Feinstein, Senators Introduce Bill to Close Loophole Allowing Gun Sales Without Completed Background Check
Washington – Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) joined Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) today to introduce legislation to close a current loophole that allows gun sales to proceed if a background check is not completed after 72 hours, even if the gun buyer is not legally allowed to purchase a gun. The gap in existing law has allowed thousands of gun sales to prohibited buyers, including the sale of the firearm used by Dylann Roof in his deadly attack at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina last year.
“Current law allows gun sales to proceed after 72 hours—even if background checks aren’t approved. This is dangerous loophole that could allow criminals and those with mental illness to complete their purchase of firearms even though it would be unlawful for them to possess them,” said Feinstein. “The shooter in Charleston who killed nine parishioners of Emmanuel AME Church would have failed his background check if the law had allowed it to be completed. Our commonsense proposal will ensure all background checks are completed before sales can move forward.”
“No check, no sale must be the rule. When Dylann Roof walked into a gun store two years ago, he shouldn’t have been able to walk out with a weapon. But a loophole in current law allowed Dylann Roof – and thousands of others like him every year – to access weapons they are already legally ineligible to buy. Waiting for a background check, even if longer than 72 hours, is a minor inconvenience far outweighed by the benefit of keeping lethal weapons out of the hands of dangerous people,” said Blumenthal.
“If you can’t pass a background check, you shouldn’t be able to walk out of a store with a gun. As we saw in Charleston, this loophole allows dangerous people to get their hands on deadly weapons – it has literally cost innocent lives. This is a commonsense bill to give law enforcement the time it needs before a gun leaves the store,” said Murphy.
When a criminal background check indicates that a firearm purchaser may have a criminal record, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) tries to determine whether the purchaser can legally buy a gun. If this process takes longer than 72 hours, gun dealers can complete the sale even though there is a heightened risk that the purchaser is legally disqualified from purchasing a gun.
The Background Check Completion Act would require a completed background check for every gun buyer who purchases a gun from a federally-licensed gun dealer.
The Background Check Completion Act is co-sponsored by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
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