Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand released the following statement addressing President Biden’s finalization of a new rule that will save lives by ‘closing the gun-show loophole’ and reducing the number of firearms sold without background checks:
“President Biden has made combatting the epidemic of gun violence a top priority throughout his administration and this initiative moves us closer to a long-sought goal: universal background checks. This bold action will close the ‘gun-show loophole’ that allows gun dealers to sell firearms without performing background checks, which allows dangerous individuals like domestic abusers and felons to obtain guns. This effort, coupled with continued implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, makes our neighborhoods safer and has the potential to save countless lives.”
Senator Gillibrand is a long-time champion for gun safety legislation. She wrote the Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking and Crime Prevention Act, which formed the centerpiece of Bipartisan Safer Communities Act’s (BSCA) anti-gun trafficking provision. In December of 2023, Gillibrand unveiled her first-of-its-kind report analyzing the initial successes from the BSCA’s anti-gun trafficking section. As of February 2024, law enforcement had used the law to take over 2,000 illegal guns off the street and charge hundreds of suspected traffickers.