Booker Bill Takes Aim at Gun Fire Sale Loophole
WASHINGTON — Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. is seeking to close a loophole in the nation’s gun laws that allows gun dealers with revoked licenses to “convert” their inventory into “personal collections” which they can then sell without conducting background checks.
Booker’s vehicle for doing so is the Fire Sale Loophole Closing Act, which he introduced in the Senate on Friday.
Companion legislation was introduced earlier this year in the House by Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I.
“Though we have taken steps forward to prevent gun deaths, we cannot stop our work to address the gun violence epidemic that continues to grip our country,” Booker said in a written statement.
“Closing the fire sale loophole is a commonsense measure that would help prevent firearms from being sold without background checks and ending up in the wrong hands,” he said.
Cicilline, who is vice chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, has noted in the past that “there are more guns than people in this country — more mass shootings than days in the year” and called this “a uniquely American problem.”
“In 2022 alone, more than 160 people have been killed by an assault weapon and more than 245 have been injured. … we can honor their memories with action and prevent more carnage moving forward,” he said.
In 2020, there were 45,000 firearm-related deaths in the U.S. — the highest level in 40 years. According to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Americans are 25 times more likely to be killed in a gun homicide than in other high-income countries.
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