Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence Urges Support for Bill to Close Gun Show Loophole
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2008
1:57 PM
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CONTACT: Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
(202) 898-0792
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Brady Campaign Urges Support
for Bill to Close Gun Show Loophole
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WASHINGTON, DC - January 30 - Several families of the Virginia Tech massacre and Brady Campaign President Paul Helmke joined Senators Frank Lautenberg and Jack Reed on Capitol Hill today as the Senators announced the introduction of legislation that would strengthen the Brady background check system by closing the gun show loophole.
“We make it too easy for dangerous people to get dangerous weapons. Closing the gun show loophole is a sensible step to take to strengthen the Brady criminal background check system,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign. “The bottom line should be: ‘No background check. No gun. No excuses.’”
The Brady Law requires criminal background checks of gun buyers from licensed dealers, but there is a loophole at gun shows. Convicted felons, domestic violence abusers, and those who are dangerously mentally ill can walk into gun shows and buy weapons from unlicensed “private sellers” without being questioned.
“I ask that the U.S. Senate and House pass the bill to close the gun show loophole. We saw what happened at Virginia Tech and Columbine High School when dangerous people have easy access to guns,” said Lori Haas, whose daughter, Emily Haas, was wounded at Virginia Tech. “Congress should do all that it can to prevent other American families from suffering the ordeal of gun violence like the Virginia Tech families have had to suffer.” The panel that studied the Virginia Tech tragedy recommended closing the gun show loophole in its report.
The Columbine High School killers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, used two shotguns, an assault rifle and a TEC-9 assault pistol to shoot 26 students at Columbine, killing 13, on April 20, 1999. All four guns came from gun show sales. Their friend, Robyn Anderson, bought three of the guns for them from unlicensed sellers. After the massacre, Ms. Anderson stated that had she been required to undergo a background check, she would not have purchased the guns.
Legislation to close the gun show has been introduced in the U.S. House by Representative Mike Castle (R-DE).
The proposed legislation follows the recent approval of the “NICS Amendments Improvement Act of 2007,” signed by President Bush on January 8, 2008, which also will help prevent dangerous people from buying guns by giving incentives to the states to get more records into the background check system.
As the nation's largest, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence, the Brady Campaign, with its dedicated network of Million Mom March Chapters, works to enact and enforce sensible gun laws, regulations and public policies. The Brady Campaign is devoted to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in our communities.
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