We will lobby Congress when they are in session and use other Monday sessions to Get Out the Vote until Election Day.
Our nation has been touched by horrific gun violence due to easy access of guns and weak gun laws. Motivated by hate and white supremacy —- from the streets of Highland Park to Robb Elementary School to a grocery store in Buffalo to a house of worship in California to LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs to an elementary school in Nashville to the streets in Chicago —- gun violence is a uniquely American issue.
The CDC reported that in 2020, Americans experienced more gun deaths than any other year in the last 25 years and now gun violence is the leading cause of death for our children.
Join us weekly to demand that congress take action to #EndGunViolence in America.
118th Congress
The 118th Congress was sworn in on January 3, 2023. Some notable gun control legislation to track:
Assault Weapons Ban:
H.R.698 Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1] (Introduced 02/01/2023) - This bill has been adopted by Rep. Lucy McBath since Rep. Cicilline retired in May.
Rep. McBath filed the discharge petition H.Res. 452 on June 13th, 2023 to force a vote on the floor and currently there are 205 signatures (as of June 26, 2023) - all Democrats and NO Republicans. The list of 7 House Democratic holdouts for the discharge petition is HERE. 218 signatures are required for a floor vote.
S.25:. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA] (Introduced 01/23/2023)
Ethan’s Law: Requires the safe storage of firearms to Keep kids safe
H.R.660: DeLauro, Rosa L. [Rep.-D-CT-3] (Introduced 01/31/2023)
Rep Rosa DeLauro filed a discharge petition for H.Res. 611 on September 12th, 2023
S.173: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (Introduced 01/31/2023)
Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act: To repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, and provide for the discoverability and admissibility of gun trace information in civil proceedings.
S.2048: Blumenthal, Richard [Sen.-D-CT] (Introduced 06/20/2023)
H.R.4184: Schiff, Adam B. [Rep.-D-CA-30] (Introduced 06/15/2023)
Break the Cycle of Violence Act: To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to build safer, thriving communities, and save lives, by investing in effective community-based violence reduction initiatives, and for other purposes.
S.2638: Booker, Cory A. [Sen.-D-NJ] (Introduced 07/27/2023)
H.R.5003: Horsford, Steven [Rep.-D-NV-4] (Introduced 07/27/2023)
Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2023
H.R.715: Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [Rep.-R-PA-1] (Introduced 02/01/2023)
Rep. Mike Thompson filed a discharge petition for H.Res. 454 on June 13th, 2023. There are currently 208 signatures - all Democrats and NO Republicans. The list of 4 House Democratic holdouts for the discharge petition is HERE in Tab 2.
Background Check Expansion Act
S.494: Murphy, Christopher [Sen.-D-CT] (Introduced 02/16/2023)
Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2023
H.R.2403: Clyburn, James E. [Rep.-D-SC-6]
Rep James Clyburn also filed a discharge petition H.Res. 453 on June 13th, 2023. There are currently 208 signatures - all Democrats and NO Republicans. The list of 4 House Democratic holdouts for the discharge petition is HERE in Tab 3.
Keep Americans Safe Act: To regulate large capacity ammunition feeding devices.
On January 10, 2024, Representative Diane DeGette joined Representative Mike Thompson to file H.Res. 916, a discharge petition for this bill.
H.R.625: DeGette, Diana [Rep.-D-CO-1] (Introduced 01/30/2023)
S.298: Menendez, Robert [Sen.-D-NJ] (Introduced 02/07/2023)
Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act of 2023: On 1/6/23, U.S. appeals court struck down Trump administration rule to ban bump stocks saying it was up to the U.S. Congress rather than the president to take action. This bill would codify a permanent ban into law, requiring bump stocks to be treated like machine guns
H.R.396: Titus, Dina [Rep.-D-NV-1] (Introduced 01/17/2023)
Crime Gun Tracing Modernization Act of 2023: To Require the ATF National Tracing Center to establish and maintain an electronic, searchable database of records related to certain firearms transactions.
S.203: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA] (Introduced 02/01/2023)
H.R. 730: Rep. Pascrell, Bill, Jr. [D-NJ-9] (Introduced 02/01/2023)
Extreme Risk Protection Order Expansion Act of 2023: To support State, Tribal, and local efforts to remove access to firearms from individuals who are a danger to themselves or others pursuant to court orders for this purpose.
S.247: Feinstein, Dianne [Sen.-D-CA] (Introduced 02/02/2023)
H.R.768: Carbajal, Salud O. [Rep.-D-CA-24] (Introduced 02/02/2023)
117th Congress
After 28 years of congressional inaction, the 117th Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) but only after the Buffalo, Uvalde, and Highland Park mass shootings. President Biden signed the bill into law. It was an important step in the right direction but it will not be enough to end the gun violence public health crisis in our nation. In 2021, 47,286 Americans were killed by guns. According to the CDC, “the overall U.S. firearm homicide and firearm suicide rates in 2021 were the highest documented since 1993 and 1990”.
The 117th House of Representatives also passed a set of strong gun control legislation and we are still disappointed that the 117th Senate failed to act on these bills. We must continue to fight to push the new Congress to reintroduce and pass these crucial bills to protect our children and families.
H.R.1808 - Assault Weapons Ban of 2022 [House Vote on 7/29/2022: 217 yeas - 213 nays (Roll no. 410)]
H.R.8 - Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021 [House Vote on 3/11/2021: 227 yeas - 203 nays (Roll no. 75)]
H.R.7910 - Protecting Our Kids Act [House Vote on 6/08/2022 with 223 yeas - 204 nays (Roll no. 245)]
H.R. 7910 includes:
generally prohibits the sale or transfer of certain semiautomatic firearms to individuals who are under 21 years of age;
establishes new federal criminal offenses for gun trafficking and related conduct;
establishes a federal statutory framework to regulate ghost guns (i.e., guns without serial numbers);
establishes a framework to regulate the storage of firearms on residential premises at the federal, state, and tribal levels;
subjects bump stocks to regulation under federal firearms laws;
generally prohibits the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, and possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices; and
requires the Department of Justice to report on the demographic data of persons who are determined to be ineligible to purchase a firearm based on a background check performed by the national instant criminal background check system.
Our federal legislative priorities also include passing legislation to:
repeal Protection of Lawful Arms Act (PLCAA) to eliminate the gun industry’s legal shield
require permits to purchase guns
adequately fund community violence intervention programs via Break the Cycle of Violence Act
adequately fund gun violence research
adequately fund the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the law enforcement agency in the United States’ Department of Justice that protects our communities from violent criminals, criminal organizations, the illegal use and trafficking of firearms.
and other policies outlined in the Denver Accord