Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) supported passage of two commonsense pieces of bipartisan legislation supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans to get at the root causes of the gun violence epidemic by requiring background checks on all firearm purchases and finally closing the Charleston Loophole.

“Even as tens of thousands of Americans die each year from senseless and preventable gun violence, the gun lobby has successfully bribed and intimidated lawmakers into offering thoughts and prayers rather than real solutions. But the American people have had enough moments of silence and enough feigned outrage that lasts only until the next news cycle,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “We’re fed up with our children living in fear of active shooters in their schools and police standing guard outside of our places of worship. Today, the House took action to pass commonsense, broadly popular, and impactful legislation that will bolster our nation’s pitifully weak background check system. Keeping deadly weapons out of the hands of those fueled by hate should never be controversial.”

Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021

H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, expands background checks to make them universal and keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. Specifically, the bipartisan legislation requires a background check for every gun sale or transfer. It also contains carefully defined and explicit exceptions in cases where a gun is gifted to a family member, loaned for hunting or target shooting, or temporarily transferred for self-defense.

The purpose of H.R. 8 is to ensure individuals already prohibited from gun possession under federal law, including felons and domestic abusers, are not able to obtain firearms. It does so by closing a potentially fatal background check loophole that exempts unlicensed gun sellers, including individuals who sell guns online, at gun shows, or person-to person without a federal dealer’s license, from having to perform any background check whatsoever before completing a firearm sale. According to Giffords, approximately 80 percent of firearms used for criminal purposes are obtained through unlicensed sellers without a background check.

The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021 is supported by gun violence prevention groups, law enforcement organizations, veterans’ organizations, local government groups, medical organizations, and social justice organizations including Giffords, Everytown for Gun Safety, Brady, United States Conference of Mayors, Major Cities Chiefs Association, Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, Hispanic American Police Commanders Association, VoteVets, Third Way, American Medical Association, American Public Health Association, American College of Physicians, American Nurses Association, Catholic Health Association of the United States, National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, National PTA, NAACP, League of Women Voters, and MomsRising.

The Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021

H.R. 1446, the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021, finally closes the so-called “Charleston Loophole,” which currently allows the sale of a firearm to proceed if a background check is not completed within three business days. The need for this legislation became glaringly obvious following the horrific massacre at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina that killed nine innocent people. The shooter, who was prohibited by law from possessing a firearm due to his history of unlawful controlled substance abuse – was permitted through the Charleston Loophole to acquire his gun before the completion of his background check because the FBI needed more than three days to investigate the shooter’s records.

The Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021 provides the FBI with crucial additional time to complete a background check on a potential firearms purchaser before a licensed dealer can transfer a gun by the initial background check review period from 3 business days to 10 business days. If a background check has not been completed within the initial 10-day period, the purchaser may request an escalated review by the FBI, which designed to resolve the case within an additional 10-business day period.

While 97 percent of background checks are processed within 3 business days, hundreds of thousands of incomplete background checks enter into “default proceed” status each year. In 2017 alone, more than 4,000 guns were sold to people with criminal records, mental illnesses and other circumstances that disqualify them from purchasing a firearm, due to the inability to complete background checks within three business days.

Like H.R. 8, passage of H.R. 1446 is supported by a diverse array of groups, including United States Conference of Mayors, Major Cities Chiefs Association, Police Executive Research Forum, Giffords Law Center, Everytown for Gun Safety, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Center for American Progress, National Urban League, Human Rights Campaign, National Education Association, Community Justice Action Fund, Newtown Action Alliance, Survivors Empowered Action Fund, Bishops United Against Gun Violence, Nurses Against Gun Violence, Doctors Demand Action, #ThisIsOurLane, MomsRising, American Federation of Teachers, Amnesty International, Children’s Defense Fund, Doctors for America, and American Medical Student Association.

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