Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action Recognize Two-Year Mark of Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

WASHINGTON — Today, Everytown for Gun Safety and its grassroots arms Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, released the following statements in recognition of the two-year mark of President Biden signing the life-saving Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) into law. 

“In the two years since President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law, violent crime is down, gun trafficking prosecutions are up, and hundreds of millions have been invested in community violence intervention programs, implementing Red Flag laws, and improving school safety,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “This life-saving progress was only made possible by years of tireless advocacy from our volunteers, the leadership of a bipartisan gun sense majority in Congress, and the strongest gun safety administration in history. While there are additional steps Congress can and must take to combat our gun violence epidemic, protecting the progress made possible by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is our top priority in 2024.” 

“After the heartbreaking shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde in 2022, we demanded action. Thanks to our volunteers getting loud and the Biden-Harris Administration on our side, we won the first federal gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years,” said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action. “Two years later, our movement is stronger than ever and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is tackling our gun violence crisis head-on and holistically. This is nothing short of lifesaving legislation. We are determined to build on this momentum and urge Congress to continue prioritizing gun safety laws to keep our communities safe.”

Here’s how the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is saving lives:

• More than 770 illegal gun sales have been blocked to purchasers under the age of 21, a 25% increase in the number of denials, thanks to BSCA’s enhanced background checks process.
  
• The background check system denies sales to abusive dating partners when the records are available and, as of last year, DOJ prosecutions for unlicensed gun dealing have increased.
  
• The Department of Justice has awarded more than $200 million in grant funding for implementation of Red Flag laws and other crisis intervention programs plus nearly $175 million for community violence intervention programs since 2022.
  
• The Department of Justice has invested resources to investigate and prosecute violations of BSCA’s new provisions related to firearms trafficking and straw purchasing. DOJ has already charged more than 500 defendants for violating these provisions and seized over 1,300 firearms. 
  
• The Departments of Health and Human Services and Education have already delivered more than $1.5 billion to states and communities to make our schools safer, improve access to mental health services, and help young people deal with the trauma and grief resulting from gun violence.