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Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, issued the following statement about the tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas:

“Our deepest sympathies go to the families who lost loved ones or are today visiting them in the hospital.  Along with the rest of the country, we wish the Fort Hood community a return to a secure and safe environment.

“When I heard of the tragedy yesterday, we were in the midst of planning a response to the latest dangerous legislative proposal from the gun lobby in the United States Senate - language to automatically restore access to guns to veterans designated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Justice Department as ‘mentally incapacitated’ or ‘mentally incompetent.’  In light of what happened yesterday - a violent attack by an emotionally unstable soldier - it is even clearer that the proposal being pushed by Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina should be rejected."

» Click here to read the full press release

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There is legislation in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate that could save lives.  Earlier this year, U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and U.S. Representatives Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Mike Castle (R-DE) troduced legislation (S. 843 and H.R. 2324) to close the gun show loophole.

The loophole allows people to buy guns at gun shows in most states without passing a Brady criminal background check.

A Brady report makes a strong case for Brady background checks on all gun sales in America, including those at gun shows. Allowing dangerous people such as convicted felons and domestic abusers to buy guns without criminal background checks threatens the safety of our families and communities.

Our national policy should be: no background check, no gun, no excuses.

» Click here to urge your Senators to cosponsor the bill 
» Click here to urge your Representative to cosponsor the bill

Click on image above to hear our challenge to Congress to close the gun show loophole.

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The City of New York launched an undercover investigation to expose how easy it is for criminals to buy guns at gun shows due to a loophole in the law.

There is currently legislation in Congress (S. 843 and H.R. 2324) to close the gun show loophole.  It would require Brady criminal background checks for all buyers at gun shows. 

In a statement about the New York City investigation, Brady President Paul Helmke said “The President needs to urge Congress to close this dangerous loophole, and his Administration needs to provide the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives the resources to effectively enforce federal gun laws.”

The City investigated 7 gun shows in Ohio, Nevada and Tennessee involving buys from 47 gun sellers using hidden cameras.  The videos showed that 35 out of 47 sellers approached by undercover investigators at these gun shows sold gun illegally.

» Click here to read the full Brady statement
» Click here to urge your Senators to cosponsor the bill 
» Click here to urge your Representative to cosponsor the bill

Click on image to view New York City's undercover investigation exposing how easy it is for criminals to buy guns at gun shows.

California Campaign Brady Chapter leaders were invited to join Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to celebrate the passage and signing of a law that will help law enforcement track down and apprehend armed criminals and other prohibited persons.

Mary Leigh Blek, President Emeritus of the Million Mom March, lifetime Republican and a longtime leader in the California Brady Campaign Chapters said about the signing,  “Gun violence has no party affiliation and Governor Schwarzenegger understands this.  Gun violence is everyone’s problem and this bill will go a long way in helping to prevent the needless loss of life.” 

We will now urge leaders in other states to adopt California’s innovative law which will help law enforcement determine when dangerous people are in possession of illegal handgun ammunition and illegal guns.

» Click here to read the full Brady statement

Click on image to hear Governor Schwarzenegger's remarks about the importance of the ammunition bill, AB 962. He was joined by Assembly Member Kevin DeLeon, author of the bill, and Police Chief Bill Bratton.

According to a Government Accountability Office report, a large proportion of the firearms fueling Mexican drug violence originated in the U.S. According to the report, more than 20,000, about 87 percent, of firearms seized by Mexican authorities and traced over the past 5 years originated in the U.S.

The Brady Center reached many of the same conclusions earlier in the year in the report, Exporting Gun Violence: How Our Weak Gun Laws Arm Criminals in Mexico and America.

We urge U.S. leaders to strengthen American gun laws to make it harder for Mexican criminals to arm themselves with guns from the U.S. The same weak gun laws that are enabling the supply of Mexican criminals are supplying criminals in the U.S. as well.

» Click here to read the GAO report
» Click here to read the Brady Center report