New FBI Data on February Background Checks Shows Urgent Need to Pass Background Checks Legislation Introduced This Week

Surge in Gun Sales is Overwhelming the Background Check System, Making the Charleston Loophole Even Deadlier — and the Need For Federal Action Even More Urgent

Everytown’s Roadmap Detailing how the Biden-Harris Administration Can Tackle Gun Safety Through Executive Action is Here; A List of Six Gun Violence Prevention Priorities for Congress is Here

Continued Surge in Gun Sales Increases Risk of Gun-Related Domestic Violence, Daily Gun Violence, Unintentional Shootings, and Gun Suicide

NEW YORK — Today, Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action, a part of Everytown, responded to new data from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which found that 3.4 million background checks were conducted in February of 2021–– 23% more than in February 2020, suggesting the surge in gun sales continued in February. 

This sustained surge in gun sales, and therefore background checks, has exacerbated the Charleston loophole, a gap in federal law (named after the loophole the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooter exploited to acquire his firearm) that allows gun sales to proceed if a background check has not been completed within three business days. By mid-November, the FBI had flagged nearly 6,000 gun sales in 2020 alone because a purchaser who could not legally possess a firearm was allowed to buy one because of this loophole, data obtained through the Freedom of Information Act shows.

This week, legislation to close the Charleston loophole was one of two gun safety bills introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that are expected to come to the floor for a vote next week:

• legislation to require background checks on all gun sales (H.R. 8)
• legislation to address the Charleston loophole (H.R. 1446)

“These numbers are particularly alarming given the deadly loophole that lets some buyers — thousands last year alone — get guns before a background check is completed,” said Nick Suplina, managing director of law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety.  “Policymakers have a historic opportunity right now to require completed background checks on all gun sales, and the continuing surge in gun sales makes it clear the stakes are high. We can’t let worsening gun violence become our new normal, but preventing that requires action.”

This surge in gun sales is overwhelming our background check system: According to records obtained by Everytown, between Jan. 1 and Nov. 12 of 2020, the FBI reported 5,807 sales to prohibited purchasers through this loophole –– more than in any other entire calendar year. Thousands more guns likely slipped through this loophole in 2020, as the data does not account for delayed checks that are unresolved at 90 days and are therefore completely wiped from the system.

Legislation to close the Charleston loophole: The Enhanced Background Checks Act –– a bill to address the Charleston loophole — was passed by the House of Representatives with bipartisan support last Congress before sitting untouched on then-Majority Leader McConnell’s desk. Reintroduced Monday by Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) as H.R. 1446, the bill is one of is one of Everytown’s top priorities for the 117th Congress, and it was a cornerstone of President Biden’s campaign plans to end gun violence.

How the White House can address this crisis: While this legislation moves through Congress, the White House can also address this crisis: As detailed in this Everytown roadmap, there are important steps the Biden-Harris administration can take to strengthen the background system, including by addressing the Charleston loophole. The loophole was created by Congress and requires legislation to fix it, but the administration can require gun dealers to notify the Department of Justice of their intention to transfer any weapons without a completed background check, which would allow the agency to prioritize completing those background checks and expeditiously recover guns that shouldn’t have been sold in the first place.