WASHINGTON, D.C. – This morning, President Biden announced a final rule implementing the background check requirements in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The Department of Justice estimates that there are over 20,000 unlicensed sellers who are selling firearms through online advertisements, gun shows, and other means. Under the Biden Administration’s rule, these sellers must become licensed firearm dealers and therefore must run background checks on all sales.
In 2022, Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (PA-04) voted along with more than 200 of her House colleagues to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — the first gun violence prevention legislation in nearly 30 nears.
And in December 2023, Congresswoman Dean led 160 of her colleagues in urging President Biden to finalize this rule. The letter can be found here.
“When we passed the Safer Communities Act, we had just lost ten people in Buffalo, and 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, to gun violence. This is a uniquely American problem — a problem that led me to run for public office in the first place," said Rep. Dean. "The Safer Communities Act is a meaningful action that we must build upon. I applaud the President for implementing it as strongly as possible to save lives.”
Specifically, the rule:
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Lists the types of commercial activity indicating that a person must become a licensed dealer and run background checks;
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States that the gun show or online sale loopholes do not exist;
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Prevents people from evading the licensing and background check requirements by claiming that they are just selling a few guns;
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Prevents people from falsely claiming that guns are part of a personal collection to evade the law; and
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Closes the firesale loophole.
More information on the final rule can be found here.
Rep. Madeleine Dean is a mother, grandmother, attorney, professor, former four-term member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and U.S. Representative for the Fourth District of Pennsylvania.
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