Gun Owners Responsibility Act

113th Congress
___Session

H. R. ___

To Provide Compensation for Victims of Gun Violence, and for other purposes.
______________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Date:_______________
SPONSORS_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________

A BILL
To Establish the “Guns Owners Responsibility Act Trust Fund” for the Compensation of the Victims of Gun Violence in America.

GUN OWNERS RESPONSIBILITY ACT

1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of
2. America in Congress assembled,
3. SECTION 301. SHORT TITLE
4. This Act may be cited as the “Gun Owners Responsibility Act.”
5. SECTION 302. ESTABLISHING THE “GUN OWNERS RESPONSIBILITYACT TRUST
6. FUND.”
7. The Congress hereby establishes the “Gun Owners Responsibility Act Trust Fund” to be
8. maintained by the Department of the Treasury of the United States of America, for the
9. express purposes outlined in the Act.
10. SECTION 303. LEVYING A TAX ON THE PURCHASE OF GUNS, BULLETS, AND
11. GUN ACCESSORIES.
12. The Congress hereby levies a “floating” tax of 6 percent on the sale or resale of any guns
13. Bullets, or closely related gun accessories sold in the United State of America, its
14. possessions, or territories. All taxes shall be collected by the Internal Revenue Service, and
15. Forwarded to the Gun Owners Responsibility Trust Fund created in SECTION 302 of this
16. Act.
17. SECTION 304. ESTABLISHING A CALCULATION PROCESS FOR
18. DETERMINING THE AMOUNT OF THE FLOATING TAX.
19. The federal tax created by the Act shall be six percent on all applicable goods in the first year.
20. The Congress shall re-visit the Tax each year, for the purpose of adjusting the tax upwards
21. Or downwards, for the purposes of meeting the statutory requirements of the Trust Fund.
22. Based on the outlays in the previous year, the Congress, setting a minimum reserve of 30
23. percent of outlays in the previous year, shall raise or lower the tax based on the certified
24. Accounting and analysis prepared by the Congressional Budget Office as described in Section
25. 305.
26. SECTION 305. DIRECTING THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE TO
27. PREPARE AN ANALYSIS OF TRUST FUND LIABILITIES AND ASSETS EACH
28. YEAR.
29. The Congress hereby directs the Congressional Budget Office to prepare an analysis of the
30. Liabilities and assets each year of the trust fund, to be completed by July 1 of each year, for
31. the previous year.
32. SECTION 306. SETTING A MAXIMUM TAX RATE OF 12 PERCENT
33. In no case shall the federal tax created in Section 304 exceed 12 percent. In the event that
34. liabilities of the Trust Fund exceed funds on hand, the Trust Fund director may reduce
35. compensation proportionally, to all victims claiming compensation in a given fiscal year.
36. SECTION 307. PROHIBITING PAYMENTS TO SUICIDE VICTIMS.
37. The fund shall not compensate any person or heir, who injures himself, or commits suicide
38. with a gun.
39. SECTION 307. NO FINANCIAL GAIN FOR A PERPETRATOR OF GUN
40. VIOLENCE
41. The fund shall not compensate any victim where the funds would inure to the benefit of the
42. perpetrator of gun violence. In the event of an accidental death, compensation which would
43. pass to a wife or husband of a victim shall be held in trust for any children, until they are 18.
44. If there are no children, compensation will not be required in that case.
45. SECTION 308. FIXING RATES OF COMPENSATION
(this paragraph to be read as an example. Various govt agencies and insurance organizations have commonly used schedules for typical losses)
46. Compensation shall be fixed as follows:
47. The death of a child under 18….$300,000
48. The death of an adult over 18….$200,000
49. For injuries, up to $100,000 for medical expenses incurred, and as follows:
50. a) For the loss of an eye, $40,000
51. b) For the loss of vision in both eyes, $100,000
52. c) For injuries resulting in paralysis and/or the inability to walk, $200,000.
53. d) For injuries resulting in the loss of an arm, $100,000
54. e) For injuries resulting in the loss of a hand, $50,000
55. SECTION 309. LIMITING USE OF FUNDS
56. The Trust Fund shall not pay more than one percent of gross revenue each year, to the
57. Internal Revenue Service each year, for enforcement of this Act. In no case shall funds
58. diverted to any other use. Diversion of funds to any other use shall be a felony.
59. SECTION 310. LIMITING ATTORNEY FEES
60. In the event a person making a claim under the Act requires an attorney to
61. secure payment, attorney fees will be limited to 12 percent of any payout, to be deducted from 62. the statutory compensation.