SECOND REGULAR SESSION
97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES NEWMAN (Sponsor), NICHOLS, MCNEIL, DUNN, KIRKTON, PACE, MEREDITH, ELLINGER, MORGAN, GARDNER, PIERSON, LAFAVER, NORR, MITTEN AND HUMMEL (Co-sponsors).
5014L.01I D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To amend chapter 571, RSMo, by adding thereto two new sections relating to the sale and transfer of firearms, with a penalty provision.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 571, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto two new sections, to be known as sections 571.200 and 571.202, to read as follows:
571.200. As used in section 571.202, the following terms shall mean:
(1) "Law enforcement officer", any person employed by the United States, or a state, county, city, municipality, village, township, or other political subdivision as a police officer, peace officer, or in some like position involving the enforcement of the law and protection of the public interest;
(2) "Licensed firearms dealer, licensed dealer, or dealer", a person who has a valid federal firearms dealer license, and all additional licenses required by state or local law to engage in the business of selling or transferring firearms;
(3) "Person", any individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, club, organization, society, joint stock company or other entity.
571.202. 1. It is the purpose and intent of the general assembly that all firearm sales and transfers in this state be processed through a licensed firearm dealer, who will conduct a background check and create a record of each sale. The general assembly believes this law will protect public safety by helping to keep guns out of the hands of felons, domestic abusers, the mentally ill, and other prohibited persons, and by aiding law enforcement efforts to solve gun crimes.
2. No person shall sell or otherwise transfer a firearm, including selling or transferring a firearm via the internet, unless:
(1) Such person is a licensed firearms dealer;
(2) The purchaser or other transferee is a licensed firearms dealer; or
(3) The requirements of subsection 3 of this section are met.
3. Where neither party to a prospective firearms transaction is a licensed firearms dealer, the parties to the transaction shall complete the sale or other transfer through a licensed firearms dealer as follows:
(1) The seller or other transferor shall deliver the firearm to the dealer, who shall retain possession of the firearm until all legal requirements for the sale or other transfer have been met, including compliance with any state or local waiting periods;
(2) The dealer shall process the sale or other transfer as if he or she were the seller or other transferor. The dealer shall comply with all requirements of federal, state, and local law that would apply if he or she were the seller or other transferor of the firearm;
(3) The dealer shall conduct a background check on the purchaser or other transferee in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 922(t), and state and local law and, if the transaction is not prohibited, deliver the firearm to that person after all other legal requirements are met;
(4) If the dealer cannot legally deliver the firearm to the purchaser or other transferee, the dealer shall conduct a background check on the seller or other transferor in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 922(t) and state and local law, and, if the return is not prohibited, return the firearm to that person;
(5) If the dealer cannot legally return the firearm to the seller or other transferor, the dealer shall deliver the firearm to the sheriff of the county in which the dealer is located within twenty-four hours; and
(6) The dealer may require the purchaser or other transferee to pay a fee covering the administrative costs incurred by the dealer for facilitating the transfer of the firearm, plus applicable fees pursuant to federal, state, and local law.
4. The provisions of subsections 2 and 3 of this section shall not apply to:
(1) Any law enforcement or corrections agency, or law enforcement or corrections officer acting within the course and scope of his or her employment or official duties;
(2) A United States Marshall or member of the Armed Forces of the United States or the National Guard, or a federal official transferring or receiving a firearm as required in the operation of his or her official duties;
(3) A gunsmith who receives a firearm solely for the purposes of service or repair, or the return of the firearm to its owner by the gunsmith;
(4) A common carrier, warehouseman, or other person engaged in the business of transportation or storage, to the extent that the receipt of any firearm is in the ordinary course of business and not for the personal use of any such person;
(5) A person who is loaned a firearm solely for the purpose of shooting at targets, if the loan occurs on the premises of a properly licensed target facility, and the firearm is at all times kept within the premises of the target range;
(6) A person who is under eighteen years of age who is loaned a firearm for lawful hunting or sporting purposes or for any other lawful recreational activity while under the direct supervision and control of a responsible adult;
(7) A person who is eighteen years of age or older who is loaned a firearm while the person is accompanying the lawful owner and using the firearm for lawful hunting or sporting purposes or for any other lawful recreational activity;
(8) A person who acquired the firearm by operation of law upon the death of the former owner of the firearm within the preceding sixty days. At the end of the sixty-day period, the person must either have lawfully transferred the firearm or must have contacted the attorney general's office to notify the attorney general that he or she has possession of the firearm and intends to retain possession of the firearm, in compliance with all federal, state, and local laws; or
(9) An adult family member of the lawful owner of the firearm if the owner resides with the family member but is not currently present in the residence, provided that the family member does not maintain control over the firearm for more than fourteen consecutive days. This exception shall not apply if the owner or the family member knows or has reasonable cause to believe that federal, state, or local law prohibits the family member from purchasing or possessing firearms, or the owner knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the family member is likely to use the firearm for unlawful purposes.
5. Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or both. Such person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which a violation of any provision of this section is committed or continued by such person, and shall be punished accordingly.
6. In addition to any other penalty or remedy, the investigating law enforcement agency shall report any violation of this section committed by a licensed firearms dealer to the attorney general who shall in turn report the violation to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives within the United States Department of Justice.
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