STATEMENTS ON
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE PASSAGE OF BILL TO
REQUIRE BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR ALL
GUN SALES
Legislation
Sponsored by Senator Schumer Would Require Background
Checks for All Gun Sales
and Close the Private Sale Loophole
Background
Checks Save Lives; Polls Show Overwhelming Support for
Background Checks; www.DemandAction.org
Mayors Against
Illegal Guns, a bipartisan
coalition of more than 900 mayors and more than 1.4
million grassroots
supporters, responded today to the Senate Judiciary
Committee’s passage of
S.374, the Protecting Responsible Gun Owners Act in a
vote of 10-8. The
bill, sponsored by New York Senator Charles E. Schumer and
based on a
proposal by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, would require that all gun
sales be
subject to a background check and would close the “private sale
loophole.”
Around 40
percent of U.S. gun transfers are conducted by unlicensed
“private sellers” who
are not required to conduct a federal check,[1] and who often do business at gun
shows and on the Internet – indicating that about 6.6 million guns are
transferred in the U.S. every year with no background check for the buyer.[2] This
loophole allows dangerous
people who are prohibited from buying guns – including
felons, domestic
abusers and the seriously mentally ill – to avoid a background
check by
simply avoiding licensed dealers.
Evidence
demonstrates that background checks save lives. For example, in
the fourteen
states that already require background checks for all handgun
sales:
- Gun trafficking
is 48 percent lower than in states that fail to require
background checks for
all handgun sales.[3]
- In 2010, the
rate of women murdered by an intimate partner with a gun
was 38 percent lower
than in other states, while the rate murdered by other
means was nearly
identical.[4]
- The firearm
suicide rate was 49 percent lower than in other states, even
though people committed suicide in other ways at almost precisely
the same
rate.[5]
Recent polls by
Mayors Against Illegal Guns showed likely voters in a
wide range of states and
congressional districts overwhelmingly support
background checks for all gun
sales. The average support for background
checks for all gun sales among 41
congressional district polls was 89
percent; the average among 21 statewide
polls was 86 percent. The findings
of these surveys can be found here. These findings are in line
with recent independent polls that have found more
than 90 percent of Americans support background checks for all buyers.
Previous polling
by Republican Frank Luntz for Mayors Against Illegal Guns also found
that 82
percent of gun owners – including 74 percent of National Rifle
Association
members – support requiring criminal background checks for
anyone purchasing a
gun.
“Today the U.S.
Senate took an important first step to require criminal
background checks for
all gun sales,” said Mayors Against Illegal Guns
Co-Chair and New York City
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. ”I applaud the
members of the Senate Judiciary
committee who voted to send this bill to the
Senate floor. Now we’ll work with
their colleagues in the Senate to ensure
passage of this common sense
legislation that will help save lives and
protect our communities. Americans
are demanding action from Washington to
prevent gun violence – and meaningful
reform is within our reach.”
“The Senate
Judiciary Committee made important progress today, but it’s
up to their peers in
Congress to be bold and follow suit,” Mayors Against
Illegal Guns Co-Chair and
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said. “The message
from Americans is loud and
clear: enough is enough. Thirty-three Americans
are murdered with guns every day
– we can no longer afford inaction on
common
sense gun laws like requiring background checks for every firearms
sale.”
Statements from
Members
of the Coalition:
ARIZONA
Mayor Bill
Rappaport of Star Valley, Arizona
“The Senate
Judiciary Committee has sided with America's law enforcement
officers, who
overwhelmingly support the public safety legislation approved
today. An expanded
background check system will empower police to more
effectively track down
criminals and give the families of gun violence
victims the closure they
deserve.”
Mayor Jonathan
Rothschild of Tucson, Arizona
"An overwhelming
majority of Americans - and Arizonans - believe that
mandatory background checks
for all gun sales is a good policy that will
keep our communities safe. This
vote proves that their collective voice can
overpower the gun lobby's dollars,
but Americans must continue to demand
action from Congress to end gun
violence."
