Bob Casey on gun control

[rellisonii]

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about S. 529, the Background Check Expansion Act of 2021, S. 591, the Background Check Completion Act of 2021 and S. 736, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021. I appreciate hearing from you about these issues.



Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut introduced S. 529, the Background Check Expansion Act on March 2, 2021. This bill would expand federal background checks to the sale or transfer of firearms by private sellers, closing the online sale, gun show and private seller loopholes. The background check requirement would not apply to certain firearm transfers, such as gifts between relatives in good faith. I am an original cosponsor of the Background Check Expansion Act. Should S. 529 come before the full Senate for consideration, I will support its passage.



Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut introduced S. 591, the Background Check Completion Act on March 4, 2021. The bill would close the "Charleston Loophole," which allows gun sales to proceed after 72 hours even if a background check is incomplete. This loophole has allowed for thousands of gun sales to prohibited buyers, including the sale to the perpetrator of the deadly attack on Charleston's Emanuel AME Church. Addressing this gap in our existing law becomes even more urgent when considering that between January 1, 2020 and November 12, 2020 the FBI reported 5,807 sales to prohibited buyers through the Charleston Loophole, making 2020 the highest year for on record for such unauthorized purchases. In recognition of the need to balance safety with law-abiding citizens' right to purchase firearms, the bill permits sales to proceed if the escalated review remains incomplete after an additional ten days. I am an original cosponsor of the Background Check Completion Act. Should S. 591 come before the full Senate for consideration, I will support its passage.



Senator Dianne Feinstein of California introduced S. 736, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021 on March 11, 2021. This bill would outlaw the importation, sale, transfer or possession of a military-style assault weapon, as well as magazines or other ammunition feeding devices that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. This bill includes a grandfather clause that exempts all weapons lawfully possessed at the date of enactment, and it creates a fund for compensating individuals who voluntarily give back their military-style assault weapons and high capacity magazines under a buy-back program.



Military-style assault weapons have been used in most of our Nation's worst mass shootings, including the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the 2013 Aurora theatre shooting, the 2015 San Bernardino attack, the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, the 2017 Sutherlands Springs church shooting, the 2018 Parkland shooting and the 2018 Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh. In a review of nearly 120 mass shootings between 1982 and 2020 in the United States, law enforcement recovered 83 semi-automatic handguns and 94 assault weapons and weapons with high magazine capacities. Furthermore, an FBI study examining active shooter incidents between 2000 to 2013 discovered that approximately three quarters of the weapons used by perpetrators of mass shootings were obtained legally either through purchase or prior legal possession. I am a proud original cosponsor of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021. Should S. 736 come before the full Senate for consideration, I will support its passage.



I support the Second Amendment right of private law-abiding citizens to possess firearms for lawful purposes like self-defense, sporting and collection. Like the majority of Americans, I also believe we need commonsense gun legislation that will help prevent the tragic mass shootings, community gun violence, accidental deaths and gun-related suicides that take the lives of approximately 40,000 Americans each year. Among these commonsense measures, I support legislation to implement universal background checks, ensure the safe storage of firearms, prohibit the use of assault weapons and establish risk protection orders to prevent those who pose safety risks to themselves or others from possessing firearms. I also support legislation to fund research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on firearms safety and gun violence prevention.



While addressing the gun violence epidemic unquestionably begins with commonsense gun reforms, it also involves treating the community roots of gun violence, including barriers to education and housing, as well as lack of economic opportunity. I am committed to addressing each of these root causes so that our communities are not only safer, but also released from the cycles of disinvestment and neglect that are associated with increased gun violence. We are a Nation of people who come together, roll up our sleeves and solve difficult problems. We can pass smart measures to reduce gun violence while fully respecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.



Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.



For more information on this or other issues, I encourage you to visit my website, https://casey.senate.gov. I hope you will find this online office a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.



Sincerely,

Bob Casey

United States Senator

[Walleye Hunter]

Yeah, I got that response too and when I replied that Hunter Biden needed to go to jail, the mailer demon sent it back to me as undeliverable.

[alpacaheat]

Yeah, I got that response too and when I replied that Hunter Biden needed to go to jail, the mailer demon sent it back to me as undeliverable.

HAHA. Nice response.

I got it too. STILL using the Sandy Hook kids for politics 9 years later. Shameful.

[STBear]

HAHA. Nice response.

I got it too. STILL using the Sandy Hook kids for politics 9 years later. Shameful.

I don't even bother reading his responses as I already know what they will say.

[alpacaheat]

Contrast with this received this morning:



Dear Mr. alpacaheat,

Thank you for contacting me about H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446. I appreciate learning your views about background checks for firearms sales, and I appreciate your patience with my response as we navigate an immense amount of correspondence.

H.R. 8 would make it a crime for an individual to sell or transfer firearms privately. This process would require a background check for every firearm sale and often even to let someone else shoot your gun at a shooting range.

