| 1 | 1 | | 87S10179 BPG-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Reynolds H.C.R. No. 5 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Requiring universal background checks for all |
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| 7 | 7 | | firearm sales will help keep guns out of the hands of illegal buyers |
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| 8 | 8 | | and traffickers, without causing an undue burden on law-abiding |
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| 9 | 9 | | American citizens; and |
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| 10 | 10 | | WHEREAS, Currently, federal law requires licensed firearm |
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| 11 | 11 | | dealers to perform background checks on prospective purchasers, but |
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| 12 | 12 | | it does not require the same of unlicensed sellers; since this |
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| 13 | 13 | | exception applies broadly to all unlicensed dealers, it has created |
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| 14 | 14 | | a dangerous and far-reaching loophole that dramatically increases |
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| 15 | 15 | | the likelihood of gun murders and suicides; and |
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| 16 | 16 | | WHEREAS, According to the U.S. Department of Justice, |
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| 17 | 17 | | "individuals prohibited by law from possessing guns can easily |
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| 18 | 18 | | obtain them from private sellers and do so without any federal |
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| 19 | 19 | | records of the transactions"; and |
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| 20 | 20 | | WHEREAS, Properly enforced background checks help to keep |
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| 21 | 21 | | guns out of dangerous hands; since the adoption of the Brady Handgun |
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| 22 | 22 | | Violence Prevention Act in 1994, more than three million people |
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| 23 | 23 | | legally prohibited from possessing a gun--mainly convicted felons, |
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| 24 | 24 | | domestic abusers, and the severely mentally ill--have been denied a |
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| 25 | 25 | | firearm transfer or permit; and |
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| 26 | 26 | | WHEREAS, Far from being a partisan issue, polling data shows |
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| 27 | 27 | | that more than 90 percent of the American public supports |
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| 28 | 28 | | background checks for all gun sales; that includes the vast |
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| 29 | 29 | | majority of Republicans, Democrats, law enforcement groups, and NRA |
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| 30 | 30 | | members alike; and |
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| 31 | 31 | | WHEREAS, Background checks impose virtually no burden on |
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| 32 | 32 | | law-abiding gun purchasers, as results are returned instantly and |
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| 33 | 33 | | accurately in most circumstances; and |
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| 34 | 34 | | WHEREAS, By enforcing a universal background check system on |
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| 35 | 35 | | all gun sales, firearms will only be kept out of the hands of those |
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| 36 | 36 | | legally prohibited from possessing them, and the United States will |
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| 37 | 37 | | be a safer place for all Americans; now, therefore, be it |
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| 38 | 38 | | RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas, |
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| 39 | 39 | | 1st Called Session, hereby respectfully urge the United States |
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| 40 | 40 | | Congress to pass a federal law requiring universal background |
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| 41 | 41 | | checks for all firearm sales; and, be it further |
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| 42 | 42 | | RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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| 43 | 43 | | copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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| 44 | 44 | | the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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| 45 | 45 | | Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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| 46 | 46 | | members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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| 47 | 47 | | this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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| 48 | 48 | | memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |
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