SUPPORT THE BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION’S EFFORTS TO EXPAND BRADY BACKGROUND CHECKS & CLOSE DEADLY LOOPHOLES
Proposed rule seeking to clarify what it means to be “engaged in the business” of selling firearms would bring America as close as possible to universal background checks without the urgently needed Congressional action.
The Biden-Harris Administration's proposed rule would ensure that individuals who intend to profit from the sale of firearms are licensed to do so, that they complete background checks before transferring firearms, and maintain records of their transactions. The rule also ensures that firearms dealers who have lost their license cannot continue to sell firearms to the public.
Use the form below to submit a public comment in support of this proposed rule.
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WHY DOES THE DEFINITION MATTER?
1 in every 5 guns is sold without a Brady Background Check. This means that at least 20% of the firearms sold in the United States could go to people legally prohibited from possessing a gun — and no one would ever know.
Under current law, private gun sellers aren’t required to conduct background checks. That means anyone can walk into a gun show or go online, find a private seller, and simply buy a gun with no questions asked.
Only individuals “engaged in the business” of dealing firearms are required to obtain a federal firearm license and conduct background checks. But what does it mean to “engage in the business” of selling firearms? Prior to the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and the issuance of the proposed rule by the Department of Justice, the definition wasn’t clear; that dangerous lack of clarity meant private sellers could sell numerous firearms every single year without regulation or restriction.
Brady has urged the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to clarify this definition by outlining what it means to be “engaged in the business” of selling firearms, such as repeated selling of firearms, selling of newly acquired firearms, representing the ability to facilitate multiple gun sales, or renting out space at a gun show to sell firearms, among others. With this proposed rule, the Biden-Harris Administration is now delivering on that request.
REAL LIFE CONSEQUENCES OF THE PRIVATE SALE LOOPHOLE
Darien Richardson was a fun-loving, charismatic, 25-year-old who was working to get her master’s degree in education. When armed intruders burst into her home in 2010, she was rushed to the hospital with gunshot wounds to her arm and leg, and after 51 days, she died from her wounds.
The gun used to kill Darien was recovered and traced to a firearm dealer who sold the gun in 2008. The original purchaser then sold the firearm in a private sale at a gun show in 2009. That gun was then used in two murders in 2010. Without a legal obligation to maintain records or conduct a background check, the seller was unable or unwilling to provide information to law enforcement. To this day, Darien’s family is seeking information on her killer.
The gun that was used to kill Darien was one of many firearms that evade background checks each year. The Biden-Harris Administration’s proposed rule will help close this dangerous loophole and reduce the number of firearms that are sold, no questions asked.