I am and always will be a resolute supporter of every law-abiding American's Second Amendment rights. I oppose H.R. 8 because it unilaterally restricts the gun rights of law-abiding Americans in a misguided attempt to address gun violence, eliminating the majority of private transfers and requiring background checks for all purchases. While the bill lists certain exceptions for certain transfers, including for estate purposes, it'd require background checks for temporary transfers - which can be troublesome for Service Members or people going on vacation who are trying to responsibly store firearms while they're away. H.R. 8 would ensure that transfers like these would be felonies, regardless of criminal intent.

Proponents of H.R. 8 believe these measures will make a meaningful impact in reducing gun violence, addressing an alleged "gun show loophole." However, this argument is deeply flawed. Studies by the U.S. Department of Justice (2016) and various peer-reviewed journals have found that only about 0.8% of guns used in crimes were acquired at gun shows, and that there is no evidence of an association between the repeal of comprehensive background check policies and firearm homicide or suicide rates. Many more criminals acquired guns through theft. Some were able to legally acquire the weapon because they did not have prior felony or domestic violence convictions.

Additionally, I believe that H.R. 8 would be an unconstitutional expansion of Federal power. When the current background check system was created, Congress justified that it was within Federal jurisdiction because it was a regulation of interstate commerce. Anyone who engages in weapons transactions across state lines must either be a Federally licensed firearms dealer or must complete the transaction through a Federally licensed dealer who performs a background check during sales to others. H.R. 8 would only impact intrastate transfers and would override states' policies on matters rightfully under their jurisdiction. States already make these policies themselves. For example, under Pennsylvania law, transfers of handguns must be conducted through a licensed dealer and a background check must be performed on the buyer, but the state chose not to apply these requirements to rifles, since nearly all crimes with firearms are committed with handguns and hunting rifles are popular as gifts for family members and hunting buddies. H.R. 8 would rob states of their right to make these decisions for themselves.

Meanwhile, H.R. 1446, the "Enhanced Background Checks" Act, would allow the FBI to delay the completion of its supposedly instant NICS background checks for gun purchases, initially for ten days, and by taking follow-up steps, indefinitely. As a result, law-abiding Americans could be indefinitely kept from purchasing a gun without due process. This would endanger those who need to purchase guns for their safety. It also fails to address the problem that it's purportedly intended to solve.

Advocates for the bill claim that criminals are able to buy guns because the FBI can not complete their background checks within the current three-day limit. While the background check system occasionally fails to stop a criminal, this is not due to the time available but due to failures to maintain and check the records databases used for the NICS system. The NICS system is supposed to keep records of all felonies, of domestic violence misdemeanors, and of some other proceedings that would make it illegal for someone to purchase a gun. Sometimes, local jurisdictions fail to provide records to the FBI when they should, and other times, the FBI simply fails to check the appropriate records when conducting its checks. The latter was the case when the perpetrator of the Mother Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church shooting in Charleston purchased his gun. Advocates of H.R. 1446 call this the "Charleston Loophole" and claim that their bill will fix it. However, in that case, the FBI failed to check one of the databases at its disposal, missing records it had on file. Two and a half months later, they realized their error.

Extending the time period to ten days wouldn't have made a difference. When the FBI can't match the appropriate record in three days, it's highly unlikely that they will do it in ten days or twenty days. Meanwhile, this bill will repeatedly victimize law abiding Americans; most (possibly as high as 95% of) transactions flagged by NICS are false positives. We can't leave law abiding Americans begging to exercise their God-given rights to make up for their government's performance failures.

The Second Amendment is a Constitutional right guaranteed to all American citizens. The Constitution doesn't specify what type of arms we can bear or how/when we may exercise our rights, and the federal government has no constitutional authority to limit or regulate these rights. We must consider in detail how any proposed legislation would be applied today, but also how it may be interpreted in the future. Remember, criminals who fail to obey laws don't heed new laws, either. Attempting to stop acts of violence by restricting access to firearms doesn't address the root cause of the violence.

While I remain focused on Constitutional freedoms, I'm always open to thoughtful and meaningful solutions. For example, we need significant improvements to our mental health system, which may prevent people from perpetrating senseless acts of violence, as well as innocent citizens from having to face the immeasurable loss and grief resulting from them.

We must strive to eliminate criminal use of guns while protecting citizens' right to defend themselves. These are intrinsically sensitive matters - regardless of viewpoints - because they rest at the crossroads of liberty and security. I fully support the 2nd Amendment, and I support policies that reduce gun violence and strengthen our mental health system - these aren't mutually exclusive issues.

Once again, thank you for contacting me. I appreciate your concerns and encourage your continued feedback. Please visit our website at perry.house.gov to submit further questions/comments or to sign up for our e-newsletter, Facebook page, and/or Twitter updates.

Very Respectfully,

Scott Perry
Member of Congress
10th District, Pennsylvania

[Gunsnwater]

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about S. 529, the Background Check Expansion Act of 2021, S. 591, the Background Check Completion Act of 2021 and S. 736, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021. I appreciate hearing from you about these issues.

*

Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut introduced S. 529, the Background Check Expansion Act on March 2, 2021. This bill would expand federal background checks to the sale or transfer of firearms by private sellers, closing the online sale, gun show and private seller loopholes. The background check requirement would not apply to certain firearm transfers, such as gifts between relatives in good faith. I am an original cosponsor of the Background Check Expansion Act. Should S. 529 come before the full Senate for consideration, I will support its passage.

