House Has Consistently Advanced Meaningful Gun Safety Bills; Now the Senate Must do Its Part
WASHINGTON — Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown, applauded the House Judiciary Committee for advancing three bills to address America’s gun violence crisis. The legislation would provide critical federal grant funding for the states with Extreme Risk, or Red Flag, laws, incentivize states to pass Extreme Risk laws and create an Extreme Risk process available in federal courts in all fifty states; disarm people convicted of violent misdemeanor hate crimes; and prohibit high-capacity magazines.
Since the beginning of the year, the House has acted on several gun safety bills — most notably the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, which would require background checks on all gun sales — while the Senate has failed to act, even after a string of mass shootings in El Paso, Dayton and West Texas — not to mention the daily gun violence that kills 100 Americans a day and wounds hundreds more.
“The U.S. House understands that another day without stronger gun laws means another day of preventable tragedies,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Now it’s time for the Senate to do its job and pass meaningful gun safety laws — because the American people aren’t going to settle for weak, watered down half-measures.”
“In the past week, we’ve seen everyone from members of the House of Representatives, to Walmart executives and the Lt. Gov of Texas lead on gun safety,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “It’s time for Majority Leader McConnell to lead, too.”
The legislation advanced to the House floor includes:
- H.R. 1236, a strong Extreme Risk law that would strengthen and expand the tools for families and law enforcement to act on warning signs of gun violence before a person harms themselves or others. Extreme Risk laws create an opportunity for families and law enforcement to intervene before threats turn deadly, and the standards in H.R. 1236 include robust due process protections. This bill supports the states that have passed Extreme Risk laws, encourages additional states to pass strong Extreme Risk laws and establishes a strong federal Extreme Risk process that can be used in federal courts in all fifty states.
- H.R. 2708, which closes a dangerous gap by prohibiting offenders convicted of violent or threatening hate crimes from purchasing and possessing guns. When hate comes armed with a gun, it’s deadly; and hate crimes — driven by prejudice against race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, gender or gender identity, or other core parts of a person’s identity — have been on the rise since 2016.
- H.R. 1186, legislation that would prohibit high-capacity firearm magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds. High-capacity magazines are exceptionally deadly — they can literally put the “mass” in mass shootings. They increase the lethality of these shootings, allowing a shooter to kill and wound more people without having to stop and reload.