Progressive Caucus:Addressing Gun Violence
Floor Speech
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Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, every day, 88 Americans are killed by guns. The gun homicide rate in the U.S. is 20 times higher than other developed nations. How long before enough is enough?
Today, I am introducing the Keeping Guns from Criminals Act, commonsense gun violence prevention legislation that will close a loophole in current Federal law, that allows straw purchasers and gun traffickers to funnel firearms to felons, juveniles and other restricted purchasers, with little to no risk of being prosecuted.
While Federal law clearly prohibits the sale of a gun to a felon or other persons deemed not eligible to possess a firearm, the standard required to prosecute violators is so high that law enforcement is rarely able to bring charges. Only if the prosecutor can prove the seller knew the buyer was prohibited from purchasing a gun are they able to successfully prosecute. So unenforceable is the current statute that, on average, only 75 such prosecutions occur every year.
My bill would make it easier to prosecute these bad actors by making the sale of a firearm a strict liability. It is a crime, and the onus is on the seller to know whether the buyer is in the prohibited class of customers. No longer would a gun trafficker or irresponsible gun seller be able to claim they didn't know a purchaser was a criminal or had a restraining order against them or was on a terrorist watch list. No longer would we be tying the hands of law enforcement and preventing them from enforcing laws to protect our children. No longer would a prosecutor have to prove the intention or knowledge of wrongdoing required under current law.
Mr. Speaker, no doubt, one of the arguments against this bill will be a complaint that a background check places an onerous burden upon the seller. But consider
this: the seller and prospective buyer need only go to one of the many Federal Firearms Licensees, or FFL, who provide a private property transfer with a background check for only about $30.
And consider that there are 130,000 FFLs in the United States. That is roughly nine times as many McDonald's as there are.
Mr. Speaker, everyone, even the National Rifle Association, agrees that we have a responsibility to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals. This legislation is a step in that direction, and I encourage my colleagues to please support it.
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