1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Making America Safe and Secure Act of 2018 or the MASS Act . 2. Purpose and findings (a) Purpose The purpose of this Act is to provide grants to States to encourage the implementation and maintenance of firearms licensing requirements. (b) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) There is an epidemic of gun violence in the United States. In 2016, more than 38,000 lives were lost to gun violence in the United States. Gun homicide rates in the United States are 25.2 times higher than those in other high-income countries. (2) Firearms account for over 50 percent of suicides and 66 percent of homicides. (3) Since 1994, Massachusetts has lowered its gun death rate by 40 percent by enacting strong gun safety measures, including firearms licensing requirements. (4) Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that States with more gun laws have fewer gun-related deaths. Massachusetts has the lowest gun death rate in the country. 3. Firearms licensing (a) In general Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 ( 34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: NN Firearms licensing 3041. Definitions (a) In general In this part— (1) the term prohibited individual means an individual who is categorically ineligible to receive a firearms license or firearms dealer license; (2) the term suitable means that an individual does not create a risk to public safety; and (3) the term thorough background check means conducting a Federal and State background check, which may include a fingerprint-based background check. (b) Prohibited individuals For purposes of this part, a State— (1) shall establish standards for categorizing an individual as a prohibited individual for purposes of receiving a— (A) firearms license; or (B) firearms dealer license