Biden administration proposes to close loophole on background checks

The Biden administration on Thursday moved to expand background checks for gun purchases, a step toward fulfilling a key ask from gun safety groups.

The new rule, submitted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to the Federal Register, would clarify who qualifies as a firearms dealer, and therefore, who would have to conduct background checks on gun buyers. The measure comes after the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act updated federal law more than a year ago, requiring anyone who sells guns for profit to be licensed.

For months, gun safety groups have repeatedly called on the White House to address a background check loophole by clarifying who is considered “engaged in the business” of selling firearms.

“The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was passed by Congress to reduce gun violence, including by expanding the background checks that keep guns out of the hands of criminals,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. “This proposed rule implements Congress’s mandate to expand the definition of who must obtain a license and conduct a background check before selling firearms.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre described the DOJ measure as "life saving action" that a majority of Americans, including gun owners, have sought.

"It's just common sense," she said during Thursday's briefing, later adding: "This administration respects the right of responsible gun owners, while also believing Americans have the right to live free from gun violence as well. Those two things can exist."

Once published on the Federal Register, the rule will undergo a 90-day public comment period before being finalized. The measure would go beyond brick-and-mortar stores and affect the sale of firearms at gun shows, flea markets, over the internet and through mail orders. It also provides examples of actions that would likely qualify as engaging in the business of selling firearms and also clarifies when the sale of firearms would not require the seller to have a license.

“The whole goal here is to provide, again, concrete, common sense guidance and information to the public on the application of the new provisions in the statute,” a senior Department of Justice official told reporters in a press call on Thursday.

Gun safety groups welcomed the proposal, which comes as the nation has been rocked within the past week by multiple shootings. President Joe Biden has addressed several of them — including a racist shooting in Jacksonville, Fla., that left three dead, and a campus shooting at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where a faculty member was killed.

“Today, more than 1 in 5 gun sales in the U.S. are conducted without a background check, amounting to millions of guns per year ending up in the hands of people who aren’t allowed to buy them. This rule expands requirements for gun dealers to become licensed and conduct background checks, closing a massive loophole in our live-saving background checks system,” Brady president Kris Brown said in a statement. “It is past time to ensure that anyone who sells firearms for profits is required to be licensed and that their sales of firearms are subject to a Brady Background Check.”