Forget Thoughts and Prayers — Senators Must Expand Background Checks

As the world mourns the senseless loss of lives in New Zealand due to the deadly mixture of firearms and Xenophobia, it’s a stark reminder of the epidemic of gun violence in America. Our movie theaters, places of worship, schools, streets, and homes are not safe. And it results in more than 32,000 fatalities every year by guns. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, 100 Americans are killed with firearms every day, and hundreds more are shot and injured.

One important way to address this insanity is through the Background Check Expansion Act, or S 42, re-introduced on January 8 by Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT). S 42 currently has 41 cosponsors, all Democrats.

The Background Check Expansion Act would require a background check for the sale or transfer of all firearms. This requirement extends to all unlicensed sellers, whether they do business online, at gun shows, or out of their home. Exceptions to the Background Check Expansion Act include transfers between law enforcement officers, temporarily loaning firearms for hunting and sporting events, providing firearms as gifts to immediate family members, transferring a firearm as part of an inheritance, or temporarily transferring a firearm for immediate self-defense. So, it’s not perfect, but it’s a good first step.

Since the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act went into effect 25 years ago — the first federal law to require background checks for gun sales — it has blocked more than 3 million sales to individuals with felony convictions, domestic abusers, and others prohibited by law from having firearms. But, we live in a country where there are more guns than people. And, the gun violence we experience is unlike any other country. Why? Because we have among the most lax gun laws in the world.

Despite the success of the Brady law, it includes a loophole in which unlicensed or private sellers are not required to conduct a background check prior to transferring a firearm. Research indicates that this loophole allows as many as 1 in 5 gun transfers without going through a licensed dealer, including online and at gun shows. In fact, Armslist.com alone transfers an estimated 25,000 guns to those prohibited from purchasing them each year.

Gun laws differ wildly from state to state, and data shows that states with weaker gun laws on average lead to more gun deaths. Whereas states that have expanded background checks have seen real results: 53 percent fewer law enforcement officers are shot and killed in the line of duty, 47 percent fewer women are shot by intimate partners, and cities in states with expanded background checks see a 48 percent reduction in gun trafficking. Not only do they work, but expanded background checks are supported by 97% of Americans.

Thanks to a new gun sense majority, the House of Representatives just passed a pair of expanded background checks bills — HR 8 and HR 1112 — following almost two decades of inaction on gun safety legislation. Unfettered access to guns hasn’t worked. Thoughts and prayers haven’t worked. Why not follow the House’s lead to take meaningful action toward saving lives by expanding background checks through passage of S 42? Senators owe it to victims, survivors, and families in communities across America affected by gun violence every day.