WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) ─ As gun gross sales stay robust throughout the nation, Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, are calling for strict adherence to federal background verify legal guidelines.
Each senators have despatched a letter asking the FBI and ATF to make sure that the Nationwide Prompt Background Verify System can deal with the demand, and that gun sellers have clear steerage on find out how to deal with the surge in gun gross sales.
Blumenthal is anxious that rising nervousness due to the pandemic is what’s driving up gun gross sales.
“There isn’t any purpose that People want extra weapons at a time of COVID-19 than they did earlier than,” Blumenthal mentioned. “If there may be stress or rivalry weapons usually tend to show lethal.”
Final month alone, the FBI reported greater than three million background checks. Murphy argues that there’s nonetheless a niche that must be crammed.
“About 30% of all gun gross sales occur and not using a background verify,” Murphy mentioned. “You could have lots of people which have a critical felony historical past, or critical histories of psychological sickness who’re additionally going out and shopping for weapons and at a time of excessive nervousness.”
“My view is that retailers promoting weapons aren’t a necessary service,” Blumenthal added.
Senator Marco Rubio, R-Florida mentioned the choice to permit gun gross sales amid the pandemic must be made domestically.
“Clearly that’s performed each on the federal and state degree with our legal guidelines. In lots of locations, these shops are actually closed,” Rubio mentioned.
New York grouped gun sellers with different non-essential companies pressured to shut – a call that already prompted a lawsuit from the Nationwide Rifle Affiliation.
“With that you just’re really denying these law-abiding folks of a constitutionally protected proper,” NRA spokesperson Lars Dalseide mentioned.
The NRA mentioned stopping gun gross sales places much more folks in jeopardy through the pandemic.
