Everytown, Moms Demand Action Statement as House Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Gun Safety

WASHINGTON– Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, released the following statement as the House Judiciary Committee prepares to hold a full committee hearing on gun safety on Wednesday, February 6th.

“We’re grateful to the House Judiciary Committee for moving so quickly to hold a hearing on gun safety, which is sure to vividly illustrate a crucial truth: background checks save lives,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “It’s time for our leaders in Congress to stand with the American people and update our background checks law — because right now it’s far too easy for guns to fall into the wrong hands.”

“Finally, we have a Congress willing to prioritize gun violence prevention,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “Background checks are an essential step toward addressing the gun violence crisis in our country that kills 100 Americans every day. We are grateful the House Judiciary Committee is listening to the stories of survivors, standing up for their constituents and taking action on gun safety.”

“No one should have to experience the pain of having their sister, or any loved one, shot and killed. It is devastating to know that my sister’s shooter was a prohibited purchaser who should have never had a gun in the first place,” said Elvin Daniel, a member of the Everytown Survivor Network, gun owner and NRA member whose sister, Zina Daniel, was shot and killed at a salon and spa in Brookfield, Wisconsin by her estranged husband, who bought a gun without a background check in October 2012. “Too often, the debate over gun laws is impersonal and too political. But take it from me: Passing a bill that would update the background checks law to require background checks on all gun sales will save lives, and Congress should work quickly to pass it.”

Since the start of the 116th Congress, a number of life saving gun safety bills have been introduced, including H.R. 8, bipartisan legislation to update the background checks law to require background checks on all gun sales; H.R. 569, The Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act, bipartisan legislation that would close a dangerous loophole known as the “Boyfriend Loophole,” through which certain domestic abusers can obtain and keep guns; and H.R. 674, bipartisan legislation that would appropriate $50,000,000 per year for five years to conduct or support gun violence research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.