House Passes Legislation To Address Flaw In Background Checks For Guns Dubbed The ‘Charleston Loophole’
The legislation addresses a loophole in current law that enables some firearms to be transferred by licensed gun dealers before the required background checks have been completed. It's a gap in safety measures that allowed a man to buy a gun and kill 9 people in a South Carolina church. It's the second bill that passed the House in as many days to address background checks. In other news, conservatives see African-American advocates for gun rights as a way to gain new supporters.
CNN:
House Passes 'Charleston Loophole Bill' On Gun Background Checks
For the second day in a row, the House of Representatives passed legislation related to gun control, the latest proposal dubbed the so-called "Charleston loophole" bill, aimed at closing a gap in the background check system that allowed a man to purchase a gun and kill nine members of a church nearly four years ago. The bill, HR 1112 was sponsored by Rep. Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat and -- as House Democratic whip -- the highest ranking African-American member of Congress. (Landers, 2/28)
NPR:
House Passes Second Gun Background Check Bill In As Many Days
Thursday's bill seeks to close the so-called "Charleston loophole" that allowed an avowed white supremacist to buy a gun used to kill 9 people at Mother Emanuel AME in Charleston. S.C., in 2015. Currently a gun seller has to wait three business for federal investigators to conduct background check. Most checks are quick, but incomplete data can sometimes cause a delayed response. If the delay lasts more than three business days, the gun sale can move forward. (Booker and Kaste, 2/28)
The Washington Post:
House Votes To Lengthen Background Check Window For Gun Transfers, As Lawmakers Speak About Their Experiences With Domestic Abuse
The measure’s passage follows Wednesday’s vote on a separate bill expanding federal background checks for gun purchases and transfers. President Trump has threatened to veto both measures, and they stand little chance of passage in the Republican-controlled Senate. The bills represent the first major firearms legislation in more than a decade, part of a new — if cautious — push by House Democrats to combat the country’s gun violence epidemic since they retook control of the chamber in January. (Sonmez, 2/28)
Politico:
New CPAC Stars: Black Gun Rights Activists
For a few minutes at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday afternoon, the message was more Malcolm X than William F. Buckley. Sporting a red hoodie, his hair in cornrows, Maj Toure touted his group, Black Guns Matter. "We go where there's high violence, high crime, high gun control — high slave mentalities, to be perfectly honest,” he said, “and inform urban America about their human right, as stated in the Second Amendment, to defend their life." (Schreckinger, 3/1)
