Gun Safety
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 86 people die every day in the United States from gun-related suicides, homicides and unintentional injuries. To help combat these tragedies, I will continue to support the enactment of common-sense gun safety legislation and aggressive enforcement of existing laws. Congress can and should pursue legislative solutions to prevent gun violence without infringing on the rights of law-abiding citizens.
I was an original cosponsor of the Brady Law (P.L.103-159), which requires prospective purchasers to undergo criminal background checks before purchasing firearms from a licensed dealer, and I am a cosponsor of legislation (S.35) that would close what is known as the gun show loophole in the law. This dangerous loophole makes it easy for criminals, terrorists and other prohibited buyers to evade background checks and buy guns from private citizens at gun shows.
I am also working to close another dangerous loophole in federal law that hinders the ability of law enforcement to keep firearms out of the hands of terrorists and criminals. Although hard to believe, nothing in current law prohibits firearm transfers to individuals on a terrorist watch list. To fix that, I have cosponsored the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act (S.34), which would authorize the attorney general to deny the sale of a firearm when a background check reveals that the prospective purchaser is a known or suspected terrorist.
I support these sensible gun safety proposals to prevent dangerous individuals from acquiring firearms. The tragic gun violence that continues to plague our families and communities is preventable, but Congress needs to act now.
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