| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to prohibiting the transfer of certain semiautomatic |
|
|
rifles to certain recipients; creating a criminal offense; |
|
|
increasing a criminal penalty. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 46.06, Penal Code, is amended by |
|
|
amending Subsections (a), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (c-1) |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) A person commits an offense if the person: |
|
|
(1) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to |
|
|
any person knowing that the person to whom the handgun is to be |
|
|
delivered intends to use it unlawfully or in the commission of an |
|
|
unlawful act; |
|
|
(2) intentionally or knowingly sells, rents, leases, |
|
|
or gives or offers to sell, rent, lease, or give: |
|
|
(A) to a [any] child younger than 18 years of age |
|
|
a [any firearm,] club, [or] location-restricted knife, or firearm |
|
|
other than a semiautomatic rifle described by Paragraph (B); or |
|
|
(B) to a person younger than 21 years of age a |
|
|
semiautomatic rifle that is capable of accepting a detachable |
|
|
magazine and that has a caliber greater than .22; |
|
|
(3) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly sells a |
|
|
firearm or ammunition for a firearm to any person who is |
|
|
intoxicated; |
|
|
(4) knowingly sells a firearm or ammunition for a |
|
|
firearm to any person who has been convicted of a felony before the |
|
|
fifth anniversary of the later of the following dates: |
|
|
(A) the person's release from confinement |
|
|
following conviction of the felony; or |
|
|
(B) the person's release from supervision under |
|
|
community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision following |
|
|
conviction of the felony; |
|
|
(5) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to |
|
|
any person knowing that an active protective order is directed to |
|
|
the person to whom the handgun is to be delivered; |
|
|
(6) knowingly purchases, rents, leases, or receives as |
|
|
a loan or gift from another a handgun while an active protective |
|
|
order is directed to the actor; or |
|
|
(7) while prohibited from possessing a firearm under |
|
|
state or federal law, knowingly makes a material false statement on |
|
|
a form that is: |
|
|
(A) required by state or federal law for the |
|
|
purchase, sale, or other transfer of a firearm; and |
|
|
(B) submitted to a firearms dealer licensed under |
|
|
18 U.S.C. Section 923. |
|
|
(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under |
|
|
Subsection (a)(2)(A) [(a)(2)] that the transfer was to a minor |
|
|
whose parent or the person having legal custody of the minor had |
|
|
given written permission for the sale or, if the transfer was other |
|
|
than a sale, the parent or person having legal custody had given |
|
|
effective consent. |
|
|
(c-1) It is an exception to the application of Subsection |
|
|
(a)(2)(B) that: |
|
|
(1) the semiautomatic rifle is transferred to a |
|
|
recipient who: |
|
|
(A) is a peace officer; or |
|
|
(B) is currently serving in or has been honorably |
|
|
discharged from the United States armed forces; or |
|
|
(2) the transfer of the semiautomatic rifle is a |
|
|
temporary loan to a person who is to carry or use the semiautomatic |
|
|
rifle only: |
|
|
(A) while in the presence of the transferor; |
|
|
(B) while on property owned or leased by the |
|
|
transferor; |
|
|
(C) on the premises of a sport shooting range, as |
|
|
defined by Section 250.001, Local Government Code, and solely for |
|
|
the purpose of shooting targets at the range; |
|
|
(D) for the purpose of lawful hunting or |
|
|
sporting, or for lawful recreational activity; or |
|
|
(E) at a lawful competition involving the use of |
|
|
a firearm. |
|
|
(d) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, |
|
|
except that: |
|
|
(1) an offense under Subsection (a)(2)(A) [(a)(2)] is |
|
|
a state jail felony if the weapon that is the subject of the offense |
|
|
is a handgun; and |
|
|
(2) an offense under Subsection (a)(2)(B) or (a)(7) is |
|
|
a state jail felony. |
|
|
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
|
|
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
|
|
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
|
|
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
|
|
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
|
|
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
|
|
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
|
|
before that date. |
|
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |