WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) and Joe Neguse (D-CO-02) today led 65 of their House colleagues in urging U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to bring two gun safety bills to the floor of the U.S. Senate for a vote.

On March 11, 2021, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House voted to pass legislation to close existing background check loopholes and make sure that individuals already prohibited from gun possession under federal law are unable to purchase firearms. Although this legislation passed in the House more than three weeks ago, Leader Schumer has yet to set a date for consideration of these bills in the U.S. Senate.

In a letter sent to Leader Schumer, the coalition of House Democrats called on the Senate to act and vote on this gun violence prevention legislation. Additionally, they stressed the pressing need for these measures, emphasizing the lives lost to gun violence across the country since the House passed the bills last month. The letter comes less than two weeks after a mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado — which Congressman Neguse represents — took the lives of 10 individuals, including an officer who gave his life saving others.

“In the 22 days since the House passed these common-sense gun violence prevention measures, Americans of all ages across the country have lost their lives to gun violence, and their families, friends, and communities have had their lives forever shattered,” said Spanberger, Neguse, and their colleagues. “In honor of those who have been murdered in their workplaces, grocery stores, and neighborhoods since March 11 and the generations of Americans lost to gun violence, the Senate must act and bring H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446 for a vote.”

Their letter continues, “We worked to gain and maintain majorities in the Senate and the House so that we could bring consequential, life-saving legislation to a vote. The American people expect action, and the Senate must act. The American people deserve to know where their Senators stand on H.R. 8 and H.R.1446.”

The Bipartisan Background Checks Act requires background checks on all gun sales or transfers — including online, person-to-person, or at a gun show. The Enhanced Background Checks Act extends the amount of time that federal law enforcement have to complete necessary background checks for the small percentage of individuals that are not cleared within minutes of the background check submission.

The letter was also signed by U.S. Representatives Marie Newman (D-IL-03), Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL-20), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01), Chris Pappas (D-NH-01), Nikema Williams (D-GA-05), Jason Crow (D-CO-06), Lori Trahan (D-MA-03), Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX-29), Katie Porter (D-CA-45), Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16), Mike Levin (D-CA-49), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY-09), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-05), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07), Sean Casten (D-IL-06), Ann Mclane Kuster (D-NH-02), Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15), Peter A. Defazio (D-OR-04), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ-11), Susan Wild (D-PA-07), Dwight Evans (D-PA-03), Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (D-GA-04), Bill Foster (D-IL-11), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-11), Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13), Andy Levin (D-MI-09), Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX-07), Haley Stevens (D-MI-11), Juan Vargas (D-CA-51), Barbara Lee (D-CA-09), Ed Case (D-HI-01), Jim Cooper (D-TN-05), Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08), André Carson (D-IN-07), Peter Welch (D-VT-AL), Dean Phillips (D-MN-03), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-08), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ-07), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07), Norma J. Torres (D-CA-35), James P. McGovern (D-MA-02), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-03), Eric Swalwell (D-CA-15), Kim Schrier (D-WA-08), Mark Takano (D-CA-41), Madeleine Dean (D-PA-04), Cindy Axne (D-IA-03), Dina Titus (D-NV-01), Brendan Boyle (D-PA-02), Mark Pocan (D-WI-02), Bobby L. Rush (D-IL-01), Grace Meng (D-NY-06), David N. Cicilline (D-RI-01), Colin Allred (D-TX-32), Doris Matsui (D-CA-06), Jahana Hayes (D-CT-05), Robin Kelly (D-IL-02), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-04), Brenda L. Lawrence (D-MI-14), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE-AL), and Donald S. Beyer Jr (D-VA-08).

Click here to read the letter, and the full letter text is below.

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Dear Majority Leader Schumer,

As you know, on March 11, 2021, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, and H.R. 1446, Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021. These bills, respectively, would apply the current background check standard fairly across all points of sale, eliminating the “gun show loophole,” and would extend the time allowed to complete a background check, closing the “Charleston loophole.” These bills passed with bipartisan support in 2021, as they did in 2019, and we write today to respectfully request that you bring these bills before the United States Senate for a vote.

In the 22 days since the House passed these common-sense gun violence prevention measures, Americans of all ages across the country have lost their lives to gun violence, and their families, friends, and communities have had their lives forever shattered. In honor of those who have been murdered in their workplaces, grocery stores, and neighborhoods since March 11 and the generations of Americans lost to gun violence, the Senate must act and bring H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446 for a vote.

We worked to gain and maintain majorities in the Senate and the House so that we could bring consequential, life-saving legislation to a vote. The American people expect action, and the Senate must act. The American people deserve to know where their Senators stand on H.R. 8 and H.R.1446.

On behalf of the millions of Americans we represent, we thank you in advance for bringing H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446 for a vote.

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