WASHINGTON — In what could be the biggest expansion of federal background checks in decades, the Biden administration is moving to end the controversial “gun show loophole.”
“This single loophole in our federal background check system has caused unimaginable pain and suffering,” Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters.
On Thursday, the Justice Department will file a new 466-page rule with the Federal Register that says the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will require anyone who sells guns for profit to register federally. conduct criminal and mental health checks on licensed firearms dealers and buyers. A senior administration official said the new rule updates the definition of “doing business” as a firearms dealer under the Bipartisan Safe Communities Act and clarifies who must obtain a license.
X In a video released Thursday, President Joe Biden said: “Congress needs to get the job done and pass universal background check legislation now.”
ATF Director Stephen Dettelbach said the change will take effect in a month. It is likely to face legal challenges, though the administration has argued that the rule will hold up in court, using a provision in Congress’s 2022 gun control law.
“This final rule does not violate anyone’s Second Amendment rights, and it will not adversely affect law-abiding licensed firearms dealers in our nation,” Dettelbach said.
Advocates have been stepping up calls for action since the 2022 mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and it comes as the Biden campaign seeks to highlight the administration’s efforts to reduce gun violence. Last month, Harris visited Parkland, Florida, where he met with families whose loved ones were killed in the 2018 mass shooting. In December, the vice president also brought together nearly 100 state legislators from 39 states to launch an initiative that would provide states with additional tools to advance gun safety measures. In September, Biden established the first White House office to prevent gun violence.
“This is the most effective change possible with the gun safety bill of 2022,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who was outspoken on the issue during the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting.