
A licensed dealer must give (disseminate) the materials developed by the Attorney General to any person not licensed under this chapter when transferring a firearm to that person.
Primary direct impacts:
Licensed firearms businesses (importers, manufacturers, dealers, collectors) face new compliance obligations: written security plans, annual security certifications, quarterly physical inventories and reporting, longer record retention, video surveillance retention, possible conversion to electronic records, and higher licensing fees. These requirements will increase administrative costs, create training needs, and may require investment in secure storage and surveillance systems.
Online marketplaces and individuals that operate frequent firearm listing platforms will be regulated as “facilitators” if they meet transaction thresholds; they must require transfers through licensed dealers, keep records, pay annual fees, and may face civil/criminal penalties for violations. Small peer‑to‑peer sellers may face new burdens if platforms change terms or require dealer transfers.
ATF and the Department of Justice will have expanded enforcement roles and responsibilities: hiring 650 investigators, conducting more inspections, operating new electronic databases, and producing regular public and congressional reports. Successful implementation will depend on funding and timely rulemaking; without dedicated appropriations, hiring and system builds could lag.
Buyers and the general public may see increased background‑check thoroughness and greater tracing ability for diverted firearms, which could support law‑enforcement investigations and potentially reduce illegal flows of guns to criminals. Buyers may face small delays or process changes (for example, seller requirements to use dealers and increased recordkeeping).
Criminal defendants and civil‑litigation landscapes: broader AG enforcement powers and lowered statutory thresholds for enforcement may increase administrative actions against dealers and marketplace operators; some provisions (e.g., removal of certain relief avenues) may be challenged in court and could draw constitutional or administrative‑law litigation.
Privacy and civil‑liberties concerns: centralizing electronic acquisition/disposition data and longer retention of video and instant‑check records raise privacy and data‑security questions; the bill adds some warrant‑protections but changes to centralized databases may prompt oversight or legal scrutiny.
Overall effect: the bill creates a far stronger, more centralized federal regulatory and enforcement framework governing firearms commerce, shifting more compliance costs and operational duties onto dealers and online marketplaces while increasing ATF capacity and enforcement tools intended to reduce diversion to criminals. Implementation will require substantial regulatory and IT work and likely additional appropriations to meet staffing and systems requirements.
In the first sentence, replaces the phrase 'pistols, or revolvers, or any combination of pistols and revolvers' with an expanded list including 'pistols, revolvers, semiautomatic rifles or shotguns, or rifles or shotguns capable of accepting a high capacity magazine, or any combination of such weapons.'
Replaces a requirement to 'destroy' certain instant criminal background check records with a requirement to 'retain for not less than 90 business days.'
Redesignates existing subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C).
Amends the provision (as redesignated) to require retention rather than destruction of each such form and any record of its contents for not less than 180 days after receipt, and strikes the second sentence of the prior text.
Alters subparagraphs (C) and (D) punctuation and adds a new subparagraph (E) requiring licensees to notify the Attorney General, by the close of business on the day of transfer, when a firearm is transferred pursuant to specified subparagraphs/clauses.
Amends 18 U.S.C. 923(g): makes textual edits to existing paragraphs (including insertion of the phrase 'Federal Firearm Licensee Act' and other minor deletions/insertions) and adds new paragraphs (9) and (10) establishing electronic, searchable firearms records databases maintained by the National Tracing Center and requiring video surveillance and retention requirements for licensed dealers.
Adds paragraph (9) to 18 U.S.C. 923(g) requiring the National Tracing Center (ATF) to establish and maintain electronic, searchable databases of licensee records, allowing licensee-provided electronic access, defining query/access rules (including warrant requirements for searches by personally identifiable information), and restricting use to criminal-investigation-related inquiries.
Adds paragraph (10) to 18 U.S.C. 923(g) requiring licensed dealers to maintain video surveillance of areas where firearms are sold or transferred, retain surveillance records (including sound) for at least 90 days, and post conspicuous signs at public entrances stating premises are under video surveillance.
Amends 18 U.S.C. 924(a)(3) by redesignating existing subparagraphs as clauses, increasing the imprisonment term referenced in the matter following the clauses from 'one year' to '5 years', and adding a new subparagraph (B) creating enhanced penalties (fine and/or imprisonment up to 10 years) when the conduct is related to an offense under 18 U.S.C. 922(a)(6) or (d).
Amends the matter following paragraph (3) of 18 U.S.C. 926(a) by striking a connective ('; and') in the first sentence and replacing the word 'Secretary's' with 'Attorney General's' in the second sentence.
And 34 more affected sections...
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced April 3, 2025 by Robin L. Kelly · Last progress April 3, 2025
Expand sections to see detailed analysis
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House