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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Requiring universal background checks for all |
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firearm sales will help keep guns out of the hands of illegal buyers |
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and traffickers, without causing an undue burden on law-abiding |
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American citizens; and |
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WHEREAS, Currently, federal law requires licensed firearm |
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dealers to perform background checks on prospective purchasers, but |
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it does not require the same of unlicensed sellers; since this |
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exception applies broadly to all unlicensed dealers, it has created |
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a dangerous and far-reaching loophole that dramatically increases |
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the likelihood of gun murders and suicides; and |
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WHEREAS, According to the U.S. Department of Justice, |
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"individuals prohibited by law from possessing guns can easily |
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obtain them from private sellers and do so without any federal |
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records of the transactions"; and |
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WHEREAS, Properly enforced background checks help to keep |
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guns out of dangerous hands; since the adoption of the Brady Handgun |
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Violence Prevention Act in 1994, more than three million people |
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legally prohibited from possessing a gun--mainly convicted felons, |
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domestic abusers, and the severely mentally ill--have been denied a |
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firearm transfer or permit; and |
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WHEREAS, Far from being a partisan issue, polling data shows |
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that more than 90 percent of the American public supports |
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background checks for all gun sales; that includes the vast |
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majority of Republicans, Democrats, law enforcement groups, and NRA |
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members alike; and |
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WHEREAS, Background checks impose virtually no burden on |
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law-abiding gun purchasers, as results are returned instantly and |
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accurately in most circumstances; and |
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WHEREAS, By enforcing a universal background check system on |
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all gun sales, firearms will only be kept out of the hands of those |
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legally prohibited from possessing them, and the United States will |
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be a safer place for all Americans; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to pass a |
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federal law requiring universal background checks for all firearm |
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sales; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |