Suozzi Joins House In Passing Anti-Gun Violence Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States House of Representatives on Thursday approved two bills that would expand background checks on sales of firearms and potentially lead to curbing gun violence. Congressman Tom Suozzi (D—NY) cosponsored both pieces of legislation, according to a news release from his office.

Approximately 43,000 people in the United States died to gun violence in 2020, including 23,000 who took their own life via gun, Suozzi said.

Linda Beigel Schulman, a Dix Hills resident and a constituent of Suozzi's, lost her son, Scott, in 2018 during the Parkland shooting. They have since worked together on Long Island to advocate for gun-violence prevention laws and to share what they feel should be a non-partisan issue, according to Suozzi. Long Island has experienced more than 700 incidents of gun violence since 2014, Suozzi said.

"Expanded background checks are common sense laws supported by millions of New Yorkers and even gun owners," Suozzi stated via news release. "Now with a Democratic-controlled Senate and Joe Biden in the White House, our country now has the opportunity to pass meaningful gun violence prevention legislation. Too many people have lost their lives to gun violence for us not to act."

The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021 would require a background check for every gun sale or transfer, with exceptions that, for example, allow a person: to give a gun as a gift to a family member; loan a gun for hunting or target shooting; or temporarily transfer a gun for self-defense. The legislation would address background check loopholes, as currently, people are not required to undergo a background check if they are purchasing a gun from an unlicensed gun seller — such as buying a firearm at a gun show, online, or person-to-person.

Additionally, The Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021 would address the what is known as the "Charleston Loophole," which currently allows the sale of a firearm to go through if a background check is not completed within three business days. The "Charleston Loophole," Suozzi said, allowed Dylan Roof to carry out the massacre at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, which killed nine innocent people in 2015.

"Congressman Suozzi gets that gun violence prevention should not be a partisan issue and is fighting for the safety of everyone," Beigel Schulman said. "He does not speak as a politician, he speaks as a father who cares deeply, and as a person who is determined to make safety his primary issue. I stand with Congressman Suozzi for reasonable gun safety legislation so that we can all take a deep breath and feel safe in our everyday lives."