Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi hosted a Gun Violence Prevention Task Force forum with Rep. Mike Thompson on Tuesday, where Democratic members of Congress and their witnesses heavily pushed for the Senate to vote on H.R. 8.
H.R. 8, which passed with overwhelming Democratic support in February, would implement universal background checks for all gun sales. It would make it a federal felony for unlicensed dealers to sell guns in private sales without a background check.
While many of those who participated in the forum pushed for H.R. 8 to pass the Senate and be signed into law, how the proposal would be enforced remained unclear.
During the 90-minute event, it was not discussed how law enforcement would be able to able to verify if a firearm was obtained after the purchaser went through a background check.
The National Rifle Association is opposed to universal background checks because they say in order for the law to be effective, there would need to be a database of guns to check against to determine if it was purchased with a background check.
“[The National Instant Criminal Background Check System] would become a registry of firearm transfers if all firearms transfers were subject to NICS checks and the FBI retained records of approved checks indefinitely, both of which gun control supporters have proposed, and such records included information currently maintained on federal Form 4473, documenting the identity of the firearm purchaser and the make, model, and serial number of the firearm transferred,” the NRA’s lobbying arm has stated.
While those in the forum did not discuss the enforcement, they did take time to think of what they would say to Senate Majority Mitch McConnell in order to get him to bring H.R. 8 to the Senate floor.
“I’m not a very polished speaker and so I would probably have some very choice words of encouragement for the Senator … I would remind him that when his time comes, he’ll be wanting to speak to Saint Peter and not to Lucifer,” said Vic Bencomo, a Navy veteran who is a part of Colorado Gun Owners for Safety, adding he would invite McConnell to meet with his group.
“Law enforcement are notified through the NICS background checks system and the fine is up to $100,000 and/or a year in jail,” a spokesperson for Thompson’s office told the Washington Examiner.
The participants in the forum also advocated for a ban and buyback of “assault weapons,” and a ban on high capacity magazine.
In many of the high-profile mass shootings, the gunmen had obtained their firearms after passing a background check, such as the Sutherland Springs shooter, who passed the background check because the Air Force failed to submit his criminal records to the FBI.
In other cases, such as the Sandy Hook Elementary shooter and the two Denver, Colorado, school shooters, they stole the guns used in their attacks.
