87S10179 BPG-D
By: Reynolds H.C.R. No. 5
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Requiring universal background checks for all
firearm sales will help keep guns out of the hands of illegal buyers
and traffickers, without causing an undue burden on law-abiding
American citizens; and
WHEREAS, Currently, federal law requires licensed firearm
dealers to perform background checks on prospective purchasers, but
it does not require the same of unlicensed sellers; since this
exception applies broadly to all unlicensed dealers, it has created
a dangerous and far-reaching loophole that dramatically increases
the likelihood of gun murders and suicides; and
WHEREAS, According to the U.S. Department of Justice,
"individuals prohibited by law from possessing guns can easily
obtain them from private sellers and do so without any federal
records of the transactions"; and
WHEREAS, Properly enforced background checks help to keep
guns out of dangerous hands; since the adoption of the Brady Handgun
Violence Prevention Act in 1994, more than three million people
legally prohibited from possessing a gun--mainly convicted felons,
domestic abusers, and the severely mentally ill--have been denied a
firearm transfer or permit; and
WHEREAS, Far from being a partisan issue, polling data shows
that more than 90 percent of the American public supports
background checks for all gun sales; that includes the vast
majority of Republicans, Democrats, law enforcement groups, and NRA
members alike; and
WHEREAS, Background checks impose virtually no burden on
law-abiding gun purchasers, as results are returned instantly and
accurately in most circumstances; and
WHEREAS, By enforcing a universal background check system on
all gun sales, firearms will only be kept out of the hands of those
legally prohibited from possessing them, and the United States will
be a safer place for all Americans; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas,
1st Called Session, hereby respectfully urge the United States
Congress to pass a federal law requiring universal background
checks for all firearm sales; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.