NEW VIDEO: Americans for Responsible Solutions Releases New Digital Short “The Bulletproof Poster” as NRA Convention Kicks off in Atlanta
April 27, 2017 —One day before President Trump is set to speak at the annual NRA convention in Atlanta, a new digital video released today sheds light on the urgent need to close dangerous loopholes in federal gun laws that allow convicted felons, domestic abusers, and those experiencing a mental health crisis to easily obtain guns without a background check.
The digital short titled “The Bulletproof Poster” was released today by Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS), the gun violence prevention organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and retired NASA astronaut Captain Mark Kelly.
Watch “The Bulletproof Poster”.
Every year, over 100,000 people are shot and over 33,000 people are killed with a gun. One of the key reasons America has such a high rate of gun violence is because of glaring loopholes in our laws that let dangerous people obtain guns. No gap is more glaring than the one in our federal background checks law, which allows felons, domestic abusers, and those experiencing a mental health crisis to purchase firearms at gun shows and over the internet without undergoing a background check.
The NRA used to be a strong supporter of closing the gaping loopholes in our nation’s background check system. In fact, testifying before Congress in 1999, NRA executive vice president and CEO Wayne LaPierre said, “We think it’s reasonable to provide mandatory instant criminal background checks for every sale at every gun show. No loopholes anywhere for anyone.”
However, today NRA leadership stands in strong opposition to background checks, despite the fact that gun owners overwhelmingly support the policy. In fact, a new survey, released this week by Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC, found that 80 percent of gun owners support requiring a background check on all gun sales.
The stance held by NRA leadership on background checks represents a larger disconnect between the views of gun owners and the priorities being pushed by the Washington gun lobby. The same poll found key federal legislative priorities named by the NRA, including federally mandated concealed carry, deregulating the sale of gun silencers, and eliminating gun-free school zones, receive very low support from gun owners themselves.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT BACKGROUND CHECKS
- Under Federal Law, Criminal Background Checks Are Only Required at Licensed Firearms Dealers—Not Online or at Gun Shows. In 1993, Congress passed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which required background checks for people attempting to buy guns from federally licensed gun dealers and set up the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), a system of databases maintained by the FBI. The bill was signed into law by President Clinton in 1993 and went into effect in 1994. Today, under federal law, certain categories of dangerous individuals,, including convicted felons, domestic abusers, and mentally ill individuals deemed to pose a threat to self or others, 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. But these federal NICS background checks are not required for private sales—which include sales conducted at gun shows and online. [Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, 2012]
- Where They Are Required, Federal Background Checks Are Quick and Effective. Ninety-one 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. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2014] [Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2010]
- States that Require Background Checks for All Handgun Sales Have Seen Reduced Rates of Gun Violence. In the states that have already require background checks for all handgun sales, 47 percent fewer women are shot to death by their intimate partners, there are 47 percent fewer firearms suicides, and 53 percent fewer law enforcement officers are shot and killed in the line of duty. Conversely, after Missouri repealed its law in 2007 that required background checks on all handgun sales, gun homicides increased by 25 percent in the state. [Everytown for Gun Safety] [Webster, Crifasi, Vernick, 2014]