Press Releases

Today, at a press conference in support of H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) announced that the House Judiciary Committee will markup the Bipartisan Background Checks Act on February 13, 2019.

H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, requires background checks on all firearm sales. Bill text is available here.

Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee held the first gun violence prevention hearing in nearly a decade. Watch here.

Below are Chairman Nadler’s remarks at the press conference, as prepared for delivery:

“Today, we stand with those who have suffered the ravages of gun violence to say that it is time for action in Congress.

“One year ago next week, 17 students and staff were shot to death, and 17 others were injured at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.  This horrific incident was just one in an ever-increasing series of mass shootings that have shocked the nation in recent years. But mass shootings are just one way in which the problem of gun violence is manifested in our nation.  Every day, guns are used in suicides, domestic violence incidents, gang violence, and in so many other tragedies.

“The level of gun violence in this country is astounding and unacceptable.  More than 35,000 Americans lose their life to gun violence each year, while in some other major countries this figure barely exceeds 100. 

“The people of this country deserve better – and we know that they overwhelmingly support taking actions to make us safer from gun violence.

“One of the actions they support, by as much as 97%, is requiring background checks for all gun sales, not just sales by licensed gun dealers.  That is why I joined with my colleague, Mike Thompson, in introducing H.R. 8, the ‘Bipartisan Background Checks Act,’ as this Congress began last month.

“This bill will close the loopholes that have allowed felons, domestic violence abusers, and other prohibited persons to purchase guns through private sales. 

“Yesterday, the Judiciary Committee conducted a hearing on gun violence prevention, and we heard from witnesses from a broad array of experiences and backgrounds calling for the enactment of this bill.

“That is why I am announcing that the Committee will consider this bill, without delay, in our next markup session on February 13. 

“We mourn the deaths of those shot and killed, and we support those who were injured and the families of the victims, but Congress must now do its part to prevent future shootings in our schools and on our streets.”