State and Federal Legislation
The Brady Campaign works at the Federal, State and local level to enact sensible gun laws. We have divided this area up between federal and state legislation. Click here for state legislation.
Bills to Close the Gun Show Loophole Introduced in U.S. Senate and U.S. House
U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and U.S. Representatives Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Mike Castle (R-DE) have introduced legislation to close the gun show loophole. The loophole allows people to buy guns at gun shows in most states without passing a Brady criminal background check.
A new Brady report makes a strong case for Brady background checks on all gun sales in America, including those at gun shows. Allowing dangerous people such as convicted felons and domestic abusers to buy guns without criminal background checks threatens the safety of our families and communities.
Our national policy should be: no background check, no gun, no excuses.
Dangerous Legislation to Arm the Mentally Ill Introduced in the U.S. Congress
The "Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act" would repeal longstanding regulations barring mentally incompetent persons from possessing firearms. If passed, this misguided legislation would pose a serious danger to veterans, their families, and the public.
This legislation would allow mentally ill persons to possess firearms even if the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has determined that they are "mentally incapacitated," "mentally incompetent," or "experiencing an extended loss of consciousness." The U.S. Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller specifically recognized the importance of "longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by... the mentally ill."
Credit Card Legislation Passes Congress with Dangerous Amendment Allowing Guns in Parks
A reckless amendment that could allow people to carry loaded guns, including AK-47s, in national parks was passed by the Congress. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) carried the gun lobby's water and added the amendment to completely unrelated legislation to protect credit card users.
In March, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly struck down a Bush administration rule on guns in parks that was implemented days before the President left office, finding that the administration issued it in an "astoundingly flawed process."
The Obama administration then agreed to halt the implementation of the rule. The Brady Center had filed suit to block the rule in December, 2008.
Legislation Introduced to Close the Terror Gap: Denying Firearms and Explosives to Terrorists
U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and U.S. Representatives Peter T. King (D-NY) have introduced common sense legislation to deny firearms and explosives to terrorists. Currently, federal authorities cannot stop sales of guns - including military-style assault weapons - by dealers to known or suspected terrorists. This gap in the law threatens our nation's safety.
A new GAO report finds that, from February 2004 to February 2009, there were 963 cases in which a known or suspected terrorist attempted to buy a gun. In 90 percent of those cases – a total of 865 times – they were cleared to proceed with that purchase. One of those cases involved the purchase of explosives.
Congress must pass the Terror Gap bill to stop known or suspected terrorists from buying guns.
Brady Campaign Provides Proposal to Obama Transition Team on Ways to Reduce Gun Violence
Gun Violence In America, Proposals For The Obama Administration [cover] The Brady Campaign sent a proposal to the Obama Administration transition team recommending steps that can be taken to address gun violence in America.
The document recommends how our nation's gun laws and policies can be strengthened to better protect our families and communities by making it harder for convicted felons, the dangerously mentally ill and other prohibited persons to obtain guns.
Brady Campaign Calls for the Repeal of the Tiahrt Amendment
Since 2004, the so-called Tiahrt Amendment (named after Congressman Todd Tiahrt of Kansas) includes several riders attached annually to Justice Department appropriations legislation that make it harder for law enforcement to prevent gun violence.
Preventing gun crimes should be at the top of our agenda to making our families and communities safer. The Amendment ties the hands of law enforcement to help prevent gun crimes before they happen. The Brady Campaign is working to repeal the Amendment.
The Obama Administration has pledged to repeal the Tiahrt Amendment.
Brady Campaign Calls for a Strong, Effective Assault Weapons Ban
The Brady Campaign supports a strong ban on military-style semi-automatic assault weapons along with high-capacity ammunition magazines. These dangerous weapons have no sporting or civilian use. Their combat features are appropriate to military, not civilian, contexts.
The Federal Assault Weapons Act, banning the sale of semiautomatic military-style assault weapons, was passed as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. It led to a dramatic decline in the incidence of assault weapons traced to crime. In the five-year period (1990-1994) before law was enacted, assault weapons named in the Act constituted 4.82% of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) crime gun traces nationwide. After the law’s enactment, these assault weapons made up only 1.61% of the guns ATF had traced to crime - a drop of 66% from the pre-ban rate.
The Act contained a “sunset” provision, requiring it to be renewed by 2004. Congress did not renew it. The Brady Campaign urges Congress to act to keep dangerous military-style semi-automatic assault weapons with high-capacity ammunition magazines out of our communities.
Federal Legislation Would Give Law Enforcement An Innovative New Tool to Help Solve Crimes
In 2008, Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Congressman Xavier Bacerra introduced legislation that would help law enforcement solve firearm crimes.
The National Crime Gun Identification Act of 2008 would have required that all semiautomatic pistols be equipped with microstamped identifiers. That means when a gun is fired, its serial number is stamped on the cartridge. Microstamping takes ballistics identification to a new level of reliability and effectiveness. Â The Brady Campaign supports introduction of this legislation again in 2009.
In 2007, similar ground-breaking legislation was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in California. It received the support of 65 police chiefs and sheriffs throughout the state, as well as the California Police Chiefs Association, the Orange County Chiefs' and Sheriff's Association, the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC), and the Los Angeles Police Protective League.
The Brady Campaign Worked to Strengthen the Brady Background Check System
In January 2008, the President signed the National Instant Check System (NICS) Improvement Amendments Act of 2007. This is the first major piece of national legislation to be passed to reduce gun violence in more than a decade.
The passage of this bill was in response to the April 16th, 2007 Virginia Tech massacre. The Virginia Tech killer was able to arm himself because the court order that should have blocked his gun purchase was not reported to the federal Brady background check system.
Family members and survivors of the Virginia Tech tragedy had urged Congress to pass legislation that would help prevent people like the Virginia Tech killer from getting guns.
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