CONNECTICUT
Mayor Michael
Pavia of Stamford, Connecticut
“As a Republican
mayor in Connecticut, I want to voice my strong support
for the actions taken
today by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Extending
background checks and
record-keeping to all U.S. gun sales is the foundation
of legislation that will
save lives and stop criminals. This legislation
demands full consideration by
the House and Senate.”
Mayor Pedro
Segarra of Hartford, Connecticut
“Eight in 10 gun
owners recognize that requiring a background check for
every gun sale is a
practical policy that will save lives without limiting
anyone's right to bear
arms. This vote is a smart first step and Americans
must continue to demand
action from Congress to ensure full consideration of
comprehensive background
checks and other key measures to stop gun violence
here in Connecticut and
around the country.”
INDIANA
Mayor Pete
Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana
“Today’s vote in
the Senate Judiciary Committee signals that Congress has
finally caught up to
the American people, a majority of whom support
background checks for all gun
sales. We demanded a plan to reduce gun
violence after Virginia Tech, after
Binghamton, after Aurora, after Newtown,
and after the countless other gun
tragedies that take place every day in
America. Now we’re demanding action – and
our voices are resonating in the
halls of Congress.”
FLORIDA
Mayor Michael
Ryan of Sunrise, Florida
“I applaud the
Senate Judiciary Committee for taking meaningful steps
towards the reduction of
gun violence and the illegal proliferation of guns.
The evidence is irrefutable
-- when utilized, background checks keep guns
out of the hands of criminals and
the severely mentally ill.”
MINNESOTA
Mayor R.T. Rybak
of Minneapolis, Minnesota
“Mayors who see
the terrible effects of gun violence every day know all
too well that we need
action from our state capitals and our nation's
capital to end it -- and
fortunately, we have seen some today. I thank
Senators Leahy, Klobuchar, Franken
and their colleagues who voted to take
this important first step. Congress needs
to keep up the momentum and put a
commonsense bill on President Obama's desk
that will help mayors, police and
community end gun violence and keep people
safe.”
NEW
JERSEY
Mayor Susan
Cohen of Manalapan, New Jersey
“I want to
congratulate and express my gratitude to the Senate Judiciary
Committee for
approving S.374 today. Only by expanding our existing
background check system to
all sales can we ensure that guns do not fall
into dangerous hands. As a
Republican, I have no doubt that this is a
bipartisan issue and indeed a
fundamentally American issue: We need a strong
Second Amendment that allows
law-abiding gun owners to bear arms in
self-defense but does not allow criminals
to arm themselves with impunity. I
urge the full Senate to act on this bill
quickly, and I urge all Senators,
regardless of party, to help pass it into
law.”
OHIO
Mayor Michael
Coleman of Columbus, Ohio
“The Senate
Judiciary Committee has taken an incredibly important step
forward in the fight
to stop gun violence. They have listened to our 900
mayors. They have listened
to our police chiefs. And they have listened to
the gun violence survivors and
the family members of victims who are
committed to preventing the next terrible
gun tragedy. I eagerly await
action on the floor of the Senate – and in the
House of Representatives –
and urge members of the Ohio congressional delegation
to support background
checks on all U.S. gun sales.”
PENNSYLVANIA
Mayor Rick Gray
of Lancaster, Pennsylvania
“I am incredibly
gratified that S.374 was passed out of committee today.
Congress is working
properly and working well when it listens to the public:
92 percent of the
American public favors requiring background checks for all
sales in the wake of
Newtown, and the Senate Judiciary Committee has
responded. Background checks are
the only systematic way to keep guns out of
dangerous hands, and I ask lawmakers
to help build bipartisan support for
this sensible and important
bill.”
SOUTH
CAROLINA
Mayor Joseph
Riley of Charleston, South Carolina
“Thousands of
South Carolinians have joined the rest of America in
demanding action from
Congress to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous
people. Today is but the
first step in protecting our communities from the
needless violence that claims
33 lives every day. We can save so many
families the pain of losing a loved one
with this common sense
legislation.”
