Press Release
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Washington – Today, Chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) and Reps. David Cicilline (RI-01) and Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) led 135 members of Congress on a letter to President Joe Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Director Steve Dettelbach calling for strong enforcement actions against ghost guns to stop their proliferation and protect our communities “Ghost guns are one of the fast growing factors contributing to the epidemic of gun violence in our nation,” said Thompson. “These weapons pose a threat to our law enforcement officers, our community, and the safety of our children. That’s why I am working with the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force to pursue commonsense solutions that stop the proliferation of these untraceable firearms into our community while maintaining our Second Amendment rights.” “Ghost guns – by function of their untraceable, easy to obtain nature – have only worsened the gun violence epidemic in our country,” said Cicilline, author of the Untraceable Firearms Act. “These weapons have made it even more difficult for law enforcement to identify and prosecute violent criminals. It’s simple: every gun purchase – whether you buy it from a shop or print and assemble it yourself – must be subject to the same safety regulations, including background checks, that we already have in place. I’m grateful that the Biden Administration has taken steps to address this problem and am committed to working with them and my colleagues to get ghost guns out of our communities.” “We have made progress on how we address ghost guns, but more work is needed in order to prevent the continued influx of these deadly weapons from falling into the wrong hands,” said Espaillat. "We are calling on the Biden Administration to strengthen federal enforcement actions against ghost guns—as solutions to the gun violence epidemic that has plagued our communities far too long must happen now.” The letter can be read in its entirety here. As the Chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, Rep. Thompson led the effort in Congress to push the Biden Administration to finalize the ghost gun rule, and also worked to pass legislation in the House codifying this rulemaking into law so it is better protected against extremist judges. |