Washington, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D- Calif) joined Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and twenty-four Senators in introducing legislation to close a current loophole that allows gun sales to proceed if a background check is not completed within a certain time period, even if the gun buyer is not legally allowed to purchase a gun. The gap in existing law has allowed thousands of gun sales to prohibited buyers, including the sale of the firearm used by the shooter in the deadly attack at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church. U.S. Representative James E. Clyburn has introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
“It’s unconscionable that more than 10 years after the horrific mass shooting inside Emanual AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina – and tragically many more since – we still have not taken action to require background checks to help prevent guns from getting into dangerous hands,” said Senator Schiff. “Today, I’m proud to co-sponsor this legislation to finally close the ‘Charleston loophole’ which allows people with criminal backgrounds to access firearms. We don’t have to experience the tragedy of gun violence over and over again. We can and must pass commonsense measures like this bill to save lives and end the threat of gun violence in our communities.”
“This loophole is a massive gateway to dangerous evasion of the background check rules,” Senator Blumenthal said. “If you haven’t passed a background check, you shouldn’t be able to purchase a weapon. No check, no gun. It’s really that simple.”
When a criminal background check indicates that a firearm purchaser may have a criminal record, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) tries to determine whether the purchaser can legally buy a gun. If this process takes longer than 72 hours for those 21 years of age or older, or 10 days for those under 21, gun dealers can complete the sale even though there is a heightened risk that the purchaser is legally disqualified from purchasing a gun.
The Background Check Completion Act would require a completed background check for every gun buyer who purchases a gun from a federally-licensed gun dealer.
The Background Check Completion Act is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai’i), Tim Kaine (D-V.A.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
The legislation has been endorsed by Everytown for Gun Safety, Giffords, Brady, Sandy Hook Promise and Newtown Action Alliance.
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