Senator Hassan Cosponsors Bipartisan Bill to Address Gun Violence, Fix Federal Background Check Legislation

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today announced that she is cosponsoring the Fix NICS Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Cornyn (R-TX) and others to ensure that federal and state authorities comply with existing law and accurately report relevant criminal history records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The bill penalizes federal agencies that fail to properly report relevant records and incentivizes states to improve their overall reporting. The bill also directs more federal funding to the accurate reporting of domestic violence records.

“It is long past time that Congress takes real action to help prevent senseless acts of gun violence,” Senator Hassan said. “This bipartisan legislation would help ensure that our criminal background check system works as intended to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals and save lives. I urge my colleagues from both parties to support this common-sense bill.”

Text of the Fix NICS Act is downloadable here.

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