AR 24: In Support of Closing Loopholes in the Brady Background Check System

Authors: John Woods, Philip Wiseman, Nicole Bartel, Bernadette De La Cruz, Matt Daley,
Jeremy Yager

Sponsors: Nicole Bartel, Natalie Butler, Matt Daley, Bernadette De La Cruz, Marc Anthony
Gonzalez, Philip Wiseman, John Woods, and Jeremy Yager

WHEREAS, The bipartisan Virginia Tech Review Panel, appointed to study the Virginia Tech shooting
and find ways to prevent future tragedies, specifically recommended that “In a society divided on many
gun control issues, laws that specify who is prohibited from owning a firearm stand as examples of
broad agreement and should be enforced;” and furthermore, that the Commonwealth “should require
background checks for all firearms sales, including those at gun shows;”i and,

WHEREAS, The Texas Legislature recently began requiring that certain mental health information be
submitted to the background check system,ii closing one of the two loopholes cited by the Virginia Tech
Review Panel;iii and,

WHEREAS, Licensed dealers are required to run background checks;iv but unlicensed sellers are
neither required nor enabled to do so; further, these unlicensed sellers often run lucrative businesses on
such “private transactions;”v and,

WHEREAS, The State of Texas does not currently mandate background checks on unlicensed sales at
gun shows;vi and this exception in the background check system is referred to as the “gun show
loophole;”vii and,

WHEREAS, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) reported that thirty
percent of guns involved in federal illegal gun trafficking investigations are connected to gun shows; viii
and states which have closed the gun show loophole are possessed of a significantly lower crime gun
export rate than the national average, according to trace data from the ATF;ix and,

WHEREAS, A student visited gun shows in San Antonio and Fort Worth in August, 2009, and was able
to purchase a handgun with neither background check nor ID; and a semi-automatic machine gun with
no background check, showing only a temporary Texas driver license; and,

WHEREAS, It is unlawful to sell a firearm to an individual the seller believes cannot pass a background
checkx; but in a recent investigation, nineteen out of thirty sellers continued with the transaction even
after the buyer said he could not pass a background checkxi; and,

BE IT RESOLVED, That the Student Government of The University of Texas at Austin continues to
support state and federal legislation providing a mechanism by which private sellers may perform
background checks at gun shows; and further, Student Government supports requiring a background
check on all firearms sales initiated at gun shows, whether they be inside the venue or located in the
immediate vicinity of the venue; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be delivered to the members of
the Texas Legislature, the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, the Office of the Governor,the Office of
the Texas Attorney General, the Office of the Vice President for Governmental Relations and Office of
the President of The University of Texas at Austin; the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Governmental
Relations, the Office of the Board of Regents, and the Office of the Chancellor of The University of
Texas System.

iVirginia Tech Review Panel Report, Chapter VI (August 2007). p. 76. http://www.vtreviewpanel.org/report/index.html. Accessed on 2/20/2010

iiH.B. 3352, TX 81(R). http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/BillStages.aspx?LegSess=81R&BILL=HB3352. Accessed on 2/20/2010 at 3:16PM.

iiiVirginia Tech Review Panel Report, Chapter VI (August 2007). p. 76. http://www.vtreviewpanel.org/report/index.html. Accessed on 2/20/2010 at 3:09PM.

ivGun Show: Undercover – A Project of the City of New York. http://www.gunshowundercover.org/ Accessed on 2/21/2010 at 6:28PM.

vGun Show: Undercover – A Project of the City of New York. ILLEGAL SALE#1.
http://www.gunshowundercover.org/main.cfm?actionID=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=cmpContent&htmlKey=sales2&s=gunshow. Accessed on
2/14/2010 at 6:13PM.

viNYC report Gun Show: Undercover – Report on Illegal Sales at Gun Shows dated October 2009. p. 27.

viiGun Show: Undercover – A Project of the City of New York. ILLEGAL SALE#1.
http://www.gunshowundercover.org/main.cfm?actionID=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=cmpContent&htmlKey=sales2&s=gunshow. Accessed on
2/14/2010 at 6:13PM.

viiiGun Show: Undercover – A Project of the City of New York. ILLEGAL SALE#1.
http://www.gunshowundercover.org/main.cfm?actionID=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=cmpContent&htmlKey=sales2&s=gunshow. Accessed on
2/14/2010 at 6:13PM.

ixThe Movement of Illegal Guns in America: The Link between Gun Laws and Interstate Gun Trafficking. December 2008.
http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/downloads/pdf/trace_report_final.pdf. p. 20 Accessed on 2/21/2010 at 3:33PM.

x18 U.S.C. § 922

xiGun Show: Undercover – A Project of the City of New York. ILLEGAL SALE#1.
http://www.gunshowundercover.org/main.cfm?actionID=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=cmpContent&htmlKey=sales2&s=gunshow. Accessed on
2/14/2010 at 6:23PM.

xiiBudget and Finance Documents, Department of Homeland Security: FY2011. http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/budget/. Accessed on 2/21/2010 at 6:41PM.

xiiiBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives: FY2011 Budget. http://www.justice.gov/jmd/2010summary/pdf/fy11-atf-bud-summary.pdf.

Accessed on 2/21/2010 at 6:39PM.

_______________________________________________________________
Scott Parks – Student Body President