March 11 , 2021 – 12:00 am
The House on Thursday approved legislation aimed at strengthening background checks on firearm sales and transfers, a leading priority for Democratic lawmakers.
The Bipartisan Background Checks Act – spearheaded by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) – looks to “utilize the current background checks process” in an attempt to ensure individuals prohibited from possessing a gun are unable to obtain one.
The bill passed by a 237-203 vote with eight Republicans backing the measure and one Democrat voting against. The legislation would implement new background check requirements for gun transfers between private parties.
Under current law, unlicensed and private sellers are not required to conduct background checks for gun transfers despite licensed firearm dealers being required to do so.
The bill would require “a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer” to first take possession of the gun while a background check is being conducted. The legislation creates an exemption for transfers made as a gift between spouses.
Under current law, unlicensed and private sellers are not required to conduct background checks for gun transfers despite licensed firearm dealers being required to do so.
The bill would require “a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer” to first take possession of the gun while a background check is being conducted. The legislation creates an exemption for transfers made as a gift between spouses.
“What have background checks accomplished? Well, the DOJ [Department of Justice] said there were 112,000 denials in a year.
Who are those 112,000 people? Well, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would have you think those were felons – they saved you from those felons,” he said on the floor.
“But how many of those 112,000 were prosecuted for that crime of trying to acquire that gun? According to the DOJ, 12 one to 12 in a year.
Who were the other 100,000?” Republicans also took aim at the bill leaving out language that would require gun dealers to alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the event an undocumented immigrant attempts to buy a gun, a provision that previously passed in a motion to recommit in 2019.
GOP lawmakers were ultimately unsuccessful in their attempt to revise the bill using the procedural tactic this Congress. The House is also slated to pass additional legislation on Friday that would extend the amount of time federal investigators have to perform background checks and to close the “Charleston loophole.”
Both bills are backed by the Biden administration, but the legislation faces an uphill battle in the upper chamber, where it’s unlikely to garner enough GOP support to meet the 60-vote threshold for it to pass.
