Senator Baldwin Supports Commonsense Bills to Keep Communities Safe from Gun Violence and Help Save Lives

Press Release

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin has joined colleagues in introducing multiple commonsense pieces of legislation to help keep American communities safe from gun violence and stop mass shootings. Senator Baldwin joined colleagues in introducing legislation to expand federal background checks and ban military-style assault weapons.

"Wisconsinites are sick of waking up again and again to tragic shootings and overwhelming support Congress taking action to enact universal background checks and get weapons of war out of our communities to save lives," said Senator Baldwin. "As a proud gun owner, I stand with the majority of Wisconsinites who support the Second Amendment but understand that we can and must do more to confront gun violence, stop mass shootings, and keep our kids, communities, and state safe."

According to 2022 polls, Wisconsinites support universal background checks by 77% margin, 87%-10%, and banning the sale of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity gun magazines by a 33% margin, 62%-29%.

Senator Baldwin joined colleagues in introducing The Background Check Expansion Act

to expand federal background checks to all gun sales or transfers, including to all unlicensed sellers, whether they do business online, at gun shows, or out of their homes. Under current federal law, unlicensed or private sellers are not required to conduct a background check prior to transferring a firearm. Research indicates that as many as a quarter of all gun sales in the United States may occur without a background check. Exceptions to the Background Check Expansion Act would include transfers between law enforcement officers, temporarily loaning firearms for hunting and sporting events, providing firearms as gifts to immediate family members, transferring a firearm as part of an inheritance or temporarily transferring a firearm for immediate self-defense.

Senator Baldwin is also cosponsoring The Background Check Completion Act to close a loophole that allows gun sales to proceed if a background check is not completed within a certain time period, even if the gun buyer is not legally allowed to purchase a gun. The gap in existing law has allowed thousands of gun sales to prohibited buyers, including the sale of the firearm used by the shooter in the deadly attack at Charleston's Emanuel AME Church. U.S. When a criminal background check indicates that a firearm purchaser may have a criminal record, the Federal Bureau of Investigation tries to determine whether the purchaser can legally buy a gun. If this process takes longer than 72 hours for those 21 years of age or older, or 10 days for those under 21, gun dealers can complete the sale even though there is a heightened risk that the purchaser is legally disqualified from purchasing a gun.

Additionally, Senator Baldwin and colleagues introduced The Assault Weapons Ban of 2023 to ban the sale, manufacture, transfer, and importation of 205 military-style assault weapons by name. The legislation would also ban magazines and other ammunition-feeding devices that hold more than ten rounds of ammunition, which allow shooters to quickly fire many rounds without needing to reload. Under the bill, owners may keep existing magazines and weapons. The bill exempts by name more than 2,200 guns for hunting, household defense, or recreational purposes.

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