SA 582. Mrs. FEINSTEIN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 160, to provide the District of Columbia a voting seat and the State of Utah an additional seat in the House of Representatives; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end, add the following:
SEC. __. COVERAGE OF .50 BMG CALIBER SNIPER RIFLES UNDER THE GUN CONTROL ACT OF 1968.
(a) In General.--Section 921(a)(4)(B) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``any type of weapon'' and inserting the following: ``any--
``(i) type of weapon''; and
(2) by striking ``and'' at the end and inserting the following: ``or
``(ii) .50 BMG caliber sniper rifle; and''.
(b) Definition of .50 BMG Caliber Sniper Rifle.--Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(36) The term `.50 BMG caliber sniper rifle' means--
``(A) a rifle capable of firing a center-fire cartridge in .50 BMG caliber, including a 12.7 mm equivalent of .50 BMG and any other metric equivalent; or
``(B) a copy or duplicate of any rifle described in subparagraph (A), or any other rifle developed and manufactured after the date of enactment of this paragraph, regardless of caliber, if such rifle is capable of firing a projectile that attains a muzzle energy of 12,000 foot-pounds or greater in any combination of bullet, propellant, case, or primer.''.
(c) Coverage of .50 BMG Caliber Sniper Rifles Under the National Firearms Act.--
(1) IN GENERAL.--Section 5845(f) of the National Firearms Act (26 U.S.C. 5845(f)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``and (3)'' and inserting ``(3) any .50 BMG caliber sniper rifle (as that term is defined in section 921 of title 18, United States Code); and (4)''; and
(B) by striking ``(1) and (2)'' and inserting ``(1), (2), or (3)''.
(2) MODIFICATION TO DEFINITION OF RIFLE.--Section 5845(c) of the National Firearms Act (26 U.S.C. 5845(c)) is amended by inserting ``or from a bipod or other support'' after ``shoulder''.
(d) Implementation.--Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall implement regulations providing for notice and registration of .50 BMG caliber sniper rifles as destructive devices (as those terms are defined in section 921 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by this section) under this section and the amendments made by this section, including the use of a notice and registration process similar to that used when the USAS-12, Striker
12, and Streetsweeper shotguns were reclassified as destructive devices and registered between 1994 and 2001 (ATF Ruling 94-1 (ATF Q.B. 1994-1, 22); ATF Ruling 94-2 (ATF Q.B. 1994-1, 24); and ATF Ruling 2001-1 (66 Fed. Reg. 9748)). The Attorney General shall ensure that under the regulations issued under this subsection, the time period for the registration of any previously unregistered .50 BMG caliber sniper rifle shall end not later than 7 years after the date of enactment of this Act.


(As printed in the Congressional Record for the Senate on Feb 25, 2009.)