S 906 IS
Instant Check Gun Tax Repeal and Gun Owner Privacy Act of 2001 (Introduced in the Senate)

To provide for protection of gun owner privacy and ownership rights, and for other purposes.

Mr. ENZI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

To provide for protection of gun owner privacy and ownership rights, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Instant Check Gun Tax Repeal and Gun Owner Privacy Act of 2001'.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON GUN TAX.

(a) IN GENERAL- Chapter 33 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`Sec. 540C. Ban against fee for background check in connection with firearm transfer

`No officer, employee, or agent of the United States, including a State or local officer or employee acting on behalf of the United States, may charge or collect any fee in connection with any background check required in connection with the transfer of a firearm (as defined in section 921(a)(3) of title 18).'.

(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS- The section analysis for chapter 33 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 540B the following:

`540C. Ban against fee for background check in connection with firearm transfer.'.

SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF GUN OWNER PRIVACY AND OWNERSHIP RIGHTS.

(a) IN GENERAL- Chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`Sec. 932. Gun owner privacy and ownership rights

`(a) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States or officer, employee, or agent of the United States, including a State or local officer or employee acting on behalf of the United States may not--

`(1) except as provided in subsection (b), perform any national instant criminal background check on any person through the system established pursuant to section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (18 U.S.C. 922 note) (referred to in this section as the `system') if that system does not require and result in the immediate destruction of all information, in any form whatsoever or through any medium, about such person who is determined, through the use of the system, not to be prohibited by subsection (g) or (h) of section 922 of title 18, United States Code, or by State law, from receiving a firearm; or

`(2) continue to operate the system (including requiring a background check before the transfer of a firearm) unless--

`(A) the `NICS Index' complies with the requirements of section 552a(e)(5) of title 5, United States Code; and

`(B) the agency responsible for the system and the system's compliance with Federal law does not invoke the exceptions under subsections (j)(2), (k)(2), and (k)(3) of section 552a of title 5, United States Code, except if specifically identifiable information is compiled for a particular law enforcement investigation or specific criminal enforcement matter.

`(b) EXCEPTION- Subsection (a)(1) shall not apply to the retention or transfer of information relating to--

`(1) any unique identification number provided by the national instant criminal background check system pursuant to section 922(t)(1)(B)(i) of title 18, United States Code; or

`(2) the date on which that number is provided.'.

(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS- The section analysis for chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is further amended by adding at the end the following:

`932. Gun owner privacy and ownership rights.'.

SEC. 4. CIVIL REMEDIES.

Any person aggrieved by a violation of section 540(b) of title 28, or 932 of title 18, United States Code, as added by this section, may bring an action in the district court of the United States for the district in which the person resides. Any person who is successful with respect to any such action shall receive actual damages, punitive damages, and such other remedies as the court may determine to be appropriate, including a reasonable attorney's fee.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act, except that the amendments made by section 2 shall take effect as of October 1, 2001.