Mark Kelly Statement on Harris County Shooter Who Bypassed Background Check by Buying Gun Online

August 12, 2015

August 12, 2015 – Navy combat veteran and retired NASA astronaut Captain Mark Kelly, the Co-Founder of the gun violence prevention organization Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS), issued the below statement today following new details that the Harris County shooter who killed eight people, including his former domestic partner, her spouse, and six children in their home on Saturday, was prohibited from purchasing a gun and bypassed a criminal background check by purchasing the firearm used in the shooting from a stranger he met online. Captain Kelly’s statement:

“The horrific tragedy that unfolded in Harris County over the weekend is not only a painful reminder of how deadly of a mix domestic violence and guns are, but also how loopholes in our laws make it easy for dangerous people like felons and domestic abusers to get their hands on a gun,” said Captain Kelly. “Our federal laws have loopholes big enough to drive a truck through, and when we give felons and domestic abusers the option to buy a gun without a background check, it makes our communities less safe. That’s why our leaders need to do everything they can to close those loopholes and help keep dangerous people from getting their hands on guns. For those who fight to protect these loopholes that make it easy for dangerous people to buy guns without a background check, we would like to hear what steps they would take to help keep guns out of the hands of convicted felons. Gabby and I will continue to keep our thoughts and prayers with those whose loved ones were taken from them on Saturday, and with the Harris County community.”

BACKGROUND ON THE DEADLY MIX OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & GUNS

Women in the United States are 11 times more likely to be murdered with a gun than women in other developed countries, and more than half of all murders of America’s women are committed with a gun. [Centers for Disease Control, 2012]
Abused women are five times more likely to be killed by their abuser if that individual has access to a firearm. [Centers for Disease Control, 2012]
Domestic violence assaults involving a gun are twelve times more likely to result in death than those involving other weapons or bodily force. [Journal of the American Medical Association, 1992]
In 2011, nearly two-thirds of women killed with guns were killed by their intimate partners. [Violence Policy Center, 2013]
More than two-thirds of spouse and ex-spouse homicide victims between 1980 and 2008 were killed with firearms. [Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2011]
48.6 percent of all intimate partner homicides were committed by a dating partner. [Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2011]
66 percent of female stalking victims were stalked by a current or former intimate partner. [Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2009]
One study of female murder victims in 10 cities found that 76 percent of women murdered and 85 percent who survived a murder attempt by a current or former intimate partner experienced stalking in the year preceding the murder. [Homicide Studies, 1999]

ABOUT BACKGROUND CHECKS

Federal Law Requires Background Checks – But Only at Licensed Firearms Dealers, Not Online and at Gun Shows. In 1993, Congress passed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act into law, making background checks a requirement for federally licensed gun dealers and setting up the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), a system of databases maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Under federal law, certain categories of dangerous individuals, known as prohibited purchasers, such as convicted felons, domestic abusers and some dangerously mentally ill people are prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms. Under the Brady Act, when a person attempts to purchase a gun from a licensed dealer, the dealer runs a check through the NICS system to determine whether a potential buyer is prohibited from purchasing firearms. If information in NICS indicates that a person is prohibited from legally purchasing a firearm, the dealer must deny the sale.

Background Checks Have Blocked Over Two Million Potential Sales to Prohibited Purchasers. 91 percent of background checks are completed instantaneously and since the NICS system has been in place, over 196 million background checks have been conducted, and over two million firearms sales to prohibited purchasers have been denied.

States with Background Checks Have Seen Public Safety Gains. In the eighteen states and the District of Columbia that already require background checks for all handgun sales, 46 percent fewer women are shot to death by their intimate partners, there are 48 percent fewer firearms suicides and 48% fewer law enforcement officers are shot to death by handguns. When Missouri repealed its background check law in 2007 that required background checks on all handgun sales, gun homicides increased by 25 percent in the state.