*

Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut introduced S. 591, the Background Check Completion Act on March 4, 2021. The bill would close the "Charleston Loophole," which allows gun sales to proceed after 72 hours even if a background check is incomplete. This loophole has allowed for thousands of gun sales to prohibited buyers, including the sale to the perpetrator of the deadly attack on Charleston's Emanuel AME Church. Addressing this gap in our existing law becomes even more urgent when considering that between January 1, 2020 and November 12, 2020 the FBI reported 5,807 sales to prohibited buyers through the Charleston Loophole, making 2020 the highest year for on record for such unauthorized purchases. In recognition of the need to balance safety with law-abiding citizens' right to purchase firearms, the bill permits sales to proceed if the escalated review remains incomplete after an additional ten days. I am an original cosponsor of the Background Check Completion Act. Should S. 591 come before the full Senate for consideration, I will support its passage.

*

Senator Dianne Feinstein of California introduced S. 736, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021 on March 11, 2021. This bill would outlaw the importation, sale, transfer or possession of a military-style assault weapon, as well as magazines or other ammunition feeding devices that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. This bill includes a grandfather clause that exempts all weapons lawfully possessed at the date of enactment, and it creates a fund for compensating individuals who voluntarily give back their military-style assault weapons and high capacity magazines under a buy-back program.

*

Military-style assault weapons have been used in most of our Nation's worst mass shootings, including the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the 2013 Aurora theatre shooting, the 2015 San Bernardino attack, the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, the 2017 Sutherlands Springs church shooting, the 2018 Parkland shooting and the 2018 Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh. In a review of nearly 120 mass shootings between 1982 and 2020 in the United States, law enforcement recovered 83 semi-automatic handguns and 94 assault weapons and weapons with high magazine capacities. Furthermore, an FBI study examining active shooter incidents between 2000 to 2013 discovered that approximately three quarters of the weapons used by perpetrators of mass shootings were obtained legally either through purchase or prior legal possession. I am a proud original cosponsor of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021. Should S. 736 come before the full Senate for consideration, I will support its passage.

*

I support the Second Amendment right of private law-abiding citizens to possess firearms for lawful purposes like self-defense, sporting and collection. Like the majority of Americans, I also believe we need commonsense gun legislation that will help prevent the tragic mass shootings, community gun violence, accidental deaths and gun-related suicides that take the lives of approximately 40,000 Americans each year. Among these commonsense measures, I support legislation to implement universal background checks, ensure the safe storage of firearms, prohibit the use of assault weapons and establish risk protection orders to prevent those who pose safety risks to themselves or others from possessing firearms. I also support legislation to fund research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on firearms safety and gun violence prevention.*

*

While addressing the gun violence epidemic unquestionably begins with commonsense gun reforms, it also involves treating the community roots of gun violence, including barriers to education and housing, as well as lack of economic opportunity. I am committed to addressing each of these root causes so that our communities are not only safer, but also released from the cycles of disinvestment and neglect that are associated with increased gun violence. We are a Nation of people who come together, roll up our sleeves and solve difficult problems. We can pass smart measures to reduce gun violence while fully respecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.

*

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.

*

For more information on this or other issues, I encourage you to visit my website, https://casey.senate.gov. I hope you will find this online office a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.

*

Sincerely,

Bob Casey

United States Senator

[Gunsnwater]

Might want to stop voting these a holes in office, Pennsylvania.

[PickingPA]

I got the same reply from Casey

For comparison:

Thank you for contacting me to share your opposition to the Bipartisan Background Checks Act (H.R. 8) and the Enhanced Background Checks Act (H.R. 1446). Like you, I am opposed to these bills.

As a gun owner, I share your strong support for our Second Amendment rights. The rights of law-abiding gun owners must be upheld and the Second Amendment is crucial to maintaining a free society. You may be interested to know that I signed on as a cosponsor to H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which would allow citizens with a concealed carry permit to transport their firearm across state lines.

As you know, H.R. 8 seeks to require a background check for every firearm transfer or sale, even those between family and friends. H.R. 1446 aims to grant unelected government officials the ability to indefinitely delay firearm purchases in the event of technical difficulties with a background check. H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446 have been referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. While I do not serve on this committee, rest assured I share your strong support for our Second Amendment rights and will continue to oppose legislation that places further restrictions on responsible, law-abiding Pennsylvanians who choose to exercise their constitutional rights.

Again, I appreciate your thoughts and it is an honor to serve you in Congress. Please do not hesitate to contact me again in the future.

Sincerely,

Lloyd Smucker
Member of Congress

[Jhaydeno]

Yep, he's still a yellow asshole riding his father's coat tails.

Even if he isn't violating the 2A, he's violating PA's state constitution by voting this way.

[Gunsnwater]

The oath means nothing to them. Representative means nothing to them. Dear Leader is their aspiration. Peons is their view of the people. Apathy is their life blood.