POSITION: The Brady Campaign supports requiring Brady criminal background checks on all gun sales, including at gun shows. We support legislation to close the gun show loophole. Our national policy should be: no background check, no gun, no excuses.

PROBLEM: The Brady Law requires criminal background checks of gun buyers at federally licensed gun dealers, but since unlicensed sellers are not required to do background checks, this loophole causes particular problems at gun shows which give these unlicensed sellers a guaranteed venue. In most states convicted felons, domestic violence abusers, and those who are dangerously mentally ill can walk into any gun show and buy weapons from unlicensed sellers, who operate week-to-week with no established place of business, without being stopped, no questions asked.

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. All four guns came from gun show sales. Their friend, Robyn Anderson, bought three of the guns for them from unlicensed sellers at a gun show. After the massacre, Ms. Anderson stated that had she been required to undergo a background check, she would not have purchased the guns.

THE THREAT: Allowing dangerous people such as convicted felons and domestic abusers to buy guns at gun shows from unlicensed sellers without a Brady criminal background check threatens the safety of our families and communities.

URGENCY: We must act now to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people to stop future tragedies like the one at Columbine High School. There is no federal law to require extending Brady background checks to all gun show purchases. Only seventeen states have taken steps to extend Brady background checks to firearm purchases at gun shows.

SOLUTION: Congress must pass legislation to close the gun show loophole, requiring Brady criminal background checks by all firearms sellers at gun shows. In the short-term, more states must pass legislation to close the gun show loophole to put pressure on Congress to act.

GET ACTIVE: Click here to join thousands of others who are calling on Congress to require Brady criminal background checks on all gun sales, including closing the gun show loophole. You can also join a Million Mom March Chapter; Click here to get involved locally.