Email your members of Congress NOW to demand they uphold background checks for gun sales!
Dear MoveOn member,
Right now, the gun lobby is actively trying to make it easier for people to obtain guns without background checks. It’s critical that your members of Congress hear from you today to demand that they don’t cave to greedy special interests above safety for our communities.
Just a few weeks ago, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) updated a rule that closed loopholes to make it harder to get a gun without a background check.1 The rule change is simple and sensible. If you want to sell guns, whether at gun shows, at a shop, or online, you must become a licensed dealer and run background checks on buyers. Prior to this, unlicensed gun sellers were able to sell guns without requiring a background check of the buyer.
But the new rule is at risk of being overturned because the gun lobby is intensely pressuring Congress to stop it. That means your members of Congress need to hear from you immediately.
And it will save lives. In 2019, a person purchased an AR-15 from an unlicensed gun dealer without a background check and went on to kill seven people and wound 25 more in Midland and Odessa, Texas.2 The background check loophole also enables people with domestic abuse restraining orders and with violent histories to buy guns unquestioned. Tens of thousands of guns are sold each year by unlicensed sellers who do not perform background checks.3
This rule change is thanks to President’s Biden signing the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first federal gun safety bill passed in nearly 30 years.4 The policy requires those who are “engaged in the business” of selling firearms to become licensed dealers and run background checks. Prior to just a few weeks ago, only licensed dealers were required to run background checks, which clearly was a loophole that Congress needed to close. It’s believed there are more than 20,000 unlicensed gun dealers who were selling guns without conducting background checks, making up a fourth of all gun dealers.
More than 2,000 MoveOn members submitted public comments in support of this lifesaving rule change last fall. And a majority of Americans want comprehensive gun law reform that protects us.5 But we know that the gun lobby will stop at nothing to block popular, commonsense gun law reform at the expense of public safety, so we need to be twice as loud about our support for background checks and gun violence prevention.
Thanks for all you do.
–Kelsey, Mia, David, Aliya, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. “Final Rule: Definition of “Engaged in the Business” as a Dealer in Firearms,” ATF, June 4, 2024
Final Rule: Definition of “Engaged in the Business” as a Dealer in Firearms
2. “He sold an AR-15-style rifle to a mass shooter. Now he wants universal background checks,” CNN, October 7, 2020
He sold an AR-15-style rifle to a mass shooter
3. “The Biden administration announces rule that will require more background checks on gun buyers,” PBS NewsHour, April 11, 2024
The Biden administration announces rule that will require more background checks on gun buyers
4. Ibid.
5. “Majority in U.S. Continues to Favor Stricter Gun Laws,” Gallup, October 31, 2023
Majority in U.S. Continues to Favor Stricter Gun Laws
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