Gabby Giffords & Captain Mark Kelly Statement on House Passage of the FY2016 CJS Appropriations Bill

June 3, 2015

June 3, 2015– Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and retired Navy combat veteran and NASA astronaut Capt. Mark Kelly, the Co-Founders of Americans for Responsible Solutions, issued the below statement today on the House’s passage of the Fiscal Year FY2016 Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill (H.R. 2578), which includes several special interest gun riders that weaken the very background check system the bill also invests in.

The FY2016 bill maintains funding for the National Instant Criminal Background Checks System (NICS) at the FY2015 enacted level of $73 million, the funding level that Americans for Responsible Solutions had advocated for to Appropriations Committee members. The bill also includes $1.25 billion for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), $49 million above the FY2015 enacted level.

However, the bill also contains several “riders” that will hinder the enforcement of existing laws. Notably, the bill includes an amendment that removes the requirement for law enforcement certification for individuals who set up gun trusts to acquire machine guns and other National Firearms Act (NFA) designated weapons.

Congresswoman Giffords’ and Capt. Kelly’s statement:

“We are pleased to see a bipartisan commitment to expanded funding for our background check system. This bill provides the full investment urged by Americans for Responsible Solutions and our supporters, and we hope that Republicans and Democrats can continue to come together to bolster our background check system and provide states resources for submitting records to the system, which is only as good as the records it contains. “But it’s disappointing to see a bill so saddled with special interest gun riders that make it harder to enforce existing federal gun laws and that make our communities more dangerous places to live. We urge House and Senate negotiators to strip them from the final bill in conference. An appropriations bill – which must continue to invest in our nation’s criminal background check system – is no place to do the bidding of the corporate gun lobby on our nation’s gun laws. “We are especially disappointed to see the House adopt an amendment that makes it easier for civilians who set up gun trusts to acquire firearms without the certification of a law enforcement officer in their community. Make no mistake: the net effect of this gun trust rider is to hamstring our law enforcement officers and make it easier for dangerous people to acquire machine guns – a result no legislator should be proud of. “Even with this bill’s investment in life-saving background checks, there is still a lot more to do to fix our broken background check system – including closing the loopholes that allows dangerous people to buy guns without a background check or any questions asked. Americans for Responsible Solutions will continue to fight for closing these loopholes and making our communities safer from gun violence.”