87R6405 JRI-D     By: Reynolds H.C.R. No. 16       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, Requiring universal background checks for all   firearm sales will help keep guns out of the hands of illegal buyers   and traffickers, without causing an undue burden on law-abiding   American citizens; and          WHEREAS, Currently, federal law requires licensed firearm   dealers to perform background checks on prospective purchasers, but   it does not require the same of unlicensed sellers; since this   exception applies broadly to all unlicensed dealers, it has created   a dangerous and far-reaching loophole that dramatically increases   the likelihood of gun murders and suicides; and          WHEREAS, According to the U.S. Department of Justice,   "individuals prohibited by law from possessing guns can easily   obtain them from private sellers and do so without any federal   records of the transactions"; and          WHEREAS, Properly enforced background checks help to keep   guns out of dangerous hands; since the adoption of the Brady Handgun   Violence Prevention Act in 1994, more than three million people   legally prohibited from possessing a gun--mainly convicted felons,   domestic abusers, and the severely mentally ill--have been denied a   firearm transfer or permit; and          WHEREAS, Far from being a partisan issue, polling data shows   that more than 90 percent of the American public supports   background checks for all gun sales; that includes the vast   majority of Republicans, Democrats, law enforcement groups, and NRA   members alike; and          WHEREAS, Background checks impose virtually no burden on   law-abiding gun purchasers, as results are returned instantly and   accurately in most circumstances; and          WHEREAS, By enforcing a universal background check system on   all gun sales, firearms will only be kept out of the hands of those   legally prohibited from possessing them, and the United States will   be a safer place for all Americans; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to pass a   federal law requiring universal background checks for all firearm   sales; and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official   copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to   the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of   Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the   members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that   this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a   memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.