Senators Introduce "No Check, No Sale" Bill to Close the Charleston Loophole

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] –  Today U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced legislation with twenty-two of their Senate colleagues to close a current loophole that allows gun sales to proceed if a background check is not completed after 72 hours, even if the gun buyer is not legally allowed to purchase a gun. The gap in existing law has allowed thousands of gun sales to prohibited buyers, including the sale of the firearm used by the shooter in the deadly attack at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church.

“Closing this glaring loophole six years ago would have stopped the Charleston shooter from walking out of a store with a gun he was already legally ineligible to buy,” Blumenthal said. “This arbitrary time limit has allowed thousands of dangerous people – people prohibited under current law from possessing a firearm – to buy a gun. If you haven’t passed a background check, you shouldn’t be able to purchase a weapon. No check, no gun. It’s really that simple.”

“Six years ago, a glaring loophole in our background checks system allowed a white supremacist to walk into a church in Charleston and murder nine Black congregants. It's outrageous that a criminal could be able to buy a gun because his background check took longer than three days to process,” said Murphy. “And let's be clear: this is not an isolated incident. Tens of thousands of dangerous individuals have gotten their hands on weapons because of the 'Charleston loophole.' We must act. We must pass the Background Check Completion Act."

“An overwhelming majority of Americans believe that background checks should be required for all gun sales,” Durbin said. “We have seen the tragic consequences that can result when background checks are not completed and guns end up in the hands of prohibited purchasers.  It is long past time to fix this loophole, and I’m proud to support this bill to do so.”

“A background check should be completed before every gun sale, but that isn’t happening today,” Feinstein said. “The increased number of gun sales during the pandemic has put an even greater strain on an already overloaded background check system. Our commonsense bill would provide law enforcement enough time to complete a background check and ensure that people who shouldn’t have guns aren’t able to buy them.”

When a criminal background check indicates that a firearm purchaser may have a criminal record, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) tries to determine whether the purchaser can legally buy a gun. If this process takes longer than 72 hours, gun dealers can complete the sale even though there is a heightened risk that the purchaser is legally disqualified from purchasing a gun.

The Background Check Completion Act would require a completed background check for every gun buyer who purchases a gun from a federally-licensed gun dealer. The full text of the legislation is available here.

The Background Check Completion Act is also co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bob Casey (D-PA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chris Coons (D-DE), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Tina Smith (D-MN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

The legislation has been endorsed by Everytown for Gun Safety, Giffords, Brady, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Sandy Hook Promise and Newtown Action Alliance.

“The Charleston Mother Emanuel Church shooting showed us just how deadly this loophole can be, and now we’ve learned just how wide it can get, thanks to skyrocketing gun sales spurred on by NRA fear mongering,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “We thank Senator Blumenthal and his colleagues for taking action, and honoring the victims and survivors of gun violence with more than thoughts and prayers.”

“After a year of unprecedented gun sales, it has never been more critical to strengthen the Brady Background Check System,” said Brady President Kris Brown. “The American people support ensuring that every individual undergoes a background check before purchasing a gun, and the Charleston Loophole continues to allow prohibited purchasers to obtain firearms in alarming numbers. The Brady Background Check system is the bedrock of our nation’s gun violence prevention laws, and we are grateful to Senator Blumenthal for making that foundation even stronger.”

“Background checks are the bedrock of effective gun policy,” said Josh Horwitz, Executive Director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. “Had this loophole been eliminated prior to 2015 nine parishioners of Mother Emmanuel AME Church might still be alive today. It is essential that we give the FBI adequate time to complete these checks, the difference could mean life or death.  Those who want to keep the status quo are in effect saying we don't care about enforcing the nation's gun law and that is just unacceptable. Thank you Senator Blumenthal for introducing this vital piece of legislation. It is well past time to close the Charleston Loophole!”

“Closing all loopholes in the federal background check process is critical to keeping our communities safe. Everyone needs to fully complete a background check before they can purchase a firearm. It’s as simple as that,” said Mark Barden, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise and father of Daniel, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. “After eight long years, we are grateful to finally see momentum on this common-sense gun reform.”

“No one should be able to purchase deadly weapons without a completed background check,” said Po Murray, Chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance. “We need Congress to act to keep guns away from dangerous individuals by closing all loopholes in our background check system. Incidents of armed intimidation are rising in our communities and domestic terrorists are the greatest threat to our nation. According to the FBI, the Charleston loophole allowed 2,989 individuals to purchase guns without completed background checks in 2019. Last year, there were 21 million NICS background checks for gun sales – more than any other year. It is certain that this loophole allowed thousands of other dangerous prohibited purchasers to acquire weapons.”

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