Washington, D.C., February 13, 2019 - One day before the anniversary of the Parkland, FL shooting that galvanized a nation into action, members of the House Judiciary Committee passed a major bill out of committee that would expand Brady Background Checks to virtually all firearm purchases. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which led the effort to enact the firearms background check system into law nearly 25 years ago, applauded the committee vote on H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, and called on the full Congress to pass the bill as soon as possible.
Kris Brown, president of the Brady Campaign, stated:
“Today’s vote by the House Judiciary Committee represents the most progress the gun violence prevention movement has made in years. It’s been one year since Parkland, 16 months since Las Vegas, two and a half years since Pulse, seven years since Sandy Hook, 20 years since Columbine, and 25 years since Brady Background Checks were passed into law. We have quite a bit of lost time to make up.
“In expanding Brady Background Checks to all private sales, H.R. 8 would immediately make our country safer from gun violence. This bipartisan bill will fulfill the vision that Jim and Sarah Brady had all those years ago in ensuring that guns will be kept out of dangerous hands. We strongly urge the full House and Senate to pass these bills as quickly as possible and send them to the White House for the President’s signature. With 96 people being shot and killed every day, we don’t have another moment to waste. We applaud the leadership shown by the gun violence majority in Congress, including Reps. Mike Thompson (D-CA), the sponsor of the legislation and Chairman of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, in bringing forward this measure with bipartisan support and moving forward with this life-saving legislation expeditiously.”
Brady led an effort to build a coalition of more than 30 national organizations in support of H.R. 8 and S. 42, sending a letter to every member of Congress urging them to quickly pass the legislation. The letter, along with all signatories, can be found here.
Brady has one powerful mission — to unite all Americans against gun violence. We work across Congress, the courts, and our communities with over 90 grassroots chapters, bringing together young and old, red and blue, and every shade of color to find common ground in common sense. In the spirit of our namesakes Jim and Sarah Brady, we have fought for over 45 years to take action, not sides, and we will not stop until this epidemic ends. It’s in our hands.
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