[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 58 (Tuesday, April 21, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4519-S4520]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. Reed, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. 
        Schumer, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Levin, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. 
        Durbin, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Gillibrand, and Mr. Menendez):
  S. 843. A bill to establish background check procedures for gun 
shows; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise because yesterday marks 10 
years since the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO, 
and on this 10th anniversary, we need to speak about the problems with 
our Nation's gun laws.
  Whether it is Columbine, Virginia Tech, Mexican gun trafficking or 
the recent killings in Pittsburgh, Binghamton, and Oakland we are 
reminded over and over again that our gun laws are not strong enough, 
and it is time we said--not another day.
  Not another day should we allow the gun show loophole to stand.
  Not another day should we allow gun dealers to sell firearms without 
conducting a background check.
  Not another day should we allow terrorists, criminals, gun 
traffickers and the mentally ill to buy firearms.
  It is as easy as ever for criminals to buy guns--easier, in fact, 
than it is to get a library card.
  What happened at Columbine High School 10 years ago was a tragedy 
none of us can forget.
  Two shooters went on a rampage and killed 12 students and 1 teacher.
  But here is what a lot of people do not realize: all of the firearms 
used by the shooters were bought at gun shows.
  That means, because of the gun show loophole, they were bought 
without a background check, and they were bought ``cash and carry,'' no 
questions asked.
  Those 13 people never should have died because those teenagers never 
should have had those guns.
  Just think: the young woman who bought the guns for the shooters said 
she wouldn't have done it had a background check been required.
  In 1999, I introduced legislation to close the gun show loophole and 
keep guns from falling into the wrong hands.
  In the aftermath of Columbine, the Senate passed my legislation, with 
Vice President Al Gore casting the tie-breaking vote.
  It was a great victory, but it was short lived. The gun lobby 
stripped my legislation in conference.
  Ten years later, this gap in our law still remains.
  We were reminded of that last Thursday when we marked the second 
anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings.
  In that tragedy, a mentally deranged man killed 32 students and 
faculty in the worst mass shooting in American history.
  The Virginia Tech shooter was able to obtain his guns from licensed 
gun dealers because the records of his mental illness were not in the 
background check database as they were supposed to be. But if a 
background check stopped him from buying his guns from a gun dealer, he 
could have walked to a gun show and purchased the guns with no 
background check.
  Yesterday we marked the 14th anniversary of the Oklahoma City 
Bombing--the Nation's worst domestic terrorist attack.
  The men responsible for that despicable act frequently bought and 
sold firearms at gun shows.
  Gun trafficking to Mexico is another reminder of the dangers of the 
gun show loophole.
  We know that as many as 30 percent of the firearms traveling across 
our border into Mexico originate from gun shows.
  We have an opportunity to save lives--and that is why I am 
reintroducing legislation today to close the gun show loophole once and 
for all.
  Closing the gun show loophole will not adversely affect licensed gun 
sellers and it will not place a burden on law-abiding gun owners.
  It simply ends a dangerous, unnecessary exemption so that the Brady 
Law is applied equally.
  But that difference--the difference between buying a gun with a 
background check and not--is everything.
  It is the difference between saving lives and putting more at risk, 
between keeping guns out of the wrong hands and letting terrorists and 
others have easy access to guns, and the difference between upholding 
the rule of law or allowing loopholes to undermine it.
  Specifically, my legislation would take several steps to make gun 
show transactions safer for all Americans: gun shows are defined to 
include any event at which 50 or more firearms are offered or exhibited 
for sale. This definition includes not only those events where firearms 
are the main commodity sold, but also other events where a significant 
number of guns are sold, such as flea markets or swap meets.
  Gun show promoters would be required to register with the Bureau of 
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, ATF, maintain a list of vendors at all 
gun shows, and ensure that all vendors acknowledge receipt of 
information about their legal obligations.
  The bill requires that all firearms sales at gun shows go through a 
Federal Firearms Licensee, FFL. If a nonlicensed person is selling a 
weapon, they would use an FFL at the gun show to complete the 
transaction. The FFL would be responsible for conducting a Brady check 
on the purchaser and maintaining records of the transaction.
  FFLs would be required to submit information including the 
manufacturer/importer, model, and serial number of firearms transferred 
at gun shows to the ATF's National Tracing Center, NTC. However, no 
personal information about either the seller or the purchaser would be 
given to the ATF. Instead, as under current law, FFLs would maintain 
this information in their files. The NTC would request this personal 
information from an FFL only in the event that a firearm subsequently 
becomes the subject of a law enforcement trace request.
  I am proud to be joined in introducing this legislation by Senators 
Reed, Whitehouse, Schumer, Kerry, Kennedy, Durbin, Levin, Cardin, 
Gillibrand, Feinstein, and Menendez.
  Ten years ago we lost 12 students and a teacher to gun violence in 
Littleton, CO.
  One of the best ways to honor those we lost and those who have 
suffered is

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to make sure a tragedy like Columbine never happens again.
  We owe that--and nothing less--to the young people who died 10 years 
ago and the young people who count on us today.
                                 ______