SUPPORT AND COSPONSOR H.R. 3411 AND S. 2934 TO FINISH THE JOB AND EXPAND BRADY BACKGROUND CHECKS TO ALL GUN SALES

Policy Fact Sheet

The Brady Campaign, united with the Million Mom March, strongly supports H.R. 3411 and S. 2934, sponsored by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

WHAT H.R. 3411/S. 2934 DOES

• Expands Brady background checks to all gun sales to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people like felons, fugitives and domestic abusers.

• Improves reporting of prohibited purchasers to the National Instant Check System (NICS).

• Requires federal agencies to certify that they have provided appropriate records to NICS.

• Incorporates and expands regulation about people determined to be adjudicated mentally ill.

• Requires gun owners to report their lost or stolen firearm(s) within 48 hours.

PROBLEMS SOLVED BY H.R. 3411 AND S. 2934

• As many as 40 percent of guns sold today in the U.S. are sold through unlicensed sellers, including at gun shows and online where Brady background checks are not legally required. For example, Armslist.com hosts 70,000 gun advertisements at any given time and many of the guns can be purchased without a background check.

• “Straw purchasers” and gun traffickers that supply guns to prohibited purchasers claim they lost possession of the gun, which would not work if a Brady background check was required for unlicensed sales and a lost or stolen gun had to be reported.

WHY OUR CAMPAIGN TO FINISH THE JOB

ON BACKGROUND CHECKS IS SO IMPORTANT

• Background checks keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people like felons, domestic abusers, and the severely mentally ill. According to FBI data, the Brady Law has blocked more than 2.6 million gun sales to prohibited people since it went into effect in 1994.

• Background checks result in fewer gun deaths. According to Everytown for Gun Safety research, instates with expanded background checks, 48 percent fewer law enforcement officers are killed with handguns; 46 percent fewer women are shot to death by intimate partners; and there are 48 percent fewer gun suicides.

• More than 90 percent of Americans support expanding Brady background checks.

CONGRESS IS LONG OVERDUE IN TAKING ACTION TO FINISH THE JOB.

                                                                                       

ARTHUR ADHE COURAGE AWARD 7/14/16

WASHINGTON - Tonight Zenobia Dobson will accept the ESPYs' Arthur Ashe Courage Award on behalf of her son, Zaevion Dobson. Dobson, a high school football star and community role model from Tennessee, died shielding three friends from gunfire in the midst of a random drive by shooting. The gunmen didn't know Zaevion, and he didn't know them. 

Dan Gross, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, issued the following statement.

"We thank the ESPYs for not only honoring Zaevion's life and heroism, but for shining a light on this critical issue. Enough is enough. We owe it to Zaevion and to the 90 Americans who are shot and killed every day to disarm hate and stop this senseless violence. Just being a kid on aThursday evening, Zaevion was put in a position that no teenager should ever have to be in - and he answered with instinctual courage and love. With his whole future ahead of him, he selflessly gave his life for others and became another victim of America's gun violence crisis.

"As a nation we've allowed an epidemic of gun violence, one that kills 90 Americans a day and disproportionately ravages communities of color, to fester unchecked. Our policymakers simply haven’t done enough to keep guns out of dangerous hands and protect the American people.

"If there is any solace to be found in the loss of a life so young and full of promise, it is that Zaevion died a hero so that his friends might live. Like the officers in Dallas, and at the age of 15, he ran toward the sound of gunfire. And so long as politicians fail to act on gun violence, heroes like Zaevion Dobson will continue to be called upon to do the extraordinary things that keep the rest of us safe."

The Arthur Ashe is awarded for the most significant or compelling humanitarian contribution in transcendence of sports in a given year. Dobson was fifteen years old at the time of his 2015 death. He'd have just turned sixteen last month. 

Past recipients of the Arthur Ashe include Caitlyn Jenner, Muhammed Ali, Jimmy Valvano, and passengers of United flight 93.

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Dallas Mass Shooting

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

For Immediate Release

BRADY CAMPAIGN STATEMENT ON DALLAS MASS SHOOTING

Brady President Dan Gross: "We live in a country where people solve problems with bullets instead of words."

WASHINGTON - Dan Gross, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, issued the following statement after eleven police officers were shot in Dallas - at least five were killed.

