Fighting the House GOP blockade on gun safety

Magaziner Joins Petition to Force Votes on Gun Safety Bills

Representative Seth Magaziner (RI-02)

signed onto three discharge petitions to compel House Republican leadership to act on common-sense gun safety legislation during Gun Violence Awareness Month.  

A discharge petition is a motion to have a bill released from its committee of jurisdiction. Once discharged, the legislation is then taken up for a vote on the floor. This motion requires a majority of the House (218 voting members) to sign the petition and vote in favor of the measure. 

 

“One mass shooting is too many, yet there have already been 275 so far this year. When will elected officials – who were sent to Washington, D.C. to solve our nation’s issues – start treating the gun violence problem with the urgency it deserves?” said Rep. Seth Magaziner. 

“As a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, I’m committed to using every tool at our disposal to advance common-sense, gun safety legislation that will undoubtedly save lives. It’s what our communities deserve, and it’s how we honor those lost to gun violence – with action.”

 

Watch Rep. Magaziner’s video HERE.

The three bills under consideration, H.R. 698 The Assault Weapons Ban Act, H.R. 715 Bipartisan Background Checks Act, and H.R. 2403 Enhanced Background Checks Act, would help reduce gun violence and make our communities safer. 

Assault Weapons Ban (H.R. 698)

• This bill prohibits the sale, transfer, manufacture and importation of semiautomatic weapons and ammunition feeding devices capable of accepting more than fifteen rounds.  
• It does not prohibit the continued possession of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines lawfully owned before enactment and would not apply to certain firearms like antiques and certain hunting/sporting rifles.  
• These weapons of war have been used in some of the deadliest mass shootings in the United States. 

Bipartisan Background Checks Act (H.R. 715)

• This bill requires that every sale of a firearm includes a background check with certain exemptions for family transfers and temporary hunting transfers.
• A licensed gun dealer, manufacturer or importer would be required to conduct a background check before a transfer between private parties can proceed.  
• This will prevent firearms from getting into the wrong hands through unlicensed dealers.  

Enhanced Background Checks Act (H.R. 2403)

• June 17, 2023 will mark the eight-year anniversary of the massacre at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina. 
• That tragedy brought awareness to the “Charleston Loophole” that allows an individual to purchase firearms before approval of their background check if it is still pending after three days.
• This bill gives the FBI limited additional time to complete a background check—10 business days, followed by a subsequent 10-business-day escalated review upon request by the purchaser—before a firearm can be transferred to the purchaser.

Rep. Magaziner is an original co-sponsor of the Assault Weapons Ban and the Bipartisan Background Checks Act. He also signed on to legislation to require safe storage of firearms, ban bump stocks, and regulate high-capacity magazines.