A letter signed by 115 members of Congress was sent to the White House urging President Obama to take executive action to reduce gun violence.
The members of Congress, led by the Chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) wrote:
Gun violence continues to go unchecked in our country. Communities are ravaged and lives are senselessly cut short. Every day, close to 30 Americans are killed by someone using a gun. Following yet another horrific mass shooting in Roseburg, Oregon, it is unthinkable that our country can continue to turn a blind eye to these tragedies.
However, despite tragedy after tragedy, the Republican Congress has not been willing to pass any meaningful legislation to strengthen laws to help keep guns out of the hands of individuals who pose an increased risk to public safety.
In the face of Congressional inaction, your administration could take an immediate step that would have an important impact on limiting gun violence. Specifically, we urge that you address an aspect of the private sale loophole that allows guns to be sold without a background check, by eliminating the ambiguity surrounding the term: “engaged in the business” as it pertains to federally licensed firearms dealers.
Under current law, only licensed gun dealers are required to perform background checks for all gun sales, and only those individuals deemed to be “engaged in the business” of dealing in guns are required to obtain a license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). However, the regulatory definition of “engaged in the business,” is exceptionally vague. As a result, individuals are able to sell guns at a high volume at gun shows, over the internet, or elsewhere without ever having becoming licensed and, in turn, without being compelled to conduct a simple background check before completing a sale.
Updating the definition of “engaged in the business” to provide more explicit guidance as to which gun sellers are required to obtain a federal firearms license will help ensure that individuals are not able to continue to exploit this ambiguity in the current regulation and sell guns at a high volume without any oversight by ATF and without conducting background checks. This type of action is not without precedent, as many states have provided this type of explicit guidance regarding which vendors engaged in retail sales in the state are required to collect states’ sales tax. This change would be a positive step forward in closing the private sale loophole, a policy change that roughly 90 percent of Americans support. It would help ensure that those clearly holding themselves out as gun dealers are held to the same standard as the thousands of responsible gun dealers already licensed with ATF across the country.
Thank you for your continued efforts to reduce gun violence and for your consideration of executive action that could save lives. We look forward to continuing to work together on ways to prevent gun violence.
There is a companion letter from Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) that has been signed by 24 Senators urging President Obama to take executive action to close the background checks loophole.
The problem with executive action is that any action the president took would almost certainly result in immediate lawsuits that would delay its implementation. Republicans could use the same tactic that they are employing to tie up the President’s executive actions on immigration in court on any steps he takes to reduce gun violence.
If the executive action were implemented, it would be temporary. The permanent solution goes through the legislative process. The best way to get legislation that will reduce gun violence passed is for Democrats to keep the White House and retake majorities in the House and Senate.
People are needlessly dying every day, and this is a crisis or urgent proportions, but Republicans are going to let the slaughter of innocent Americans continue. President Obama is trying, and it would not be surprising if he did take action to reduce gun violence, but the best method for ending the loss of innocent lives is for the voters to elect members of Congress who are committed to reducing gun violence.
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