H.R. 1604 · 117th Congress
STOP Straw Purchases Act
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 117th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
R
BaconSponsor10 cosponsors · 1 D, 9 R
R
Malliotakis
CT
R
Tenney
DC
R
Crenshaw
PS
R
Stauber
AS
D
Spanberger
CB
R
Bentz
MD
R
Diaz-Balart
JO
R
Obernolte
SW
R
Womack
RH
R
Hudson0 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill establishes new criminal offenses and penalties to deter straw purchases of firearms (i.e., firearm purchases from a licensed gun dealer by one person on behalf of another person).
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Mar 8, 2021
STOP Straw Purchases Act
This bill establishes new criminal offenses and penalties to deter straw purchases of firearms (i.e., firearm purchases from a licensed gun dealer by one person on behalf of another person).
Current law prohibits and imposes penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both—for making false statements in connection with the acquisition of a firearm from a federally licensed dealer.
This bill increases the statutory maximum prison sentence—from 10 years to 25 years—for a violation by a person who is acting as a straw purchaser. Under this bill, a straw purchaser is a person who makes false statements involving deception about the identity of the actual buyer and knows or has reasonable cause to believe the actual buyer intends the firearm to be (1) used in a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime, or (2) transferred to a prohibited person.
Additionally, the bill establishes new related criminal offenses. Specifically, it prohibits and imposes penalties for
- inducing another person, as a leader of a straw purchasing ring, to act as a straw purchaser in a continuing series of transactions from which the person obtains income or resources; or
- obtaining a firearm by inducing another person to act as a straw purchaser.
Finally, the bill directs the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to include in the Firearms Transaction Record form a statement outlining penalties for acting as a straw purchaser.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: STOP Straw Purchases Act
Latest action (May 18, 2021): Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement · Origin: House · Introduced: Mar 8, 2021
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.