Firearms trafficking offense

(a) In general Section 933 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 933. Trafficking in firearms (a) Prohibitions (1) In general It shall be unlawful for any person to— (A) ship, transport, transfer, cause to be transported, or otherwise dispose of 2 or more firearms to another person in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, if the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the use, carrying, or possession of a firearm by such other person would constitute a felony (as defined in section 932(a)); (B) receive from another person 2 or more firearms in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, if the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the receipt would constitute a felony; or (C) attempt or conspire to commit conduct described in paragraph (1) or (2). (2) Licensees It shall be unlawful for any licensee to ship, transport, transfer, cause to be transported, or otherwise dispose of any firearm to another licensee if the licensee knows or has reasonable cause to believe that— (A) in the preceding year, 5 or more firearms that were used in a crime under Federal, State, or local law within 3 years after the last known retail sale of the firearms have been traced to such other licensee; (B) in the preceding year, to the knowledge of the licensee, such other licensee has since failed to implement or update business practices to prevent firearm trafficking or straw purchasing; (C) such other licensee lacks adequate security to prevent loss or theft of firearms or ammunition from the inventory of such other licensee; or (D) in the most recent inspection of such other licensee under this chapter, the Attorney General has found 3 or more violations relating to failures to timely or accurately record information in firearm acquisition and disposition records. (b) Affirmative defenses It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge of violating— (1) subsection (a)(1) of this section, that the licensee took all reasonable steps, including the implementation of and updates to business practices pursuant to subsection 923(g)(7)(D), to prevent the diversion of inventory firearms from lawful commerce; and (2) subsection (a)(2) of this section, that the licensee took all reasonable steps to comply with subsection (a)(2) and failed to discover facts that would render disposition of firearms to a licensee unlawful under subsection (a)(2) only as the direct result of a violation of Federal law by the licensee. (c) Penalties (1) In general Any person who violates subsection (a)(1) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 15 years, or both. (2) Licensees (A) Civil penalties Any licensee who violates subsection (a)(2) shall, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, disgorge all profits from the transfer of the firearms that are the subject of the violation, and the court may impose on the licensee a civil money penalty equal to the greater of— (i) $10,000 for each firearm involved, or $50,000 with respect to any such firearm that was subsequently used in a crime under Federal, State, or local law; or (ii) the total amount expended by the Attorney General in the preceding 3 fiscal years to trace firearms used in a crime under Federal, State, or local law, multiplied by the percentage of the firearms traced to the licensee that were recovered during that period. (B) License suspension or revocation In addition to any penalty under subparagraph (A), the Attorney General may, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, suspend or revoke the license issued to the licensee under this chapter in the case of the first violation of this section and, in the case of any subsequent violation, shall immediately revoke the license.. (b) Directive to Sentencing Commission (1) In general Pursuant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission shall review and, if appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements applicable to persons convicted of offenses under section 933 of title 18, United States Code (as added by subsection (a) of this section). (2) Requirements In carrying out this section, the Commission shall review the penalty structure that the guidelines provide based on the number of firearms involved in the offense and determine whether any changes to the penalty structure are appropriate in order to reflect the intent of the Congress that the penalties reflect the gravity of the offense, the number of trafficked firearms purchased by or from the defendant, the extent of the knowledge of the defendant about the overall scheme to traffic firearms, the amount of money or nonmonetary compensation provided to the defendant for the participation of the defendant, and the culpability of the defendant, including whether the defendant is a licensed manufacturer, importer, or dealer and, as mitigating factors, whether the defendant is a relative or current or former intimate partner of another individual involved in a conspiracy to traffic firearms, is a domestic violence survivor, or has been otherwise exploited by personal affection, fear of reprisal. or economic need to commit an offense under section 933 of title 18, United States Code. (c) Directive to ATF (1) Duty to investigate The Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives shall investigate the source of firearms trafficked in violation of section 923 or 933 of title 18, United States Code, and in particular, whether the source is engaged in the business of importing, manufacturing, or dealing in firearms in violation of section 922(a)(1) of such title, and refer prosecutions of the source to the Attorney General. The Director shall assess whether regulations, informal guidance, licensee resources regarding trafficking, and the conduct of a firearms transferee would indicate, to a reasonable person, that the transferee may be violating section 932 or 933 of such title, and revise and re-issue the materials developed under section 4(b) of this Act, accordingly. (2) Gun trafficking awareness program The Director shall establish a program, to be known as the Gun Trafficking Awareness Program, in which licensees under chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, who have transferred firearms to an individual who has violated section 932(b) of such title, but who lack the mens rea to have committed a violation of section 933 of such title, may be enrolled for purposes of preventing future such violations. The program shall include, at a minimum— (A) electronic or in-person training of such a licensee and all employees of the licensee who are responsible for handling firearms to identify signs of straw purchasing or gun trafficking; (B) the adoption by such a licensee of electronic record keeping and collation of records relevant to trafficking, including crime gun trace requests and multiple purchase reports; (C) a requirement that such a licensee who operates retail premises from which firearms are transferred maintain audio and video surveillance of all areas of the premises; and (D) inspections of such a licensee, as appropriate, and not more frequently than quarterly, for a period of 1 year, to ensure compliance with such chapter. (d) Directive to the Attorney General Within 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report containing the following information: (1) For the preceding 12-month period— (A) the number of investigations initiated for violations of section 933 of title 18, United States Code; (B) the number of individuals, entities, and Federal firearm licensees charged criminally or civilly for the violations; (C) the number of individuals, entities, and Federal firearm licensees indicted for the violations; (D) the number of investigations referred to the Attorney General by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that did not result in criminal or civil charges; and (E) the number of licensees enrolled in, and the number of licenses determined to have successfully completed, the program established under subsection (c)(2). (2) To the extent the information is available, the average length of the sentences of imprisonment and average and mean monetary fines imposed on persons convicted of violations of section 933 of title 18, United States Code, during the preceding 12-month period. (3) A narrative describing the trafficking schemes prosecuted in the preceding 12-month period, including the sources of firearms, the roles of various defendants in the scheme, the number of firearms trafficked, and a description of any trafficking practices or trends common among various firearm trafficking schemes.