Democrats Reject Steube Amendment to Require Individuals Purchasing Firearms that Fail Background Checks to be Reported to Law Enforcement
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Congressman Greg Steube (R-Fla.) offered an Amendment to H.R. 8, The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019—the comprehensive gun control bill currently proposed by House Democrats. The Amendment required law enforcement be notified when an individual attempting to purchase a firearm fails a Federal Background Check.
The language of the Amendment came from the text of a bill from the 115th Congress, The Unlawful Gun Buyer Alert Act(H.R. 4343), introduced by Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) and sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). However, both voted against the Amendment today, along with the rest of their Democratic colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee.
“Clearly, the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee don’t care about preventing gun violence, they simply are playing politics with Americans’ Second Amendment rights,” said Congressman Steube following the vote. “The fact that Democrats do not want law enforcement notified if an individual attempting to purchase a firearm fails a background check is truly troubling.”
The Steube Amendment also required Immigration and Customs Enforcement be notified if an illegal immigrant attempts to purchase a firearm.
“In rejecting this Amendment, the Democrats have shown their true colors. It is clear they are not interested in preventing gun violence or stopping the illegal purchase of firearms, but rather they are only interested in limiting the rights of law abiding citizens to advance their own political agenda,” continued Steube.
As written now, H.R. 8 would not have prevented any of the mass shootings in Florida in recent years. The shooter in Parkland passed a background check before purchasing a firearm, the shooter at Pulse Nightclub passed a background check before purchasing a firearm, and the shooter just weeks ago that murdered five women in District 17 passed a background check before purchasing the hand gun he used in the commission of that heinous crime. H.R. 8 will do absolutely nothing to prevent gun violence in Florida or around the country. Instead, it will only restrict the rights of the millions of law abiding citizens that legally carry a firearm every day.
If you’d like to read the full text of H.R. 8 and Congressman Steube’s offered Amendment, please click on the respective link.
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