PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.
H.R.3255 / 106th Congress

Nationwide Gun Buyback Act of 1999

Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in House · Nov 8, 1999

Nationwide Gun Buyback Act of 1999 - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to local governments to conduct gun buyback programs. Directs the Attorney General, in assessing grant applications, to give greater weight to the incidence of gun violence and the need to reduce the availability of guns in the jurisdictions involved than to any other factors. Permits such units to use the grant only to conduct a gun buyback program in accordance with the approved grant application.Directs the chief executive of a local government desiring a grant to submit to the Attorney General an application that contains assurances that: (1) within 60 days after the program collects a gun, the gun will be destroyed (or, if it is an inoperable curio or relic with historic significance, donated to a museum for display); (2) the local law enforcement authority is able to collect guns safely under the program; and (3) the government has the authority to grant an appropriate amnesty to persons from whom guns are obtained under the program.Directs the Attorney General to promulgate regulations to implement this Act.

Read the summary on Congress.gov
PlainBill analysis is coming later. This page presents official source data. We have not yet published a PlainBill explanation for this bill.

Who introduced it

Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] · D–DC

Committees

  • Judiciary Committee
1 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.

  1. Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime.

  2. Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

  3. Introduced in House

  4. Introduced in House

Bill text & related measures

Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

Related bills identified by Congress.gov

Source last updated: Aug 20, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

Explore the bill from different angles

Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.

Neutral evidence review

Objective

Analyze H.R.3255 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.

View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact

Progressive lens

Examine H.R.3255 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.

View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope

Conservative lens

Examine H.R.3255 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.

View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power

Liberty lens

Examine H.R.3255 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.

View full prompt & sources