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Gun Violence Prevention

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi joins Rudy Corpuz, Jr., Founder and Executive Director of United Playaz, to celebrate this organization's 28th anniversary. Pelosi expressed her commitment to bringing our gun epidemic to an end through life-saving gun safety legislation.

As we confront a rising tide of gun violence across America, our hearts are filled with grief and outrage. Each year, gun violence claims the lives of 45,000 Americans – more than 100 every day, in mass killings, suicides, accidents and gun crimes. This carnage tears at the very fabric of our nation: leaving empty chairs at the dinner table and inflicting unimaginable grief that will never fully heal. Protecting our children from this horrific bloodshed can and must be a unifying mission for our nation.

Marking an historic step forward in this fight, President Biden and a Democratic Congress enacted the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act: the first major gun violence prevention package in nearly three decades. While more is needed, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act includes critical provisions advanced by House Democrats that will help save lives.

This legislation will implement common-sense, bipartisan measures to curb gun violence across our country, including:

  • Support for State Crisis Intervention Orders: Incentivizing states to implement extreme risk protection order laws to keep weapons out of the hands of individuals who pose a danger to themselves or others.
  • Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence: Closing the "Boyfriend Loophole" by adding convicted abusers to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
  • Cracking Down on Gun Trafficking and Straw Purchases: Preventing dangerous individuals from illegally evading background checks by establishing new federal criminal offenses that cover straw purchasing and trafficking.
  • Enhanced Background Checks for Buyers Under 21: Requiring longer, enhanced background checks of up to ten days for gun buyers under 21 years of age.
  • Anti-Violence Community Initiatives: Providing $250 million in funding for community-based violence prevention initiatives.
  • Child and Family Mental Health Services: Improving access to mental health services for children, youth and families through Medicaid, CHIP and other programs.
  • Investments in School Safety: Expanding mental health and supportive services in schools, including early identification and intervention programs.

Additionally, the House passed legislation to reinstate the Assault Weapons Ban, a landmark step that would get deadly weapons of war off our streets. This bill prohibits the sale, manufacture, transfer or possession of semiautomatic assault weapons – as well as high-capacity magazines – and requires safe storage for lawfully owned assault weapons already in our communities. This builds on House Democrats' bold leadership in this fight after twice passing landmark legislation to secure universal background checks and close the "Charleston Loophole."

At the same time, President Biden has also taken historic executive action to reduce gun crime and improve community safety around the nation – already making more progress than any other Administration in its first year. Implementing a dynamic whole-of-government approach, the Administration has imposed new restrictions on the sale of home-assembled "ghost guns" and steered American Rescue Plan dollars toward gun violence reduction and community violence intervention. Furthermore, the Biden Administration swore in Steve Dettelbach as the first permanent Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in seven years, selecting a highly-respected former prosecutor with deep experience working to reduce community violence and crime.

Under the leadership of Congressional Democrats and President Biden, our nation has taken significant steps forward in our fight to protect our children and communities. Now, House Democrats remain committed to getting additional gun safety legislation across the finish line. To all those in the Congress who would stand in the way of saving lives, we say: your political survival is nothing compared to the survival of our children. Democrats will continue fighting to bring this gun epidemic to an end, and as we always promise the survivors of gun violence, we will not rest until the job is done.

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