Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to adopt an amendment to S 649 that amends the background check process and requires a background check for firearms transfers made at gun shows or on the internet.

Highlights:

• Prohibits a licensed firearms dealer from completing the transfer of a firearm to an unlicensed individual at a gun show or online until the following have occurred (Sec. 122):
• The licensed firearms dealer has contacted the National Instant Criminal Background Check System; and 
• The system has confirmed that the unlicensed individual is not prohibited by law from receiving the firearm.

• Specifies that in the case of background checks conducted at gun shows or events, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System confirms that an unlicensed individual is not prohibited by law from receiving the firearm either by responding to the licensee’s request, or by not responding within the following time periods (Sec. 122):
• Within 48 hours during the 4 years following the enactment of this bill; or
• Within 24 hours after the expiration of those 4 years.

• Prohibits the Federal Bureau of Investigation from charging a user fee for a background check required by this bill (Sec. 122).

• Specifies that an individual who violates the background check requirement, either by transferring a firearm to an unlicensed individual who is prohibited from receiving a firearm or by transferring a firearm to a law enforcement officer investigating violations of this requirement, is subject to a fine, a prison sentence of up to 5 years, or both (Sec. 123).

• Exempts the transfer of a firearm from the background check requirement if both individuals are unlicensed and reside in the same state, and the Attorney General has certified that the state’s requirements under law are generally equivalent to the requirements of this bill (Sec. 122).

• Exempts the transfer of a firearm from the background check requirement if the transfer is made between certain family members, including the spouses of family members (Sec. 122).

• Prohibits the Attorney General from centralizing any records regarding the acquisition, disposition, licensing, possession, or ownership of firearms (Sec. 122).

• Specifies that any individual who violates the prohibition on centralization of firearms records is subject to a fine, a prison sentence of up to 15 years, or both (Sec. 123).

• Appropriates $100 million for each fiscal year 2014 through 2017 for the reauthorization of the National Criminal History Records Improvement Program (Sec. 111).

• Appropriates $100 million for each fiscal year 2014 through 2017 for grants used under the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (Sec. 113).

• Requires grants dispersed under the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to be used to improve automation and transmission of records regarding the following (Sec. 113): 
• mental health; 
• criminal history dispositions;
• convictions of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence;
• court orders; and
• mental health adjudications.

• Requires the Attorney General to establish a 4-year implementation plan with each state or Indian tribal government who receives a grant from the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to ensure maximum coordination and automation of the process of reporting records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (Sec. 112).

• Authorizes a veteran to have his or her status as “mentally incompetent to safely use, carry, possess, or store a firearm” reviewed by a board or a court of competent jurisdiction (Sec. 115).

• Establishes the National Commission on Mass Violence to study the following (Secs. 142 & 143): 
• the availability and nature of firearms, including the means of acquiring firearms; 
• issues relating to mental health;
• all positive and negative impacts of the availability and nature of firearms on incidents of mass violence or in their prevention; and 
• the context of incidents of mass violence (including ones not involving firearms) in order to study their root causes.

• Specifies that the remainder of this bill remains in effect in the case that any provision is made invalid in any court case (Sec. 104).

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text