Victory for Massachusetts Families: Governor Patrick Signs Bipartisan Gun Safety Legislation

(Boston, MA) — The Massachusetts chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America commends Governor Patrick as well as the House of Representative and Senate for passing bipartisan comprehensive gun safety legislation (H.4376) that will save lives in the Commonwealth.  “An Act Relative to the Reduction of Gun Violence,” signed today, provides a mechanism to close dangerous loopholes ensure criminal background checks are conducted on all gun sales. Additionally, the bill will require the Commonwealth to submit the records of those prohibited from buying guns due to mental health reasons to the national gun background check system.

“With the stroke of Governor Patrick’s pen today, Massachusetts is now a leader for the rest of the nation in passing common-sense gun reform while continuing to respect the second amendment rights we all value,” said Molly Malloy, chapter leader of the Massachusetts Chapter of Moms Demand Action. “The single most effective thing we can do to keep guns out of dangerous hands and reduce the number of Americans killed with guns every day is require criminal background checks on all sales to close the loophole that allows felons, domestic abusers and the dangerously mentally ill to buy guns.  Real leadership is what will keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, and we are grateful to have leaders on this issue taking action to protect our families in the commonwealth.”

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND

• Background checks are a sensible reform that Americans overwhelmingly agree on – polls consistently show that 90 percent of the country – including 82 percent of gun owners and 74 percent of NRA members – support criminal background checks on all gun sales.
• Background checks are quick and easy – they take about 90 seconds to complete.
• Since its inception in 1993, the gun background check system has blocked more than 2.2 million felons and other dangerous people from buying guns.
• Since 1993, federal law has required that prospective gun buyers pass a background check when shopping at a licensed gun dealer, a process that typically takes 90 seconds or less.  However, millions of records identifying seriously mentally ill people as prohibited gun purchasers are missing from the federal background check database—or the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) – because of lax reporting by state agencies.  For more information, please click here.