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Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jul 13, 2015
Handgun Purchaser Licensing Act
Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to states, units of local government, and Indian tribes for the development, implementation, and evaluation of handgun purchaser licensing requirements. Directs the Attorney General to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible applicants whose applications are approved to assist them in implementing and improving handgun purchaser licensing programs.
Directs a state, local government, or tribe, to be eligible to receive a grant, to submit to the Attorney General an application that meets specified requirements, including a description of: (1) the law that the applicant has enacted to require a license for any purchase of a handgun, including exemptions to such law; and (2) how the applicant will use the grant to carry out or improve its program.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Requires an applicant, to be eligible for a grant, to have in effect handgun purchaser licensing laws that:
require an applicant for a handgun license or permit to be at least 21 years old and to be a national or lawful permanent resident of the United States;
require such an individual to apply for the license or permit at a law enforcement agency in the state in which he or she resides, to reapply for an issued license after a period not longer than five years, and to submit to a background investigation and a criminal history check;
require such an individual to submit fingerprints and photographs in connection with the application and to provide proof that the individual is legally present and lawfully resides in the United States; and
bar any individual who is prohibited from possessing a firearm under the federal criminal code from receiving a license or permit.
Requires a grantee to use such grant to improve its handgun purchaser licensing programs.
People & committees
Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT] · D–CT
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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