In brief: H.R. 1147 repeals the 1994 ban on various semi-automatic firearms and removes the limitation on magazine capacity. This bill will also protect many thousands of gun dealers that have been driven out of business. While H.R. 1147 deletes all the gun control from the 1994 crime bill, the following analysis will only focus on those sections which pertain to gun dealers.

Sections 110301 through 110307 of the 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill, together with administrative policies of the Clinton administration, have resulted in the elimination of more than 100,000 federal firearms licensees. It is important to understand that these provisions governing licensure of firearms dealers -- not JUST the semiautomatic ban -- make the 1994 omnibus crime bill a dangerous and insidious vehicle. Sections 110301 through 110307 of the Act have done the following:

1) Section 110301 edges America ever closer to treating gun dealers like criminals by requiring fingerprints and photos (mugshots) with each application.

2) Section 110302 requires a license applicant, under penalty of perjury, to certify that he is in compliance with the thousands of state and local laws and regulations governing zoning, noise abatement, wetlands, sign location, etc. This provision alone has allowed the BATF to become something similar to a "national zoning board," resulting in tens of thousands of dealers losing their licenses. As with other provisions of federal law, ignorance of the thousands of state and local laws will be no excuse in a prosecution under this section.

3) Section 110303 extends the government's "harassment period" for federal firearms license applicants from 45 days to 60 days.

4) Section 110304 reiterates and expands preexisting law by allowing BATF to conduct "compliance" inspections of licensees once a year or "at any time with respect to records involved in a criminal investigation that is traced to the licensee." This criminal investigation can be an investigation of the licensee -- and need involve no more than simple recordkeeping violations.

5) Section 110305 requires a licensee to report theft or loss from his inventory within 48 hours. If a licensee is not certain whether a firearm at a remote location has been lost or not, this section could set a serious trap which could lead to felony prosecution for innocent conduct by the licensee.

6) Section 110306 requires a licensee to "immediately" provide whatever information the Secretary of the Treasury in his sole discretion deems is necessary for a "bona fide criminal investigation," including, presumably, an investigation of the licensee himself.

7) Section 110307 places the names of all firearms licensees in a particular state on a "blacklist," and requires it to be forwarded to state and local law enforcement officials. In an increasing number of jurisdictions, information concerning gun ownership is routinely available to police making routine traffic stops, making it considerably more likely that gun owners will be treated like dangerous criminals -- or even killed -- in connection with these stops.