Congressman Mike Thompson, D-Yolo, released a statement Thursday recognizing the 30th anniversary of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act being signed into law.
"Thirty years ago, President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Bill into law, creating the requirement for background checks on all handgun purchases from federally licensed firearm dealers," Thompson explained in a press release. "Since this law was enacted, it has stopped millions of prohibited purchasers, people who are a danger to themselves or others, from obtaining firearms and has saved lives."
Thompson assured that House Democrats are continuing the efforts started by the bill by leading the way to passing "commonsense gun violence prevention measures," including universal background checks. He argued that these checks are "overwhelmingly supported by the American people and will keep Americans safe from people who are a danger to themselves or others."
The release noted that Jim Brady served as the White House Press Secretary under President Ronald Reagan but his service was cut short in March 1981 during an assassination attempt against the president.
"In addition to President Reagan, Jim and two law enforcement officers were shot," the release recounted. "Jim suffered a serious head wound that left him partially paralyzed for life."
After that, Jim and his wife, Sarah, began lobbying Congress to pass the "Brady Bill" to require background checks for all gun sales. Since its enactment in 1994, the Brady Background Check system has blocked roughly 4 million prohibited purchases from obtaining a firearm, according to the release.
As chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, Thompson was critical in passing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act last year, which was the most significant gun violence prevention legislation since the Brady Bill.
"The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act represented a strong step forward in enacting comprehensive measures to enhance public safety and protect communities from gun violence," Thompson said in a June 25 statement one year after the act passed. "It included provisions such as funding for state red flag laws, enhanced background checks for people under 21, closing the boyfriend loopholes, cracking down on gun traffickers and investing in violence prevention programs."
Thompson argued that these efforts reflect a commitment to reducing gun violence and highlighted that, since being signed into law, "it has already delivered over $1.5 billion to make schools safer, increase access to mental health services and save lives."
"While the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act marked a significant achievement, we know there is still more work to be done to effectively address gun violence in our society," Thompson emphasized in his statement. "Taking on the gun violence epidemic means continued efforts to pass gun violence prevention measures, improve mental health services and address the root causes of violence."
In late August, the Biden administration proposed a rule that would clarify circumstances in which a person is "engaged in the business" of dealing in firearms and that would require them to obtain a license and run background checks.
The rule would amend the Bureau of Alchohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regulations by "conforming ATF's regulations to the new BSCA definitions and further clarifying the conduct that presumptively requires a license under that revised definition," according to an Aug. 31 Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs statement regarding the new regulation.
"The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was passed by Congress to reduce gun violence, including by expanding the background checks that keep guns out of the hands of criminals," Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in the statement. "This proposed rule implements Congress's mandate to expand the definition of who must obtain a license and conduct a background check before selling firearms.
A PBS article noted that the bureau estimates the rule would affect anywhere from 24,500 to 328,000 sellers and is aimed at people "in the business of gun sales rather than those dealing with their personal collections."
No comments:
Post a Comment