“Last night at least five police officers were shot and killed and more wounded as they protected the citizens of Dallas, who were gathered in peaceful protest. Our hearts are broken for these officers, their families, and their community. Law enforcement officers make incredible sacrifices to protect this country, and we are grateful for their service. There is no possible justification for this type of violence against officers who were protecting and serving their community. And the fact that people with hate in their hearts used the occasion of a peaceful protest to commit such an act of violence is despicable.

“This latest mass shooting is another example of how guns in the hands of dangerous people tear families and communities apart. Shocking shootings like those in Dallas last night, as well as the daily terror that takes 90 lives every day in this country, are a sure sign that we must do more to protect this nation from gun violence. We live in a country where people solve problems with bullets instead of words, and we have to do better. That means engaging in two important and related conversations – one about how we keep guns away from people with hate in their hearts and another about how gun violence and racism collide to disproportionally terrorize communities of color. We can do better and we must do better to protect every American. And it starts with an honest, thorough discussion and collective determination to find meaningful answers to difficult questions.”

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Statement on Recent Police Shooting

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

For Immediate Release

BRADY CAMPAIGN CALLS FOR NATIONAL DISCUSSION ABOUT RECENT POLICE SHOOTINGS

 

Gross: “These men were among the 90 people a day whose lives are taken by a uniquely American problem – gun violence — a problem that disproportionately claims the lives of Americans of color.”

 

WASHINGTON - Dan Gross, President of the Brady Campaign, issued the following statement after the shooting deaths of two black Americans by police officers.

"This week, more than 900 people were killed by guns in this country. Two of them, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile – both young, black men – were shot and killed by police. They are two Americans who stepped foot outside their homes and will never return to their families. Sterling was a father, and Castile died with his girlfriend by his side in the car, his seat belt still on. Make no mistake about it, this is gun violence. These men were among the 90 people a day whose lives are taken by a uniquely American problem – gun violence — a problem that disproportionately claims the lives of Americans of color. This is a problem that we, as country, have to confront. It's a problem that is deserving of meaningful, honest conversation. And the fact is that we all have a responsibility to seek out and push for answers to the difficult questions that will come."

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Victory! CA Bills Signed in to Law!

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

For Immediate Release

GROUNDBREAKING VICTORY AS BRADY'S PRIORITY BILLS SIGNED INTO LAW IN CALIFORNIA

 

SACRAMENTO - The 27 California chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence celebrate a hard earned victory today as Governor Jerry Brown signed into law five lifesaving gun reform bills. Brady's California chapters worked with lawmakers from start to finish to guide, lobby, testify for, and carry the bills across the finish line and into law. 

 

In particular, The Brady Campaign worked with Senator Kevin De Leόn to champion SB 1235, to require a background check for ammunition sales. Until today ammunition sales were virtually unregulated in California. There was no recourse to prevent individuals currently prohibited from purchasing firearms from buying ammunition. Now law, SB 1235 will keep bullets out of the hands of violent felons, domestic abusers, and those who are dangerously mentally ill.

 

Gov. Brown also signed into law pieces of legislation to keep high capacity magazines and rapid-fire rifles, like the kind used in the San Bernardino shooting, out of dangerous hands. 

 

Peggy McCrum, President of the California Chapters of the Brady Campaign, said, "Today is ironclad proof that we are winning this fight for a safer state. We thank Governor Brown for signing into law the lifesaving solutions Brady and so many lawmakers fought so hard for. This is California, and we all agree that felons, domestic abusers, and other dangerous people just shouldn't be able to stockpile bullets and arm themselves with weapons of war. Today, we all made that dream a reality."    

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The mission of the Brady organization and its Million Mom March is to create a safer America by cutting gun deaths in half by 2025. For more insight on gun violence prevention, follow us on Facebook and Twitter @BradyBuzz. 

About Us: The Brady Campaign and Center, united with the Million Mom March, is a national network of more than 90 grassroots chapter affiliates mobilized to prevent gun violence at the community level. The network has played a vital role in expanding Brady background checks in the six states that have passed legislation since the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut and produced the largest national protest of gun violence in U.S. history - The Million Mom March, Mother’s Day 2000