Gun Control Bills Limiting Individual Rights Pass House As Expected
March 11, 2021
Last week we reported that California U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson’s Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021 was likely to pass the House. In our article, we stated that Thompson, chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, is banking on the support of three Republicans as validation of the bill’s “bipartisan” title – U.S. Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan, Christopher Smith of New Jersey, and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. A companion bill in the Senate has the backing of 45 members so far – all Democrats, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
As predicted those three Republicans along with Pete King of New York, Brian Mast of Flordia, Vern Buchanan of Florida, Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, and Will Hurd of Texas voted with the Democrats to pass the bill. The bill passed 227–203, receiving eight Republican votes and one Democrat vote against. Five Republicans co-sponsored the bill along with several Democrats.
“This bill is a critical step toward preventing gun violence and saving lives,” said Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), who sponsored the measure known as H.R. 8.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) introduced a companion bill in the upper chamber.
“The last two years have been a turning point in our longstanding fight to help prevent gun violence and we take another leap forward in helping to save lives,” Thompson said in a news release. “Joined by Democrats and Republicans, we introduce the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021 to help keep guns out of the hands of those who may be a danger to themselves or others.”
The legislation would require most gun sales, trades, gifts, and other transactions to be run through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Under current law, only licensed gun dealers are required to conduct a background check, whether online or in-person.
The bill does not apply to gifts or loans between relatives, law enforcement or private security professional purchases, estate transfers, or temporary storage of a firearm by a relative or household member in order to keep a gun away from someone deemed suicidal or homicidal. It also appears not to apply to guns purchased for use solely within shooting ranges or obtained “while reasonably necessary” for hunting, trapping, or fishing.
The House recently passed another gun control bill, H.R. 1446, which allows for the FBI to indefinitely delay background checks. That measure was introduced by Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). If both of these bills pass in the Senate, it could create a de-facto gun ban, as all purchases would require background checks and the FBI could indefinitely delay those obligatory checks.
Likely to Pass Senate?
With a Democrat-led Senate and a president anxious to pass gun control measures, expect there to be a large amount of pressure from the supporters of gun control.
The bill is short six votes in the Senate; however, if the votes happen down party lines, it would come down to the Vice Presidential tiebreaker. While the chances are better for this bill becoming law, the arguments against will likely remain the same a when a similar bill was proposed in 2019. Critics of the bill two years ago pointed out that background checks would have done nothing to stop most mass shootings, including the Parkland, Fla., shooting in which 17 students and faculty were killed by a gunman with illegally obtained firearms. Even U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, the Louisiana conservative who was injured severely during a congressional baseball game practice in 2017, said he opposed expanding background checks to private sales.
But supporters of the bill will point to the Charleston, S.C., shooting in 2015, in which a gunman purchased a gun and killed nine Bible study attendees despite having a rap sheet that included a drug arrest.
Expect some compromises to be offered to sweeten the deal for Republicans. In 2019, just moments before the House passage, a small number of Democrats joined Republicans in amending the bill to require immigration enforcement officials be informed when an illegal immigrant attempts to purchase a gun. The amendment process is where we may see the additional six votes come from in the Senate if Republicans budge all.
Jeremy Mallette is co-founder of International Sportsman. An avid hunter and outdoorsman, he has spent more than a decade in the outdoor industry, from hiking and camping to silencers and hunting. His father taught him to shoot at age six, and he received his first firearm at age eight — a 1942 Colt Commando .38 special revolver. He enjoys yearly trips to Kansas for pheasant hunting, spending time with his children at the deer lease, and collecting unique firearms.