US Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico was able to question the US attorney General Merrick Garland in a key hearing before the senate appropriations subcommittee on Commerce, justice, Science and Related agencies.
Senator Heinrich wanted to know if the US Department of Justice was able to have further success with law enforcement in relation to provisions in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that he authored with US Senator Susan Collins of Maine.
“Attorney General, as you know, Vice Chair Collins and I worked very hard on a number of provisions in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act with respect to both straw purchasing of firearms and also gun trafficking offenses. Can you give us an update about how the Department is using those new offenses and what progress you’re making on that front?”
Attorney General Garland explained that there has been progress under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
“That act is really the most important gun legislation in decades and has already had a significant impact on our ability to prevent guns from falling in the hands of people who are prohibited by Congress from obtaining them because of their dangerousness.”
Attorney General Garland continued to explain the success of the implementation of this act.
“As a consequence of the act, which extended background checks for people under 21, we have been able to run 245,000 enhanced background checks, and we have denied 700 transactions which otherwise would have gone through. 700 people that should not have guns as congress declared.With respect to the straw purchases provisions, we have charged more than 420 defendants now with illegal straw purchases under the provisions of BSCA and associated statutes we have on straw purchases.”
