Washington, D.C. –Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, spoke on the House floor in support of H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019:   

I am pleased that today we are considering H.R. 8, the “Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019.”  We have promised the American people that Congress would take steps to reduce gun violence, and this bill is a critical first step toward doing so. 

During the past four weeks, as the Judiciary Committee—and now the full House—have discussed the issue of gun violence, I have cited the grim statistics.  Nearly 40,000 Americans lost their lives because of guns in 2017.  In fact, every day in America, on average, 34 people are murdered with a firearm, and more than 183 people are injured in an attack.

Gun violence of this magnitude is a distinctly American problem. A country to country comparison is shocking.  For example, in 2011 the United Kingdom had 146 deaths due to gun violence; Denmark, 71; Portugal, 142; and Japan, just 30.  A recent study in the American Journal of Medicine found that, compared to 22 other high-income countries, the gun-related murder rate in the United States is 25 times higher.  Even when you adjust for population differences, Americans are disproportionally killed by gun violence.  

Almost 25 years to the day after the Brady Act was first implemented, expanding our current background check requirement to cover virtually all gun transfers is one of the steps we must take to address this crisis.  Under current law, only licensed firearms dealers are required to conduct a background check before transferring a gun to another person.  This means that gun shows, online sales, and other private sales, can completely evade this vital tool for ensuring that guns do not get into the wrong hands.

It is time to close this dangerous loophole. 

This bill would make it illegal for any person who is not a licensed firearm importer, manufacturer, or dealer to transfer a firearm to any other person who is not so licensed, without a background check.  Individuals seeking to transfer a firearm under this measure would be required to visit a licensed firearms dealer to run the necessary background check before the transfer could be finalized.

The bill also provides a number of exemptions to this requirement, including gifts to family members and transfers for hunting, target shooting, and instances of imminent death or great bodily harm. 

The FBI’s internal assessment demonstrated that checks processed through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System—often called NICS—are approximately 99.3 percent to 99.8 percent accurate, and in 90 percent of cases, checks are processed within 90 seconds.  H.R. 8 will provide an accurate and speedy mechanism to help ensure firearms do not end up in the wrong hands.

There is no reason to continue to make it easy for people who are legally prohibited from possessing firearms to acquire them by circumventing the background check process.  H.R. 8 would close this dangerous loophole, and save lives.  That is why I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this vital legislation today. 

I reserve the balance of my time. 

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