ARS Responds To House Appropriations Subcommittee Markup Of FY18 Commerce, Justice, Science Bill

June 29, 2017

June 29, 2017 — Today, Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS), the gun violence prevention organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, combat veteran and retired NASA astronaut Captain Mark Kelly, issued the below statement following the House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee’s markup of the FY18 Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill. The bill includes $73 million for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which is consistent with the FY17 level, and $1.3 Billion for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which is $35 million above the FY17 enacted level. However, the bill also contains several harmful “riders” that will hinder the enforcement of existing laws. Most notably, the bill includes a rider that would hinder ATF’s ability to identify potential gun traffickers.

Robin Lloyd, Director of Government Affairs, Americans for Responsible Solutions:

“We are pleased to see a bipartisan commitment to funding our nation’s background check system and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that works to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals and make our communities safer. We hope that leaders on both sides of the aisle can continue to come together to bolster our nation’s background check system and give states the resources they need to help submit records into the system. “But it’s disappointing to see the Washington gun lobby use this bill as a vehicle to advance a series of permanent gun riders that make it harder to enforce existing federal laws and that would make our communities more dangerous places to live. We hope the full Appropriations Committee will do the responsible thing and remove these harmful riders from the final Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill.”

About The Harmful Gun Riders In The CJS Bill

Section 537 would hinder the ATF’s ability to fight gun trafficking in Mexico by preventing ATF from requiring gun dealers to report multiple sales of certain weapons to ATF. As a result, this rider would make it easier for gun traffickers to buy certain semiautomatic rifles, which are preferred by the Mexican drug cartels.

Section 530 would make permanent a rider that prohibits ATF from denying an application to import a new model of shotgun. This would limit the ATF’s ability to minimize the risk of dangerous, serviceable shotguns from entering the United States and potentially ending up the in the hands of criminals.

Section 517 would make permanent a rider that prohibits ATF from denying an application to import U.S. origin curios and relics. “Curios and relics” are firearms that are of special interest to collectors, including those manufactured more than 50 years ago. Many dangerous assault rifles were manufactured for military use before 1967 and therefore fall within the definition of curios and relics.