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House Passes Bipartisan Background Checks Bill of 2021

Sandy Hook Promise Celebrates Bipartisan Passage of Background Checks Legislation in House, Calls for Immediate Senate Action

Newtown, CT — Today, H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, passed the U.S. House of Representatives with overwhelming support. If signed into law, nearly every gun sale occurring in the U.S. would be subject to a background check, including so-called “private sales” at gun shows and over the internet. Background checks have been proven to save lives and reduce levels of gun violence in states that have expanded background checks to all sales, protecting communities and retailers alike. 

This vote comes as gun violence and mass shootings continue to rise nationwide, along with record-breaking gun sales. Despite the pandemic, gun deaths have hit historic levels and more than 300,000 guns have been purchased without a background check. At least 97 percent of U.S. adults support requiring background checks for all gun purchases.

Sandy Hook Promise, a leading gun violence prevention organization whose co-founding families have been continuously advocating for the passage of expanded background checks since their loved ones were murdered in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in December 2012, released the following statement as the bill now heads to the Senate: 

“No more families should have to experience the horrific loss of a child to gun violence and we know passing background checks would save so many lives,” said Mark Barden, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise, and father of Daniel who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy.  “We have waited too long. We call on every Senator to simply do their job to protect our communities from gun violence and pass universal background checks immediately.”

Sandy Hook Promise has helped pass more than a dozen bipartisan laws to strengthen background checks and create Extreme Risk Protection Orders. The organization also wrote and led the bipartisan passage of the STOP School Violence Act of 2018  that is already helping to train millions of students and adults to “know the signs” of gun violence and how to act to prevent it, stopping potential tragedies across the country.

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About the Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund 

Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization committed to protecting all children from gun violence in schools, homes, and communities. The SHP Action Fund champions a holistic policy platform that promotes gun safety, youth mental health, and violence prevention education. The organization works at the state and federal level to pass nonpartisan legislation through inclusive partnerships, diverse grassroots education, and community mobilization. It is part of Sandy Hook Promise, founded and led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.  

Media Contact: 

Aimee Thunberg | [email protected] | 646.761.5579

Notes to Editors:

For more information on Universal Background Checks, please visit www.sandyhookpromise.org/PassUBC. Readers, listeners, and viewers can take action on the legislation by texting PassUBC to 21333 or by following the hashtag #PassUBC in social media.