Three Lawsuits Have Been Filed By The Attorneys General Of 26 States And Gun Rights Groups Challenging The Lifesaving Rule, Which Closes Dangerous Loopholes In Our Nation’s Background Check System On Gun Sales
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2024 – Today, three lawsuits were filed in U.S. District Courts to challenge a newly announced rule from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The rule is intended to clarify definitional changes included in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 (BSCA), which closes loopholes in the lifesaving Brady Background Check system that had allowed unlicensed firearms dealers to circumvent background checks when selling firearms for profit, including at gun shows and online marketplaces. The changes made in BSCA, which this rule clarifies, will ensure that individuals dealing with firearms will be licensed and will increase the total number of sales that require background checks. Before BSCA’s passage, approximately 1 in 5 guns were being sold with no background check. Challengers to the rule include states with weak gun laws that contribute to firearm trafficking across the country and have higher rates of gun violence.
Kris Brown, President of Brady, said:
"We are not all surprised that the gun industry – and the attorneys general they’ve helped elect into power– are challenging this rule, which is a sensible measure designed to save more lives. The Biden administration’s rule to help close the “gun show/online loophole” bolsters lifesaving Brady Background Checks to keep weapons out of the hands of those most at risk of harming themselves or others. The onus should be on anyone who is selling firearms for profit to do what is required of every federally licensed firearm dealer: run a background check.
“Countless people are alive today because of Brady Background Checks, which are a life-saving legacy won by Brady that we are proud to fight for and protect. If we don’t update our national system by closing these deadly loopholes, there is no telling how many more Americans we will lose to gun violence. Brady will do everything in our power to defend this rule because we know it brings us closer to a future free from gun violence."
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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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