Letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi - NRA Gun Riders in Appropriations Bills

Letter

Today, Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty (CT-5) joined 105 of her colleagues, in writing to House Speaker John Boehner and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to urge that Fiscal Year 2014 Appropriations bills not include legislative language or "riders" that would block efforts to reduce and prevent gun violence.

"For too long, special interest groups like the NRA have used these legislative maneuvers to set back the most basic and needed efforts to prevent gun violence," Esty said. "They've used these legislative maneuvers to curb the ability of law enforcement to effectively combat gun crimes. They've used these maneuvers to prevent basic research into the causes of gun crime. People's lives are at stake. Families in Newtown and families affected by gun violence across the country deserve better than legislative maneuvers from a special interest group and members of Congress."

"These riders aid criminals and make our communities less safe," said Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-5), chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. "They are nothing more than backdoor legislative tactics that prevent the Centers for Disease Control or the National Institutes of Health from conducting research on the causes of gun violence. And, they restrict our law enforcement officers' ability to track and combat the spread of illegal guns. The American people deserve an open debate."

Previous riders have included the Tiahrt amendment that prevented law enforcement from using information on guns traced to crimes, banned legally-required inventory audits of gun dealerships, and provisions which led to straw purchasing and gun trafficking. Esty helped ensure that removing these harmful provisions was included in the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force's recommendations released on February 7, 2013.

Full text of the letter sent to Speaker Boehner and Leader Pelosi follows.

Dear Speaker Boehner and Leader Pelosi:

As the House Committee on Appropriations develops each of the twelve fiscal year (FY) 2014 appropriations bills, we urge that you ensure the committee's legislation not include any legislative language or "riders" that impact the enforcement of gun laws, the operations of Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL), or research into the causes of gun violence and how to prevent it. Gun violence reduction and prevention is an important and sensitive issue. Given the renewed national focus on gun violence prevention, now is not the time to include controversial appropriations riders that impact gun laws.

Instead, gun violence prevention measures must be seriously and properly considered by Congress through the regular order. This must be done in an open and transparent process where a full range of options can be frankly discussed and debated by the proper committees of jurisdiction and the entire House of Representatives. We believe that the appropriations process, which determines funding levels for the federal government, is not the appropriate way to modify or implement gun laws. In addition to bypassing the proper congressional process, these riders have had unintended consequences that would have come to light had they been properly discussed.

As you know, previous appropriations riders have acted as a roadblock to reducing and preventing gun violence. The Tiahrt and Rehberg amendments, among others, have prevented law enforcement from requiring FFLs to keep an inventory of their firearms, prevented law enforcement and academic institutions from using gun trace data to better understand the pattern of crime gun transfers, and chilled unbiased scientific research into the causes of gun violence and the means of preventing it.

As the FY 2014 appropriations process begins through its respective subcommittees, we urge you to support the development of legislation that is free from all gun related riders. Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

Sincerely,

Source