Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary advanced three crucial gun safety bills in response to a recent spate of horrific mass shootings. The passage of these bills out of committee builds upon progress made earlier this year when the House passed two significant gun violence prevention bills: H.R. 8, which would require universal background checks; and H.R. 1112, which would address the “Charleston loophole” that allows guns to be sold without a completed background check.
Chelsea Parsons, vice president for Gun Violence Prevention Policy at the Center for American Progress, released the following statement:
These bills will save lives—full stop. Credit is due to Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi for continuing to prioritize legislation that addresses many of the deadly gaps in our nation’s gun laws that contribute to the unmatched levels of gun violence experienced by American communities every day.
Every day that President Trump and Mitch McConnell capitulate to the NRA and refuse to take meaningful action to address gun violence, 100 more people will be killed and hundreds of others wounded by gunfire. It’s far past time to stop allowing the NRA to dictate the terms of the gun debate and the substance of our gun laws, and time for Congress and the president to start putting the lives of Americans first.
The three bills passed by the committee today address significant gaps in federal gun laws:
- H.R. 1186, the Keep Americans Safe Act, would ban high-capacity ammunition magazines that can accommodate more than ten rounds of ammunition. High-capacity magazines are a common feature both in mass shootings that terrorize the nation as well as daily incidents of gun violence in cities across the country that rarely make headlines.
- H.R. 2708, the Disarm Hate Act, would prohibit people convicted of misdemeanor-level hate crimes from buying and possessing guns. CAP first addressed this gap in the law in a 2015 report.
- H.R. 1236, the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2019, would provide a civil court process to remove guns from individuals in crisis who pose a demonstrable risk of harm to themselves or others if they remain in possession of firearms.
For more information or to speak to an expert, contact Adam Peck at [email protected] or 202.741.6363.