Leader Schumer: Senate Democrats Killed Republicans’ Deadly Gun Loophole In Its Tracks; GOP Provision Would’ve Deregulated Silencers, Rifles, And Shotguns, Eliminating Background Checks And Registrations, Rolling Back Century-Old Law

Washington, D.C. – Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) released the following statement on Senate Democrats’ successful fight in the Byrd bath against Republicans’ extremely reckless attempt at deregulating guns and silencers, which would not require owners to register them, get background checks, and would roll back a century-old law. Leader Schumer has led the charge in the fight against this deadly provision:

 “Senate Democrats fought back against Senate Republicans’ ploy to jam a dangerous gun lobby loophole into their “Big, Ugly Betrayal”—a provision that would’ve rolled back a generation of gun laws and resulted in more Americans killed by gun violence. And we won.

“Let’s not mince words: this backwards law would’ve helped criminals get away with heinous crimes and made it incredibly more difficult for police to solve them - meaning more Americans killed by guns. This wasn’t some policy tweak, it was a green light for more gun violence.

“The National Firearms Act has kept communities safer for nearly a century. Gutting it would have been a deadly mistake—and a pure giveaway to special interests with zero regard for public safety. Senate Democrats stopped this cold. We’ll never stop fighting to keep our communities safe from senseless, reckless, and preventable gun violence.”

Background on provision: The House bill would have eliminated taxes on silencers and repealed regulations on silencers like required background checks for purchasers. The Senate bill would have made it even worse by removing these regulations for certain rifles and shotguns too, meaning we would have reversed nearly 100 years of gun safety rules and made it easier for criminals to purchase these weapons.

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