TEXAS
Mayor Annise
Parker of Houston, Texas
“Respect for the
Second Amendment goes hand-in-hand with common-sense
laws to keep weapons away
from dangerous people. Senate Bill 374 is a
proposal that addresses our gun
violence problem while also protecting our
constitutional rights. The bill
closes the private sale loophole in the
simplest fashion – enforcing existing
prohibitions on gun ownership while
putting minimal strain on the public. It is
truly great news that the bill
has been approved by the Senate Judiciary
Committee. Please help to make the
passage of this bill a bipartisan
achievement.”
Mayor Richard
Ward of Hurst, Texas
“This isn’t a
partisan issue – it’s just plain common sense. We can pay
tribute to our Second
Amendment rights and take responsible measures to keep
guns away from felons,
domestic abusers, and the severely mentally ill. I
thank the Judiciary Committee
for this critical first step in protecting our
communities by enacting
responsible, sensible legislation.”
VERMONT
Mayor Miro
Weinberger of Burlington, Vermont
“I applaud
Chairman Leahy for his tremendous leadership on this issue. In
Vermont, where we
have a long tradition of hunting and sporting, we know
it’s possible to uphold
our Second Amendment rights while also taking steps
to keep guns from falling
into the wrong hands. Today’s Judiciary Committee
action was an important step
towards closing the deadly loopholes in our
nation’s gun background check
system.”
Mayor John
Hollar of Montpelier, Vermont
“Today
is an historic moment for all of the American families affected by
gun violence.
Congress is closer than ever before to honoring the lives we
have lost by
passing the commonsense solutions to gun violence that so many
Americans
support.”
WISCONSIN
Mayor Tom
Barrett of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
“Under our
broken background check system, a would-be killer can walk
into any gun show,
scan the classifieds, or just go to Armslist.com – and
purchase any gun he wants
with no questions asked and no paperwork required.
And if that armed criminal
does kill someone, and the cops recover the gun
at the scene, they can’t trace
it to him. Today, the members of the Senate
Judiciary Committee took steps to
close this loophole by approving S.374. I
hope all federal legislators will join
the fight to pass this common-sense
bill.”
About Mayors
Against Illegal Guns
Since its
inception in April 2006, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has grown
from 15 mayors to
more than 900 mayors from across the country. We have more
than 1.4 million
grassroots supporters, making us the largest gun violence
prevention advocacy
organization in the country. The bipartisan coalition,
co-chaired by New York
City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas
Menino, has united the
nation’s mayors around these common goals: protecting
their communities by
holding gun offenders and irresponsible gun dealers
accountable; demanding
access to trace data that is critical to law
enforcement efforts to combat
illegal gun trafficking; and working with
legislators to fix gaps, weaknesses
and loopholes in the law that make it
far too easy for criminals and other
prohibited purchasers to get guns.
Learn more at www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org
-30-
Contact:
Mayor Bloomberg’s Press Office (212)
788-2958
Mayor Menino’s
Press Office (617) 635-4461
[1] Philip J. Cook & Jens Ludwig,
Guns
in America, 1996, available at
http://www.policefoundation.org/pdf/GunsinAmerica.pdf. 2,568 individuals,
including 251 gun owners, were surveyed by telephone and asked how they
obtained
their firearms.
[2] In the 38 states that have not
fully
closed the private sale loophole, an estimated 9,856,984 background
checks were
conducted between November 2011 and November 2012, out of an
estimated 16.5
million total firearm transfers in those states. 40 percent
of this total—6.6
million transfers—occurred without background checks.
Calculation based on FBI
data. Available:
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics/reports/20130205_1998_2013_state_program_to_date_purpose_ids.pdf
[3] Daniel Webster, Jon Vernick,
&
Maria Bulzacchelli, “Effects of State-Level Firearm Seller
Accountability
Policies on Firearm Trafficking,” Journal of Urban Health,
July 2009.
[4] U.S. Department of Justice,
Federal
Bureau of Investigation, Supplementary Homicide Reports,
2011.
[5] Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based
Injury
Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online]. (2005)
[cited 2012
Dec. 20].
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