House Democrats will introduce a bill next week that would require universal background checks for gun purchases.
The proposal will be introduced Tuesday, according to lawmakers, on the eighth anniversary of former Rep. Gabby Giffords’s (D-Ariz.) shooting.
The bill calls for federal background checks to be required on all gun sales, including private transactions, with an exception for transfers between family members and temporary use of a gun for hunting purposes.
{mosads}Giffords, who was shot and severely wounded during a mass shooting in Arizona on Jan. 8, 2011, will join House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) on Tuesday to introduce the bill, dubbed “H.R. 8” in honor of Giffords.
Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y) told The Hill that he is also sponsoring the bill.
Thompson, who leads a Democratic task force on gun violence, said in a statement announcing the legislation that the House’s new Democratic majority will allow them to pass the legislation.
“Since the shooting at Sandy Hook, the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force has been fighting for a chance to pass legislation that will help save lives,” Thompson said in a statement. “Finally, with our new majority that ran on helping to prevent gun violence, we will introduce a bipartisan, universal background checks bill. We will hold hearings, we will have a vote, and this legislation will finally pass the House.”
Giffords has been an outspoken advocate for gun control legislation since she was shot, launching a non-profit that calls for stricter gun control legislation.
“In communities across America, courageous survivors, families and young advocates are showing outstanding courage and persistence in demanding an end to the horrific scourge of gun violence in our nation,” Pelosi said in a statement. “It is an honor to join Congressman Mike Thompson and former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords to answer their call by taking the first step to pass commonsense background checks – which 97 percent of the American people support.
Similar bills have been introduced in recent years, but have failed to pass through the formerly GOP-controlled House.