Everytown for Gun Safety

Tell the U.S. Senate: Take Bipartisan Action on Background Checks

It's the Senate's time to act on gun safety.

Background checks save lives, and during the last year, the need for them has only become clearer. Loopholes in the background check laws have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning more guns sold to people without a background check, and more guns in the hands of people who should not have them.

The Senate must support gun safety and help deliver the first federal gun safety law in over 25 years.

Send your U.S. senators a message: Take bipartisan action on background checks >>

Dear Senator,

As your constituent, I urge you to take bipartisan action on background checks to save lives and protect communities from gun violence. Background checks on gun sales work and they stop sales to prohibited people every day.

Since 1994, over 3.5 million sales have been blocked to violent criminals and other prohibited people because of a background check. However, federal law requires a background check on a prospective gun buyer only when a seller is a licensed gun dealer, leaving all other sales—such as gun sales between strangers negotiated over the internet or at a gun show—unregulated and with no background check required. That is why Congress must take bipartisan action on background checks to keep guns out of the wrong hands. This loophole in our background check law weakens gun possession laws, 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 take bipartisan action on background checks.

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