Gun Legislation
The Democratic-led U.S. House passed two bills Thursday that stiffen the process of buying a gun, although one piece of legislation had its share of GOP support.
The Bipartisan Background Checks Act was passed by a margin of 227-203, with eight Republicans voting in favor.
The bill would extend background checks to any person or venue selling a firearm, including private sales, online sales and gun shows.
Limited temporary transfer situations are included in the bill.
Three of the eight Republicans who voted in favor of the bill hail from Florida.
One GOP representative from Pennsylvania voted in favor, U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1st, in the eastern end of the state.
Fitzpatrick's webpage states that being a former FBI agent gave him “unique insight to the importance of passing gun safety measures.”
Fitzpatrick was a co-sponsor of the bill when it was introduced in 2019, but the bill was not considered by the Republican-controlled Senate.
A second bill passed the House Thursday to extend the waiting period in a gun sale from three to 10 days.
That bill passed largely along party lines.
The measure, if passed by the Senate, would close a loophole that proponents say allowed shooter Dylann Roof to carry out a massacre in 2015 at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C.
Many Republican representatives said the two pieces of legislation violate the Second Amendment, which allows Americans to keep and bear arms.U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, said in a news release that the bills claim without evidence that they would reduce gun crime.“These bills are another attempt by Democrats to make it harder to exercise (their gun-ownership rights),” Kelly said. “Banning private sales between law-abiding Americans and giving FBI bureaucrats the power to delay sales at licensed dealers doesn't stop gun crime; it impedes Constitutional rights.”Kelly called the Charleston loophole a Democratic “myth” and said the bill criminalizes private gun sales.Kelly said most gun crime is committed with illegally possessed firearms in jurisdictions with the strictest gun control measures.He said the Bureau of Justice Statistics found in 2019 that fewer than 1% of criminals obtained their weapons at a gun show.Regarding expanding background checks, Kelly said it allows the FBI to delay the purchase of a gun “intentionally or unintentionally for an unreasonable amount of time.”U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said the first step to reducing gun violence is to pass the bills, which he said enjoy broad support among Americans, including gun owners.“Today, the House of Representatives passed two important bills to do just that,” Casey said. “We have a responsibility to bring these bills to the Senate floor for a debate and vote.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., introduced legislation Thursday that he said will help states enforce existing laws against people who attempt to buy guns by lying on their background checks.The legislation would require federal authorities to alert state and local law enforcement within 24 hours when an ineligible individual tries to purchase a firearm and fails a background check, which Toomey said can be a warning sign of criminal behavior.“This happens regularly in America, and it is a crime that largely goes unprosecuted,” Toomey said in a news release.The co-sponsors on the legislation include five Democrats and four Republicans.<i>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</i>
