WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the House passed H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, and H.R.1446, the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021. H.R. 8 ensures that every gun purchase requires a background check — a critical policy since approximately 1 in every 5 gun sales are currently conducted without a background check. H.R. 1446 would close the deadly ‘Charleston Loophole,’ which was exploited by the white supremacist who killed nine parishioners at the Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina in 2015. Now, both bills will advance to the Senate, where they stand to be blocked by the filibuster like countless other pieces of legislation that would address gun violence in all its forms. 

Aalayah Eastmond, #TeamEnough Executive Council Member and Coalition Member of Just Democracy, issued the following statement in response:

“We know the Senate does not work when more than 90 percent of Americans support expanded background checks, and still, life-saving gun violence prevention legislation can die in the Senate. If the Senate chooses to once again preserve the Senate filibuster instead of passing H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446, more Black and Brown lives will be taken in preventable tragedies like the Mother Emanuel Church shooting. 

Black and Brown people — the same people who secured Democrats a governing trifecta — are disproportionately impacted by gun violence, but undervalued in this debate. That’s why we need a structural democracy. Now is the time for politicians to finally act on past promises to protect communities of color from gun violence: eliminate the filibuster to pass H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446 and ensure this time is different.”

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