Everytown for Gun Safety

Send a Message: Tell Your U.S. Representative to Introduce and Pass H.R. 8

Our U.S. Representatives must act immediately by introducing and passing H.R. 8, a bill that requires background checks on all gun sales.

We deserve more than thoughts and prayers from our elected officials—we deserve action. We need our reps to pass H.R. 8 and make this lifesaving legislation the law of the land. We cannot afford to wait.

Send a message to your U.S. Representative: Introduce and pass H.R. 8 now >>

Dear Representative,

I urge you to introduce and pass The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021. Action on gun safety has never been more critical. More than 100 Americans are killed every day due to gun violence, and the ongoing COVID pandemic has continued to intensify the gun violence crisis. This bill would help save lives and protect communities from gun violence by requiring background checks on all gun sales.

Background checks work. They stop sales to prohibited people every day. Since 1994, more than 3.5 million sales have been blocked to violent criminals and other prohibited people. However, federal law requires a background check of a prospective gun buyer only when a seller is a licensed gun dealer, leaving all other sales—such as unlicensed gun sales negotiated over the internet—unregulated and with no background check required. Requiring background checks for all gun sales is the foundation for our gun safety laws that keep guns out of the wrong hands. This loophole in our background check laws weakens nearly every other effort to keep guns away from people who are a danger to themselves or others, enabling criminals to get armed with no questions asked and making it difficult to enforce the law and protect communities from gun violence.

Background checks are the foundation of any effective effort to reduce gun violence in this country, and these laws enjoy broad public approval, with poll after poll demonstrating overwhelming support. In fact, 93% of American voters support requiring background checks on all gun sales, including 89% of Republicans and 87% of gun owners.

It has been 25 years since our federal government last enacted a gun safety law: that's 25 years of families being devastated as their loved ones were killed or wounded, and 25 years of survivors and activists demanding change. I urge you to introduce and pass H.R. 8 and take this step toward passing gun safety legislation for the first time in 25 years.

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