STANDING WITH STUDENTS, SCHUMER LAUNCHES NEW SENATE PUSH TO REQUIRE UNIVERSAL GUN BACKGROUND CHECKS, REIN IN ASSAULT WEAPONS & ENSURE DANGEROUS PEOPLE CAN’T KEEP THEIR WEAPONS; SENATOR MAKES PUSH FOR FLOOR VOTE BECAUSE GRIDLOCK ON GUNS IS UNACCEPTABLE

Standing With Students At The Julia Richman Education Complex, Schumer Launches New Push To Put The Pressure Needed To Take a Vote On Reforms That Would Help Stop Mass Shootings Like Parkland-- & Save Lives 

Earlier This Past Week, President Trump Even Endorsed Commonsense Ideas To Stop Gun Violence & Mass Shootings But The NRA Got To Him; Schumer Says The President Can Provide Republicans The Cover They Need To Stare Down NRA & Pass Reforms, But He’ll Need To Lead 

Schumer: Thanks To The Kids, Pressure Is Now Building For An Imminent Vote On Guns   

With the pressure to take action on guns unlike it has ever been recently and with Republicans in Congress blocking a floor vote, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today, stood alongside students desperate to see Congress enact real reforms against gun violence and formally unveiled a comprehensive gun safety proposal that he and his colleagues will be pushing in the upcoming weeks in the Congress.

“If there is one thing this movement has declared it is that we must plug the wide range of loopholes and deficiencies in our gun safety laws. We have seen an epidemic of gun violence and mass shootings simply envelop America for too long. Each one reveals new loopholes and gaps in gun safety. Rather than just plugging one leak in response to the last mass shooting, we need a complete approach that improves our gun safety laws from top to bottom and helps prevent future shootings,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. “Americans are fed up with the unbending position of the NRA, which is to do nothing now and always, no matter how many lives are lost. The coming days will prove whose side the president is on and whose side so many in Congress are on, too. I am hopeful that we are at the beginning of the march towards meaningful legislation and that is why we are making this push with these students in New York City.”

First, Schumer is urging Congress to pass tough legislation that closes existing loopholes in the background check system, like the gun show loophole and internet sales loophole. As the New York City Police Department can attest: most of New York City’s crime guns originate from states where individuals can evade a gun background check and purchase weapons with cash and no questions asked.  

Second, Schumer is urging Congress to pass legislation that allows for protective orders to temporarily disarm individuals who have shown credible signs of being a harm to themselves or to others.

And third, Schumer is calling for a formal debate on assault weapons on the floor of the Senate. Schumer detailed this plan as part of a new push for a floor vote because he said the pressure on Congress to act is unlike it has ever been and that young people—particularly the ones standing with Schumer—will not stand for gridlock on guns.

Schumer authored the 1993 Brady Bill, which amended the Gun Control Act of 1968 to require background checks before a licensed gun dealer makes a sale,. After the tragedy at Virginia Tech, Schumer worked with his colleagues in Congress to pass the National Incident Criminal Background Check System Improvement Act, which improved the system through which states provided the names of people who were adjudicated mentally ill or who had committed violent crimes. Simply put, states report these names to a federal database that licensed gun dealers then check before selling a weapon. Schumer said that it is clear that more needs to be done to improve this system. Under current law, guns can be sold over the internet and at gun shows without any background checks at all. Schumer today called for ending the loopholes that allow people to purchase guns without having first passed a background check.

Schumer co-wrote the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which included the original assault weapons ban. The ban expired in 2004.

Today, Schumer joined several students in launching this formal reform plan to address gun violence and said the pressure is unlike it has recently been and demanded Congress take up these worthy proposals on the Floor.   

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