TITLE: Urging Congress to pass universal background checks for all gun purchases.

SUMMARY: Urging Congress to pass universal background checks for all gun purchases.

FULL TEXT:
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 86th Legislature of the State of Texas 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.